Page 55 of Reckless Forever
Because I knew this handwriting. I would know it in this lifetime and in the next. It was my father’s.
I had a box of these at home. I read them so much that I almost memorized them down to the pen stroke. He had written to me almost weekly when he had to leave. They were the only reason I wanted to go back to Bolivia; they were the only tangible thing of his I had left, aside from a few faded photos.
Once I could finally breathe again, I blinked back tears and read the letter. My hands trembled as my eyes darted over the words, and it was like I could hear his familiar voice saying each one on the paper as I read them. When I finished, I stared atJudah, my eyes wide, my chest heaving. The proposal. Not only was it a promise to me, but to my father.
“So, Padrino’s still alive?”
“Yeah.” Judah’s answer was short as he leaned in to kiss my forehead, stroking my hair.
“He wants to talk to you.”
I fumbled for my phone, adrenaline through the roof as I dialed with shaking fingers, waiting for him to answer. It rang a bit before his face came on the screen.
“I thought you would miss me.”
Both a cry and a laugh escaped from my throat. “I do. I’m sorry I caused this trouble,” I apologized, full of guilt.
“Don’t be,” he said firmly.
“Now show me how that ring looks on you.” His tone changed to light and playful.
I grinned through my tears, angling the phone so he could see the diamond sparkling against my hand. I lifted it to my cheek, the light from the truck hitting the gem just right.
“Perfect,” Padrino said, pride in his voice.
We talked for a few minutes; it was short but needed. I promised I would come back to visit him, and he made me swear that he’d know the date of the wedding. His insistence made me laugh, but it also made me nervous.
“Padrino said, take care of me, and remember why he calls you the bull,” I said, glancing at Judah.
Judah leaned closer to the phone. “I got you,” he said in Spanish, his tone carrying both respect and finality.
When the call ended, silence fell in the car for a beat. I turned to Judah, overwhelmed with happiness, and cupped his face between my hands. His eyes were dark, but they held me together.
“I love you so much, I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
His lips curved slowly into the version of him that I loved to see, “I love you too, Mrs. Jennings.” He said as he leaned forward and placed a kiss on my lip.
When we pulled up outside the estate, the lights from the towers showed that the ground looked like it had been dug up.
“Baby, what happened?”
“Your crazy ass godfather dropped a fake bomb on all our houses.” He said as he helped me out of the truck.
“Ohhhhh, the inert bombs.” I nodded, knowing exactly the kind he was talking about.
“He can inert me some fucking money for my grass, you tell him that,” he said as I fell over into him in a fit of laughter.
We walked up the stairs and went into our room. I exhaled. The safe house with the kids was no joke; I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed the luxury of complete silence.
“Let’s go bathe,” I said to him as I took his phone from his hand, set it on the dresser, and led him toward the bathroom.
Once we made it inside, I turned on the water, letting the steam fill the room. Then I kneeled down, untied his shoes, and took them off his feet. He stepped out of them, and I placed them back in the room. I took off his shirt, then undid his belt and took off his pants for him.
When I undressed, I led him to the tub. He had this sexy mix of lust and confusion on his face. Then I bathed him, I scrubbed his hands, back, feet, the whole nine.
“A Bolivian tradition after engagement,” I said lowly.
“Shit, we can go get married now,” he suggested as he looked at me with low eyes.
