Page 74 of Remember Me

Slowly, I do as he asks and face him again. His heated gaze penetrates my depths.

He leans in closer to me, still sweeping the flower across my sensitive flesh in little circles. Figure eights. His head lowers, his lips part, his breath warms mine, my eyelids lower, and then...

A song drifts into my ears. A song that will stay in my heart forever.

Elvis’s “Love Me Tender.”Love me true.The song the Vegas preacher serenaded us with after he married us. At the memory, a rush of emotion wells up inside me. Tears seep from my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Finn asks, brushing the tears away with the flower. They salt the glistening petals.

“This song... it reminds me of my husband.”

Does he remember? Silently, Finn stands up, then helps me to my feet. Facing each other, our hands laced, his soulful gaze burns a hole in my heart.

“It’s special to me too.”

While one of the musicians keeps singing, his baritone voice quite good, the other makes an announcement. “Okay, all you lovebirds, let’s show these youngsters how to really dance.”

One by one, couples of all ages flock to the grassy dance area, all wrapping themselves in each other in a slow, amorous dance. Neither Finn nor I move.

The nostalgic Elvis lyrics tug at my heartstrings. A breath away from Finn, my hands in his, every organ, every cell, every particle of my being quivers with need. I’m about to implode with love waiting for him to say something. Then, finally, he says softly, cupping his hands on my shoulders...

“Scarlet, dance with me.”

CHAPTER 45

Skye

I’ve been to heaven. Literally. At least for a few moments.

Now, I’m literally in heaven again. Heaven on earth.

A beautiful eternity.

As the old rockers croon the song that united us, Finn sways me in his brawny arms. Just like he did twelve years ago in that tacky chapel off the Vegas strip. His arms looped around my waist, mine around his neck, my head resting on his chest. The heat of his taut body radiates through his T-shirt as his heart beats rhythmically in my ear like a muted drum. Over a dozen couples are dancing, but I’m oblivious to all of them. In my fairy-tale world, there’s no one but the two of us.

His lead is strong. Confident. I follow him with ease, knowing just when he’s going to spin me. It’s slow and perfect. I don’t miss a step. Our eyes meet, and as he draws me back into him, we resume our body-to-body position. How I love being in his arms! Holding him tight!

My eyes closed, I soak in the lyrics. When we got married at the Vegas chapel, they were almost a joke. The cynic in me figured the Elvis impersonator preacher sung this song at every wedding ceremony he performed. It was his routine. I was just happy to be married to the man I loved.

But now, they mean something way deeper. The implication of endless love no matter what happens. An undying love that transcends the passage of time.

As the song comes to an end, Finn sings, his husky voice harmonizing with the duo. Oh so tenderly!

“For my darling, I love you . . . ”

And I always will.

***

Finn

I, Finn Hooker, take thee, Skylar Collins, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.

I hold Scarlet closer to me. Feel her heartbeat.

Love doesn’t die.

CHAPTER 46

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