Page 154 of Mine to Worship

He shakes his head, the tension leaving his body. “I am sorry. No, fuck, no. And good, because I would never let you go.”

He tears the envelope and scans the page of the divorce settlement. There is nothing to see there, because I didn’t sign them, either.

“Can we tear them to pieces?” Those dimples appear, shy in the middle of his cheeks and he drops on the couch.

I straddle him and hold his face.

“I love you, and one day, there won’t be a flicker of doubt in your heart and what a glorious day it will be. But until then I’ll love you so hard and deep and long, you’ll never remember a time it wasn’t like this. You and I, we are inexorably linked in our souls.”

“If I survive this day without a stroke, it’s a damn miracle.” he chuckles, the sounds laced with dry humor.

“Baby, you have a penchant for misery and self-flagellation.”

He pushes me on the couch and tickles me. With my hands locked around his neck, I say, “I have plans for you, husband.”

“Like what?”

I tap my lower lip, my head tilted to the side, his hands sliding down my arms, his intense eyes boring into mine.

“Hmm, let’s start with this,” I say and pull him down to me, pressing my lips to his.

His mouth nibbles on my neck and halts on my earlobe.

“Marry me.”

“What?” I seek his eyes and he pecks my nose, my eyelids, my cheeks, my lips.

“Marry me. This time for the right reason, just the two of us, a symbolic one, a true one. For our hearts, love, and family. A new beginning this time.”

“Are you getting romantic on me?”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and peers at me from between my breasts. I smile at the dreamy expression coloring his eyes in vivid grays and greens.

“For you, I could become any man as long as it makes you happy and you continue to love me.”

“When you say things like that... How can I say no? One condition, actually two,” I say, playing with his hair.

“Someone learned to negotiate and drive a hard bargain.” He cracks a joke and whispers in my ear, “I am all ears, wife.”

“Ahem.”

“All big ears, so I can hear you better.”

“You didn’t just recite Red Riding Hood?”

I giggle and he slides a finger down my chest and says, “It was intended as a horror story and not the bullshit version it ended up being. More fitting my ass. What was wrong with the original one?”

Utter disbelief colors his face and I purse my lips to hide my amusement.

“Kian! You won’t tell her any horror stories.”

He cocks his head. “What about how she came into the world? Do we tell her the stork brought her?”

He waves a hand through the air, and I tilt my head, staring at him.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask, and he groans.

“Life is not always about the good things and times, and I don’t want her to be some damsel. She’ll know that she is a product of love, and a very pleasant time passing activity adults love to do.”

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