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I’m about to throw back the covers and go in search of him, when he breezes through the slightly ajar patio door clad in only his Calvins with a huge breakfast tray in hand.
When his eyes meet mine, his face lights up with that lopsided grin that makes my heart flip-flop inside my chest. My own face is the mirror image of his, undoubtedly, and I fidget with my bangs nervously, tucking them behind my ears as he approaches the bed, gently setting the tray down at my side.
“I come bearing sustenance for my Sunshine.”
My smile widens when I take in the spread of gallo pinto, fried eggs, platanos maduros—fried and caramelized plantains—and fresh fruit on the tray top.
“Thank you.” My voice comes out in a mere whisper, and my eyes dart to the side, fearful that he can see my misgivings despite his sunny disposition of this morning.
Eventually, I look back at him, a frown marring my face, that sees Alex narrow his eyes before picking the tray back up to set it on the nightstand. He climbs onto the bed, straddling my waist before grasping my wrists to gently but firmly pin me to the bed beneath him.
“Last night was the single most spectacular night of my life, Sunshine. You have brought feelings to life inside of me that I didn’t think I was capable of experiencing…”
He trails off with a small huff, glancing to the side as though unsure of how to continue.
“Alex, I—”
He cuts me off, his eyes swinging back to spear me into silence. “Pleasedon’t doubt that I want this between us. I want you. I wantus. I want this to be a real marriage ineverysense of the word.”
I gasp as my long-buried feelings of hope dare to bloom to life.
He tilts his head to the side in utterly adorable confusion. “Do you not know what you mean to me by now, Reyna DeMarco?”
He slowly moves his face closer to mine with each word he speaks. “I want to see where this goes. I need to know that what you said last night…that youloveme…” He gulps, exhaling heavily as my heart threatens to jump right out of my chest at these words I’d barely hoped todreamof.
His eyes are filled with sincerity that sends a wave of goosebumps traveling the length and breadth of my body. “I need to know that you can love the man behind the mask, Rey. Flaws and all.Everything. I need to know that you won’t leave me. And in order to know that, I want to throw our arrangement away and see what we could have.”
He pauses before dusting his knuckles off the back of my left cheek as our gazes hold. Tears threaten my eyes as a lump in my throat make speech an impossibility.
“Do you think we could try this, Sunshine?”
My eyes flick back and forth between his as my heart palpitates beneath my breast. My love for this man utterly knows no bounds, and I find myself nodding frantically before raising my head to press my lips against his softly.
When I pull back, he smiles.
Lopsidedly, of course, before it turns devilish.
“Just wait until you see the surprise I have planned for today!”
* * *
“Are we thereyet?”
Alex chuckles as he grips my hand tighter. “Almost.”
“You’ve been saying that for the last twenty-five minutes, ever since we passed that sign that was covered, and you made me wearthis!”
I huff a sigh, fixing the accursed blindfold over my eyes with my free hand, when I feel Alex stop suddenly, and I instantly do the same.
“Hold on, Sunshine. We’re here, but I just need to…”
He trails off as he drops my hand, and I reach out, searching blindly for him with both hands. “This isn’t funny, asshole. I’m taking this off right—argh!”
Suddenly, I’m plucked from the earth by a set of strong arms and held against a broad chest in a bridal carry. I don’t need Alex’s unmistakable woodsy scent to fill my nostrils to know that it’s him, and I immediately snuggle deeper into the safety of his embrace.
“You could have done this five minutes ago and saved me from almost stumbling to my death.”
His chest rumbles, and I can’t help a wide grin from splitting my face.
