AllFreeNovel
Share Us
However, his reaction to them kissing and his memories of what happened between them was fascinating. It was like whatever sparked between them was visceral and alive… and she clung to that hope with every fiber of her being.
This entire fiasco, debacle, or miracle… was more than she ever could have dreamed of, and made her so happy it was terrifying.
She kept waiting for the bubble to pop, to realize that everything had just detonated like a nuclear bomb laying waste to her entire life, or that some tragedy was going to befall them… yet here they were, laughing, playing, kissing and smiling at each other.
It was beautiful.
He’d bought her a diamond ring, an engagement ring, before leaving Ghazni… just in case. That sheer fact alone gave her the hope she needed to keep from panicking and rushing about in a frenzy to dissolve whatever this was.
He cared… he truly cared – and if it wasn’t love?
She could exist happily with whatever emotion was glowing in his eyes.
While it hurt to think that he wasn’t going to propose originally, the fact that he had it at all was very telling. A man didn’t hang onto a ring like that just in case…
That was like her carrying a can of bear spray in her purse, in Texas, just in case she ran into a polar bear.
It just wasn’t going to happen.
No, John might have been telling himself it was to be prepared – but something inside of him had pushed him to take the steps to buy it… and she was willing to wait for that little voice in his head to get louder and louder.
The sun was starting to set on the horizon, casting an orange glow over the water as John climbed up into the boat. He extended a hand towards her…
“Here, my love…” he began, and she took his hand, yanking him into the water where he fell easily, laughing. She started to reach for the ladder to climb up, only to feel a hand around her ankle just before John dunked her.
Sputtering, she went under the water and then felt a set of hands grasp at her, before lifting her up… and kissing her.
“I like playing around with you…” he offered, laughing softly as she wiped her eyes, clinging to his shoulders as they treaded water together.
She looked at him, seeing the warmth in his green eyes… and melted. There was such a gentleness to him that touched her heart as she reached for him. Her thumb brushed against his lip, felt the roughness of his facial hair, and she couldn’t take her eyes from him.
“I’m really glad we are here…”
“I am too…”
“When you look at me,” she began softly, looking into his eyes and brushing her lips softly against his, before speaking again. “When you look at me, John… you make me feel lovely, alive, and treasured. I know neither of us planned on getting married – but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Me neither,” he admitted softly, leaning forward to kiss her again. “And you are beyond lovely, and definitely treasured – at least to me.”
“You’re the only one that counts…” she smiled tenderly.
“And you’re the only one that matters,” he countered gently. “Let’s get out of the water, dry off a bit, snack on something, and gaze at the stars together…”
“I’d like that,” she nodded, touched by the tenderness within him.
John got out of the water again – and this time she accepted his help climbing up the ladder. Putting her feet on the metal rungs, she started to slip on the slick flooring of the boat, only to have him catch her.
He pulled her close, gazed downwards, before looking into her eyes.
“I really love this swimsuit…”
“It’s not something I would normally wear – except for you.”
“I’m the only one you should ever wear it around,” he said gruffly, frowning. “I don’t want other men gawking at my wife…”
“Is it getting easier to say?” she teased gently.
“Much,” he quipped and frowned again. “I’m serious. Please don’t wear that bikini around anyone else but me. All this beauty is for me alone…”
