“I love you, too. I’ve needed you. I missed you so much.”
When he kissed me, I was adrift in a sea of endless bliss. I savored the feel of his lips and his tongue, of his hands on my skin. It was so much better than reliving the memories of kisses past.
He pulled back and looked at me the way my dad looked at Deb. Like I was an unexpected gift or a figment of his imagination too good to be true.
“Every day I have missed you,” he said reverently. “Every hour I have wished you were still mine.”
“I’ve always been yours, Aiden,” I told him. “Even when I didn’t want to admit that to myself.”
“I had to keep telling myself we would find our way back, that history was bound to repeat itself.”
I gave him a coy grin. “I do remember you being a very dedicated,hands onhistory teacher.”
He laughed, leaning his forehead against mine. “If I propose now, will it mess up your big night?” He lifted his head and glanced around the room.
I gripped his chin and forced him to look at me. No one else mattered.
“If you don’t propose now, I might not say yes when you do.”
His angelic face broke into a devilish grin. I watched, awestruck, as he went down on one knee.
I heard the gasps of the people around us but I didn’t care. Cameras flashed and I knew this might overshadow my sculpture in the reviews, knew some might call it a publicity stunt, but I didn’t care about any of that either. My only concern was the man kneeling before me.
My Aiden.
Finally, truly, legally mine.
He presented the open box with the most beautiful sparkling cushion cut diamond I’d ever seen. Simple. Elegant. Perfect.
My tears blurred the scene before me as I nodded adamantly.
He slid the ring on my finger and lifted me off the ground.
Someone hollered out ahell yeah,pretty sure it was Axel.
There was kissing. Lots of kissing.
There was applause. More flashing cameras.
But most importantly, there was us.
Finally where we belonged.
Together.