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“Earth to my son?” My dad called out, bringing me back to the here and now.
“Sorry. Spaced out there for a moment.” I shook my head and tried to tuck away the loose ends of my thoughts.
“What are you going to do, Lucas?” Dad didn’t try to hide his concern.
“I don’t know, Dad,” I said honestly. “I need some time to think about everything.”
“Just make sure that you don’t let six months go by and find yourself standing at the altar, suddenly married and regretting your decision.”
“I won’t.” I did my best to reassure him. Dad, in return, did not look convinced. He’d come close to making that exact mistake, but fortunately Fate intervened at the last second.
“Just make sure you’re certain of your choice. Making promises like this and breaking them denotes a lack of maturity and responsibility,” he chastised tenderly. “You gave your word. If marrying that girl isn’t what you want, it’s better to cut your losses before things get too serious.”
With that, my father clinked my glass with his, offered me a half-hearted congratulations, and left me to go in search of his paramour. I stood staring at him, no doubt pale as a ghost and wondering just what in the hell was I going to do. I’d lost Ariel and now I stood at the crossroads again, forced to make a decision. Did I marry Vanessa and try to be happy with her, or did I cut and run? What was better? Spending my life with someone, rather than the one, or perpetual bachelorhood? At that moment, I didn’t know and there was no way that I could choose. I just hoped the answer would come to me before I ended up with a shitload of regrets.
eight
Lucas
Present Day
Sunlightfilteredintothroughthe window, soaking the room in its golden glow. As I came back to consciousness, I perked up, sensing a warm, familiar body pressed so sweetly against my chest.
“Ariel,” I whispered as I took a moment to gaze at her. Her back faced me and her wild, curly red hair spanned the width of both her pillow and mine. My chest squeezed as memories of last night filled my mind, tugging the corner of my mouth upward with the hint of a smile.
I was happier than I had been in years. How could I not? I woke up with a sleeping angel in my arms. I was meeting the morning the way that I should have met every rise of the sun since I woke up next to her for the first time in Rome: With Ariel in my arms and not a care in the world.
To think that less than twenty-four hours ago, I’d been a miserable sod on the verge of committing myself to a monster. A shiver rippled across my skin, turning it into a field of gooseflesh. My bones went cold as I thought about how close I came to making the biggest mistake of my life.
What would have happened if Ariel hadn’t gotten there until after I’d married Vanessa? What if it had been too late and the “I dos” had already been vowed and the officiant had declared us to be man and wife?
I knew exactly what would happen.
I’d have filed for divorce before the ink our signatures were written had dried and swept Ariel off to some undisclosed place to begin the life we’d long been denied.
“Why is your forehead all crinkled?” Ariel asked sleepily. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t realized that she’d woken up and was now studying me, her own brow furrowed with concern.
“It’s nothing.” I heard myself say.
“Luke, I can see that it is something. Your forehead only crinkles when something’s bothering you or there’s something heavy weighing on you.”
I sighed, one of many as the happiest man on the planet. Despite only knowing each other a week, and despite the two-plus year separation, my angel knew me better than anyone else.
“I was wondering what would have happened if I’d gone through with the wedding, only to find you after it was over.”
Ariel’s mouth tensed as she too realized how close we’d cut it.
“What would have happened?” She turned in my arms to face me. A blissful shiver ran up my spine as she snuggled in close, her warm, naked flesh flush against mine. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her tighter, savoring the soft wisp of her breath and the flutter of her eyelashes softly brushing against my chest.
“This.” I dipped my head down and softly brushed my lips over hers. “I’d have filed for divorce before I swept you up and carried you away.” I kissed her again, longer and lingering this time. “There’s no way that I’d let you slip through my fingers again. I wouldn’t survive losing you twice.”
It was true. My heart couldn’t endure watching her walk away. Just the thought left me aching and breathless, my eyes dewy. Ariel pressed her lips to mine as her little fingers threaded through my hair.
“Don’t let that upset you,” she said between soft, tender kisses. “I’m not going anywhere. Nothing in this world can keep me from you. We’re meant to be together,” she said the words that I’d longed to hear. “Fate brought us together again for a reason. I don’t think she’d be cruel enough to tear us apart again.”
Capturing her mouth like a man possessed, I staked my claim. Showing Fate and all who dared to question that she was mine. Ariel belonged to me just as I belonged to her. We spent the next few hours with our bodies entwined. My tongue flicking her with the grace of a painter elegantly moving across canvas. The two of us moving with a primal rhythm that only we shared. When the morning sun was at its brightest, she rolled over onto her back, fully satiated and made a sudden announcement.
“I’m supposed to go and have lunch with my aunt and my cousin today,” she said sweetly. I watched her wiggle into the mattress. The sheet slipped just so that her breasts were on full display, her hard, pebbled nipples calling out for my tongue.
