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I leaned over to kiss him. “Of course I miss you. I always miss you when you’re gone.”
After Marco returned from an extraction mission with another shoddy stitch job from the medic hired by the corporation, I lost my shit. I’d called Tony and insisted I be included in those missions from then on. Tony warned me that I’d probably have to quit my job at the VNA if he hired me because I would likely be called to leave on very little notice. That was a difficult decision for me to make. I loved the work I did at the clinic. But I loved Marco more. I wanted to be there to take care of him when he needed me. I’m sure there was a part of my brain that believed if I was there, I could magically prevent any harm from coming to him. Magical thinking for the win. So sue me.
As luck would have it, I reconnected with one of my classmates from nursing school who was looking for some work with underserved populations. He had a flexible schedule because he had a private practice, so we made a deal. Whenever I got called away, he would fill in for me. So far, it was working out pretty well. We even got a third person involved who could fill in when he couldn’t. My boss was thrilled.
“Okay, Navy man, show me some constellations.” Marco grabbed the leg of my chair and pulled it closer to his. He put his arm around my shoulders and started pointing out all the constellations visible this far south.
“What about the Southern Cross,” I asked.
“Not from here,” he said. “We’re not far enough south. You have to be at twenty-six degrees latitude or lower, and we’re only at eighteen. And even at twenty-six degrees, you won’t see it year-round. You’d have better luck in the Southern Hemisphere.”
I sighed. “Maybe someday.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he said softly. He stood and held out his hand. “Come on downstairs. I have something to show you.”
I waggled my eyebrows. “Is it you naked?”
Marco chuckled. “It might be if you behave.”
“Pfft. What’s the fun in that?”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, trouble.”
We went down below deck to the luxurious stateroom. I was still trying to figure out how he’d managed to rent such a huge yacht. Then again, Tony had a lot of connections with wealthy people. So did Jeremy, for that matter. I sat on the king-size bed and took off my sandals. Marco was rummaging around in his duffel, looking for clothes, I assumed.
I pulled my shirt over my head, and when I looked up, Marco was standing in front of me with a large envelope. “What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s part of your birthday present. Sort of.”
“Sort of?” Now I was super curious. When I took the envelope from him, I noticed he looked nervous. What the heck was in there that would cause that reaction in him? I opened it and pulled out a sheet of paper with Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve printed on it. A second sheet of paper was a voucher for two for the Summit Experience with an open-ended date. My heart started racing. “What is this? Are you…?” I stopped and swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. I tried again. “Are you going to take me to New Zealand to go stargazing?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. If you want to go.”
I jumped up and threw my arms around his neck. “Of course I want to go!”
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me before leaning back a little to look into my eyes. “I was kinda hoping it could be our honeymoon.”
I blinked. “Our honeymoon?” I repeated. “Is this…are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes?”
I leaned my forehead against his chest and started to laugh. “Oh my God. You are… I don’t even know what to do with you.” I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. “I love you, Marco D’Angelo. Of course I’ll marry you.”
He let out an explosive breath. “Thank God.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you, Liam. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Nothing would make me happier.”
THE END
