AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I drop to my knees in front of him, moving closer until I rest my hands on his solid chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath. My eyes stare into his, memorizing every freckle, every swirl of color.
“Evelyn Meyer,” he rasps, his hands trembling so much, I’m surprised the ring hasn’t fallen from the box. He pinches it between his fingers and holds it out. “Will you be my light until the day I die? Will you share my life and have adventures with me?” He sucks in a sharp breath and meets my eyes, his coated with tears. “Will you marry me, Goldie?”
“Yes,” I breathe. “Hell, yes.”
My left hand falls between us, and he slips the ring onto my finger. I always assumed it would be heavy, that the commitment would be almost suffocating.
But it’s not.
With Roman, it’s perfect.
I’ve wanted this for so long—for as long as I can remember. And now it’s here and I don’t know what to say, how to act.
“I love you,” is the only thing I can say. So, I say it over and over, until he silences me with a kiss deep enough to make me breathless.
His forehead rests against mine, our eyes shutting as he presses a final, softer kiss to my lips. “I love you, Evelyn Meyer. My golden girl. My sunshine. My Goldie.”
My ring glistens in the sunlight as I tilt it back and forth, waiting for Roman to return from the house. He said he had one more thing he had to do and he wanted to do it alone. I didn’t question him or the time he needed.
This house was just as vital, just as heavy for him as it was for me. I run my fingers over the wooden paneling of our new little boho camper, something we bought together last month after Roman asked me to travel with him.
My lips lift as I remember that day, my heart squeezing.
“It’s over,” I breathe, letting my head fall back against the couch. We just got a call from our lawyer. Everything is done. Mary’s in jail, the evidence was processed, the case is closed and Isaac—Isaac is gone forever. “We’re free.”
“Not yet,” Roman murmurs, stepping into the room. My eyes crack open and I notice he has something behind his back. I look up and watch as a slow smile spreads across his face. “But we will be.”
I lean forward, my brow cocking. “What does that mean?”
He chuckles and pulls the hidden object out from hiding. I laugh when I spot the brown cardboard tube. Ro dangles it in front of my face and I slowly grab it before excitement has me tearing it open.
My eyes immediately cloud over with tears when I unroll the new map, my heart squeezing as I notice how similar it is to my old one. I look up, breathing deeply to control the force of my emotions.
Ro drops to a crouch in front of me and cups my cheek with one hand, brushing my tears away. He holds out his free hand in offering and I open my palm as a single red tack falls from his fingers.
“What do you say, Goldie?” He whispers. “Wanna go on an adventure with me?”
So here we are. He’ll take tattoo jobs as a guest artist and I’ll take pictures. We won’t make much, but for the first time, we’ll live.
Smiling, I watch the front door slowly open, then him stroll out. He flicks his lighter, open, closed. Open, closed.
Then smoke begins billowing from the door, from the kitchen window.
Panic rises in my chest, and I straighten in my seat. I reach for the door handle, but he jogs the rest of the way to me, sliding into the front seat of the van.
“Fire!” I cry, pointing at the house. He gives me a wicked smile and turns toward the long stretch of road in front of us.
“Where to first, Goldie?”
Reaching over, he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the stone. My attention shifts to the house again, finding more smoke flowing from it.
“But—”
He winks, a smile brighter than any one I’ve ever seen gracing his beautiful face, as he pinches the dial between his fingers and turns the radio up. As the van begins to roll away from the smoking house, Here Comes the Sun flows from the speakers.
“Ready for an adventure, Goldie?”
