Page 125 of Strange Seduction
That got him. I could tell by his shortness of breath and the way he sniffled that he was fighting back tears. “It makes me feel good to hear you say that. I’m proud to have my daughter stand beside you.” His voice thinned.
My belly bubbled a little. “So, it’s a yes?”
“Yes, Theodore. You may marry Carmen.”
I pressed the phone into my chest and fought through the wave of emotions that ran through my body. Still, a small,‘fuck yes’managed to slip out.
“Take care of her out there,” he said when I returned the phone to my ear.
“I will. I promise,” I said.
“Cosas de hombres adultos,”he reminded me.
“Right. Grown men things.”
“Good. I’ll call her next week.” He smiled, and the call ended.
I lingered for a few seconds, staring at the dark city beyond the railing, feeling on top of the fucking world. Marrying Carmen was the number one goal for our relationship, and now, it felt that much closer.
When I went back in, Carmen wasn’t in the living room anymore. I walked to our bedroom to find her sitting up in bed, rubbing one eye.
“Did he hang up?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Aww… I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“He said he’ll call next week.”
“Oh. Well… okay.” She pushed her flyaways from her face. “He sounded like he was in good spirits, though?”
“He did.”
She hummed, quiet for a second. “What did you guys talk about?”
I smirked before pressing a kiss onto her forehead. “Like we said. Grown men things. That’s between me and him.”
She rolled her eyes, stretching back out across the bed. “Whatever. He’ll tell me next week.”
Her ponytail had come undone somewhere in our earlier tossing and tumbling. She reached up and pulled the tie free completely, letting her curls fall. They ran down her back like silk spun in gold, the blonde tips catching the low moonlight.
I moved toward her, settling on the edge of the bed and toying with one of the long coils between my fingers.
“It got so long.”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “I’m thinking of cutting it. The blonde bits anyway. It’s a lot to manage.”
“Don’t.” I looked at her through the low blue shadows. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
I brushed the curl over her shoulder. “I love the blonde, Sweetness. It makes you look like you’re dipped in honey.”
A soft half-smile played on her lips, the kind that curved more on one side. And with the city lights behind her, the moon glowing through the sheer curtains, and all that hair cascading like a waterfall against her deep brown skin—
I was reminded.
There was beauty. And then there was Carmen. The woman was in a league of her own.
