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“Where are we going to get married?” I ask, leaning over to catch a look at his phone. It’s a whole lot of words filling the screen with firefly display in bold.
Blush runs across his cheeks as he presses his phone to his chest, hiding the information. “Tennessee.”
“’Cause you’re the only ten I see?” I finger gun.
He stares.
I apologize.
Something clicks several seconds after the sorry is out of my mouth. “Oh. Was that a pick up line?”
“A notoriously bad one, yes.”
“If you get cuter, I might have trouble breathing, so I hope you know CPR.”
I forgot I was dealing with a professional. “Do those ever work on girls?”
“I have never done the picking up part.”
My heart sinks. “So…all the relationships you’ve been in…they’ve just been you accepting what others want from you?”
“The physical ones, yeah.”
“That’s heartbreaking.”
“Feeling useful and wanted is a powerful motivation for a lot of things.”
I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “Can I say something cringey?”
“If you’re able.”
“I’m glad you’re mine now. I hope I can make you feel everything you need to be happy.”
Several silent moments pass, then a teardrop hits my arm. I lift my head off his shoulder and find his jaw clenched as a stream cascades down his cheek.
“Ollie, are you okay?”
“Yes.” The word breaks. “You should know that words like ‘okay’ and ‘all right’ essentially equate to maintaining survival, though.”
Well, that’s information that seems to be coming dramatically late. I wipe a tear from his cheek. “After we get married in Tennessee, can we still go somewhere with snow and play in it as arctic foxes?”
“Of course.”
“And then can we go to Faerie and have a romantic tulip dinner to celebrate?”
He smiles, and his cheeks dimple. Positively kissable. “Yes.”
“And then can we stay together, forever and ever, through highs and lows, resting in the knowledge that we’re safe and loved and wanted, no matter what we can or can’t do, no matter how useful or useless?”
Lifting my chin, Ollie touches the chastest kiss to my lips. “If that’s all you want, sunshine, I think I may be able to offer you the world.”
Chapter 30
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beginning of a new life.
The most prominent things I feel are Ollie’s hand in mine, his heat stretching up my fingers, the sturdy hold he has on me, the crunch of twigs underfoot…
