Page 138 of Scandalous Lover

“Exactly.”

His hands are everywhere, softly tracing my curves and teasing the edges of my shirt and shorts. Just when I think he’s going to use those strong hands to strip me bare however, he drops them to his sides and takes a step back.

“Okay,” he says.

“Okay,” I agree, biting my lower lip. “I’ll lead the way.”

I turn and start down the hall toward the bedroom that used to contain my queen-sized bed and pink loveseat. The room where I first let my crush on this man blossom into something more.

“Naomi.”

Sam’s firm voice stops me, and I turn.

He’s still standing right where I left him, arms dangling at his sides.

As I watch, he drops to one knee.

“What…” The word drifts off as I raise my hand to my mouth in surprise.

“You told me to do exactly what I wanted to that first night we were here. Well, this is what I wanted to do.”

I walk back until I’m standing a foot away from where hestill kneels in the soft carpeting. As I look down into his upturned gaze, I know he’s telling the truth.

“I could not be happier that we get to create this life together. I’ve been dreaming about my soul mate for a long time, Naomi. I’m so grateful that life finally brought us together.”

At his words, I drop my hands from where they’re still clasped over my mouth and allow him to take them in his. “I’m grateful, too. I never imagined this would happen for me. I thought it was too late.”

Sam smiles and heaven and earth move. “The timing could not have been more perfect.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little blue velvet bag, tied at the top with sparkling gold thread. When he pours the ring into his palm, I gasp.

“Is that?” I can’t bring myself to say the words.

“Your mother’s ring. Sure is. Dom gave it to me months ago.”

“I thought he was going to give it to Reina.”

“It was always meant for you.”

I haven’t thought about the thin gold band, with its princess cut solitaire, for many years. It disappeared from our house when Dom did, and I never thought I’d see it again.

“Sam,” I start in a whisper, trailing off when the emotion of the moment threatens to turn my words into sobs.

Sam just takes my hands in his once more, holding me tightly, grounding me back into this moment. “Let me get through this, okay?”

Tears roll down my cheeks even as I nod, a small breathy laugh escaping my lips.

Sam’s eyes well with tears of his own, but his voice is steady as he says the words I’ve dreamed about hearing.

“Naomi, now that I have you, I can’t believe I ever livedwithout you in my life. This ring is a promise that I will show up every day and prove to you how grateful I am that we found each other. That somehow, in this great big world, you and I got to cross paths. That in the grand scheme of the universe and endless time and space, you and I get to exist in this same moment, together.”

His tears are rolling now, but he doesn’t brush them away. “I was going to do this when we got home, after all your stuff was at our house and it was official that your world and my world were combined. But I think you’re right that this is the perfect place. It feels like coming full circle. So, my love, will you make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me?”

I’m nodding before he even finishes speaking. “Yes, Sam. Of course. I love you. I would love to marry you.”

He slides the ring onto my finger and for a moment, I’m transported back to my childhood bedroom, slipping this very ring onto my tiny finger, imagining a life where someone loved me enough to keep me forever.

But I don’t have to imagine anymore.

Because he’s right here.

My vision is a little fuzzy from my tears, but I can see clearly enough to see our bright future reflected in his eyes. It’s deep and blue and black and white with hints of green. Like the cosmos and our island home and the warm feeling of everything I’ve ever needed in life, wrapped around me in an embrace.

The End

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