Page 68 of Wanted

A tear fell down my cheek as I answered him. “Yes. Yes, I’llmarry you.” He shot to his feet and crushed me against his body, raining kissesall over my face. Finally, he stepped back, removed the ring from its box andplaced it on my finger.

The sheer size of it made me nervous. How the hell did he expectme to wear something so large on my hand and be confident someone wasn’t goingto bop me over the head and steal it?

“I know it’s overwhelming, but do you like it?” He was stillnervous, and I found it rather endearing. Alek Devera wasn’t a man who showedhis vulnerable side too often, but when he did, my heart ached to love him thatmuch more.

“I love it,” I answered honestly. “But you’re going to have toinsure this bad boy,” I teased. “It’s huge.”

“Already taken care of, sweetheart.”

As we laid in bed, limbs gloriously tangled together, I couldn’thelp but feel truly blessed. I’d found the man of my dreams, and although we’ddefinitely had our ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade a second of it.

Falling asleep that night was different. A peace settled over meI hadn’t even realized was missing. My entire life had been leading up to thatmoment, and the many more to come for us.

He and I.

Lovers and friends.

Soon to be husband and wife.

Epilogue

As I stood hovering over the bathroom sink, I was reminded of thetime I’d anxiously waited to see if my future was going to change or not.

I’d been feeling off the past couple of weeks, exhaustion andnausea being the two main differences. I chalked it up to the long hoursworking at the shop, mixed with the stress of an ever-expanding business. I’dfinally purchased the space next to Full Bloom, growing into a much moreprosperous flower shop.

My cell rang, pulling me from my nervous thoughts. I didn’t wantto move until the results showed on the pregnancy test, but the persistentringing gave me no choice.

Slowly moving toward my bed, I snatched up the phone andanswered. “Hello?”

“Hey, honey. I’m calling to tell you I’m on my way home now. Mymeeting ended earlier than planned. Did you want me to pick you up anything onthe way?”

I wasn’t expecting him for another hour. A sudden wave of nauseawashed over me as he waited for me to answer him. Breathing deeply through mynose, I calmed my stomach enough to speak. “No, I’m okay. But thank you.”

Sensing there might be something wrong, he prodded me for moreinformation. “Are you all right, Sara? You sound as if something is botheringyou.”

He was so attuned to me it was scary. A simple change in my voiceor the slightest look gave away all my secrets, but only to the man who knew mebest.

“I’m fine,” I lied. “I’ll see you soon.”

After ending the call, I headed back toward the bathroom. I stoodon the threshold, not sure if I was ready to check the results yet. Last time,Alexa happened to come home and discovered my panic. She stayed with me thewhole time, offering me her strength as I found out if I was pregnant or not.

Thankfully, I wasn’t.

Standing there all alone, I didn’t know what to make of what Iwas feeling. I wasn’t panicked like I was last time. Not even close. But Iwasn’t sure if I was hopeful, either.

A lot had changed in my life to cause me to reflect on what wasreally important. Family and friends were at the top of my list.

Alek had officially become my family a year before. The questionwas did I want to expand our circle of two? We’d talked about it on a fewoccasions. He never pushed, except when he groaned about still having to wear acondom while having sex with his wife. A simple look from me and he would coverup with no more complaints.

Finally taking a step into the bathroom, I picked up the test andstared at it. Re-reading the directions for the hundredth time, there was nodoubt what the results were.

“Sara?” Alek called out. “Where are you?”

“Up here,” I yelled back. I quickly stashed the test in thevanity drawer. I would tell him about it later, when we had time to reallytalk.

Alek strode in the room and took my breath away, as usual. Dressedin one of his designer suits, he looked beyond handsome. His hair was perfectlystyled in his typical, purposely unruly way. A light stubble caressed his jaw,the look instantly reminding me of how it felt between my thighs earlier thatmorning.

As he stepped closer, I noticed one arm was resting behind hisback. “Hi, beautiful.” He leaned in and gave me a sweet kiss.

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