Page 67 of Silverton Shores
Jess melted into him, feeling her heart race with excitement and desire. With him loving her, she felt alive, like nothing was impossible. ‘I love you too.’ She couldn’t resist running her fingers through his shaggy hair. ‘More than words can say.’
Morgan’s eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘Prove it,’ he said, before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.
Jess felt a surge of desire shoot through her as she pressed against him, feeling his hard muscles against her soft curves. She felt so safe and protected, but also wild and uninhibited. Then he pulled back a little, with a mischievous smile that promised precisely what he’d do when he got her behind their closed bedroom door later, leaving her wanting more.
A sound caught their attention, and she turned to see Chiara running towards them, her laughter echoing through the air. Morgan smiled as she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
‘Daddy, Daddy! Look what Nonno gave me!’ she exclaimed, holding up an old horseshoe.
Morgan took it from her, admiring it. ‘This is beautiful, princess.’
‘I want to keep it forever.’ She hugged it to her chest.
‘Then we’ll keep it forever,’ he said. ‘We’ll hang it above your bedroom door, for good luck.’
Chiara beamed up at him, and Jess couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with love. As the three of them settled into the chair, legs and arms tangled around each other’s, she let out a deep sigh of contentment. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow across Savage Acres, illuminating the landscape. Everything they’d ever wanted was right here, at this very moment.
‘I can’t imagine my life without you and Chiara,’ Morgan said softly, squeezing her hand.
‘I feel the same way,’ Jess said, turning to look at him. ‘I never thought I could be this happy.’ Morgan leant in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. ‘I love you,’ he whispered.
‘I love you too,’ Jess replied, resting her head back on his shoulder.
‘Eww, girls and boys kissing each other is waaay gross,’ Chiara said, giggling then leaping off the chair.
Both amused, they watched as Chiara descended the stairs then disappeared around the corner of the homestead, giggling and chasing after Teeny and his bounding offspring.
‘I can’t believe how lucky we are,’ Morgan said, grinning.
I know, right?’ Jess sighed contentedly. ‘I thought I’d lost everything, but now I have everything I’ve ever wanted.’
They sat there for a little while longer, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun on their skin and the sound of the gentle breeze playing with the wind chimes. Life had certainly thrown them curveballs, but they’d faced them together and come out stronger than ever.
‘Jess, I have something for you.’ Morgan stood, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. ‘I’ve been meaning to give it to you for a while, but I wanted to wait for the right moment, and seeing as it’s exactly a year since we started this wonderful journey together, I thought what better time than right now.’
Jess’s heart skipped a beat as he opened the box to reveal a delicate gold ring, with a single diamond twinkling in the last of the sunlight.
‘Oh my gosh, Morgan, it’s beautiful,’ she whispered, tears pricking.
Morgan took the ring out of the box and held it between his fingers, then, dropping to his knee, he looked up at Jess and took her hand in his.
‘Jessica Sabatini, I love you more than anything in this world. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I will continue to love you for the rest of my life. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?’ he asked, his voice brimming with passion.
Jess’s heart felt like it was about to burst as she looked deep into his eyes. It was as if the whole world had faded away, leaving just the two of them in their own little bubble of happiness. ‘Yes, Morgan Savage. Yes, I will marry you!’
With the broadest, most charming of smiles, Morgan slid the ring onto her finger, and it fit perfectly. Then he straightened and, to the ecstatic cheers of Nonno and Chiara, they held each other tightly. And as they embraced, Jess remembered all the moments they’d shared together, all the wild adventures and the passionate nights, all the love and the hurt and the healing. Morgan had always been the man of her dreams, and now he was finally hers, and she was his. Forever. They’d always known they were meant to be together, but this moment made everything feel more real than ever before, like they were truly destined to spend the rest of their lives together.
As she glanced up at him, Morgan wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled. ‘I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, soon-to-be Mrs Savage.’
‘Me too, my wonderful, sexy, amazing man.’ Jess smiled back at him. ‘Jessica Savage, hey, I love the sound of that.’
Although their lives had taken very different paths, they’d inevitably been led back to one another, as if it had always been written in the stars that she and Morgan encouraged Chiara to wish upon. And she often did, with unbridled excitement.
Morgan Savage had been her first love.
Her only love.
And she was going to love him through this lifetime, and into the next.
