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I rub my eyes, trying to remove the haze of sleep, and I nod. Minutes later we're out the door, his footsteps so hurried that he's practically dragging me along.
"Where are we going?" I ask him as I try to keep up.
"You'll see," he tells me with that gorgeous grin I love so much.
We walk a long ways until we arrive at the overlook that I remember from that first time that we both dared to bare our souls. The view is perfect, just like last time, but I'm distracted by the anxious look on Will's face.
I begin to open my mouth to ask him what's wrong, when he suddenly drops down on one knee, and pulls out a solitary diamond connected to a simple gold band. It's perfect.
"You've opened my eyes to everything I was missing in life. There's no part of you that I don't love. I promise to give you all of me for however long you're willing to give me. I will live in the shadow of your heart if you'll have me. Please, give me your forever," he says to me, tears threatening in his eyes.
Overcome with emotion, all I can do is nod.
"So, you'll marry me?" he whispers, his face alight with excitement.
"Yes, I'll marry you," I finally am able to spit out, blushing for some unknown reason. He's still for a moment before he grabs me and spins me around, laughing with happiness.
"I'm the luckiest damn man in the world!" he yells as he crashes his lips down on mine, leaving me breathless.
Someone passing by in the street yells "Get a room!" and we finally pull apart, both breathing heavily.
"Let's go home?" he asks, and I smile and nod in return. He spends the night worshiping my body over and over again.
Will got his call the next day for France. I was whisked away a day later.
I finally found his grave after two more stops through time. He'd survived the war but died five years after it ended. I cried for what seemed like forever.
Now
As I blurt out my story to him, starting from the very beginning, and trying not to leave anything out; my whole body is tensed waiting for the moment that he decides he's heard enough crazy, and he runs screaming from the room.
I continue to not look at him as I spill my secrets. I tell my story for hours, only stopping long enough to wipe tears from my face as I get to memories so painful that they leave my soul aching from having to talk about them.
Through it all, Liam gives me little indication about what he thinks about everything I'm saying. Although his fingers dig a little harder into my hips, and I can feel his body clench under me whenever I get choked up talking about my past loves, he lets me talk, never interrupting. I can't tell if that's a bad thing or a good thing.
When I finally get to the end, I accept the emotion clamoring for a release. Thick, wet sobs spill out of me. It hurts so much.
"Juliet, can I touch you?" he asks suddenly, not moving while he waits for my response.
I nod, and he lifts me up to face him, tucking me in so that my nose is pressed into his neck.
His whispered words are lost in my hitching breath, and the bouts of crying that come and go until there's nothing left.
Finally, I lift my head, and hesitantly look him in the eye. I gasp when I see nothing but what looks like unconditional love pouring out of them.
"My sweet girl. All I want to do is erase those memories," he says, stroking my cheek softly before giving me a kiss so beautiful that I feel a small crack in my heart heal.
"You believe me?" I ask, tremulously. He smiles and kisses me again.
"All I want to do is wipe away all of your pain and make you happy."
As much as it feels like a betrayal to my past loves, I wish sometimes that I could erase the memories too.
"How are you not running from me right now?" I ask him, my heart heavy in my throat from the idea that he actually believes me.
"Haven't you figured out yet that I have little control when it comes to you, Juliet? From the very beginning I couldn't resist you. You've upended my life in the best possible way. I want to give you the world, and at the same time protect you from the hurt that comes from living in it. When I look at you..."
His thumb and forefinger find my chin, and he tips my head to steady my roving gaze.
