Page 106 of Hold On Me

I place a gentle kiss on her nose and whisper, “Done,” as she sinks into my embrace again.

This is what I wanted. Us, together and against the world. And especially against Jenson. She’s not perfect, neither am I. And we’re definitely not perfect together. But I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be. And now I know she will too. She’ll spend her life trying to tighten this hold she has on me. And I’m more than happy to be along for the ride.

Because I’m not letting her go. Ever. Not now I know she loves me. Not now I’ve finally got what I want—someone to save when I can and someone who’ll rescue me right back. Someone who not only has a hold on my heart, but a hold on me, our future and everything in between.

EPILOGUE - BEN

2 YEARS LATER

I slide out of the car, instantly missing the warmth from the heaters, tell the driver I’ll be a few minutes, and jog up the steps to the school. A huge smile breaks out on my face when I spot the name above the door. ‘The Richards’ school. It gets me every time.

Penelope didn’t want the school to be named after her but it was something I wasn’t budging on when I bought it. She was hopping mad when I did that, but after Jameson outed Director Allen and made him a social pariah, it was my duty. The town needed that school.

The whole town was in uproar about Allen’s actions. People protested outside the school, carrying signs demanding his apology and his removal—it was a genius move on Jameson’s part. Parents pulled their children from it in a flood of support for Penelope, and they’d refused to bring them—or their money—back until Allen disappeared. Several of them had even reached out to ask my Little One to teach their kids privately, so it just made sense to invest in the community and restore Penelope’s career along with her dignity.

Although it did stop her from working with me, from seeing her every day. That pissed me off, but it just prompted me to dosomething about it. When I got on one knee and asked her to marry me, it changed everything. She finally saw how serious I was and moved in with me. Now I get to fall asleep and wake up next to her everyday, and being able to call her my wife is the best feeling in the world.

In fact, I’ve been told off numerous times for only introducing her to people as my wife. Apparently she still has a name, but I like the way the words roll off my tongue.My wife.It has a nice ring to it.

But all this reminiscing isn’t why I’m here. Pulling open the door, I call out for Penelope, and instead of getting a reply, I’m met with a floating head poking around the door frame.

“Finally. Where have you been? We need to get going if we’re gonna catch our flight.”

A deep laugh spills from my lips at her exasperation, and I put my hands up in surrender at her responding glare. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. You know we’re flying on a private jet. The plane waits for us.”

“Yes, and so are Mama and Pops.”

I grimace and grab her hand and rush to the door. “Come on, then. We haven’t got a lot of time.”

She pauses as we get to the front door and runs her hand over the framed picture on the wall. Two photos are together under the glass. In one of them, Penelope is about three years old. She’s holding a sign that says ‘when I grow up I want to be a teacher’ and has the biggest smile. The other is her graduation picture. I had them framed for her the day I gave her the school.

“I'm proud of you,Vasilissa mou.” I let my lips fall to her neck and place a gentle kiss on her skin.

She sighs contentedly. “Are you ever going to tell me what that means?”

“You could’ve googled it a million times since I first said it to you.”

She smiles shyly and then tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know, but I wanted to hear it from you. I like it when you say it. I know it’s Greek, obviously, but I didn’t want to read it from a screen.”

“My Queen. That’s what it means.” I place a kiss on her forehead and a crease forms in between her brows.

“Even back then you thought of me like that?”

“Even back then. I’ve told you, you had a hold on me I couldn’t shake.”

She lifts up on her tiptoes and places her lips softly against mine. They fit perfectly, but before I can take the kiss further, she pulls away. “Come on, husband. We need to go.”

With a shiver running through my body, the same reaction I always have at hearing that word—husband—from her, I pull her through the door. After locking and setting the alarm, we both jog down the steps and jump into the waiting car.

“I can’t believe this is happening. I bet Jenson feels so nervous. I feel like I’m gonna throw up and I’m not even playing.”

She wraps her fingers around my hand and peace settles over me. Of course I’m ridiculously nervous, seeing as my team is playing in the Superbowl, but when I’m with my wife she gives me peace.

“He’ll be fine. He’s been ready for this for years. I just hope Angie’s okay.”

“There was no way she was missing this. No matter how pregnant she was. She would’ve crawled there if she’d had to.”

She shakes her head, a small smile dancing on her lips. She loves the idea of being an auntie again. Elsie stole all of our hearts the day Jameson and Jonathan brought her home a year ago, and since then, she’s been our little princess. Being an only child, I never thought I’d get to be an uncle. But hearing her say‘unca’ and putting her chubby little hands on my cheeks makes my heart swell.

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