Page 138 of More Than Pen Pals

“I like that, too.” He wraps his free arm around me and pulls me tightly against him.

“So do I,” I say into the mouthpiece. “Very much.”

“Lady Leslie, stop listening in to private conversations,” Diego orders.

“Hey, you’re the one who called me,” I reply.

Ash kisses me quickly while my mouth is in the vicinity of his.

“All right, Ash Hamilton and Lady Leslie Soon-to-Be-Hamilton, I’m here to humbly ask Ash to lead my foundation.”

I press my hand against Ash’s chest. His heart is racing, and he’s looking at me like he wants nothing more than to devour me.

“This seems to be the day for people to be speechless,” Diego says. “Say yes.”

“Yes,” Ash replies. “Yes, I will lead your foundation.” He can’t keep his eyes off me. “Can I call you back later to discuss the details?”

“Call me after today’s game. You have my number. Now hang up the phone and kiss your lady the way you’ve been dying to ever since you walked into that office.”

Ash’s mouth is on me before he gets the phone back on the hook. I help guide it into place, as I have no desire for Diego to hear us. I briefly wonder if Ash locked the door.

“I love you, Lady Leslie Soon-to-Be-Hamilton,” Ash murmurs against my lips.

“And I love you, my much-more-than-pen pal.”

epilogue

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, January 1989

“Good morning, Lady Leslie Finally-Hamilton.” I smile at my wife as she stretches herself awake beside me. “Or should I call you Frank?”

She gives me a lazy smile in return before scooting over in the king-sized bed and kissing me. “You can call me whatever you want for the rest of our lives.”

Then she snuggles up against me and lays her head on my shoulder. “How did I end up so far away from you in the night?”

Although she was barely a foot away—and only because I didn’t want to wake her by pulling her close—I know what she means.

“I have no earthly idea, but you weren’t that far away from meallnight.” I twirl a finger into one of her curls.

She cranes her neck to look up at me with pink cheeks and twinkling eyes. “No, I definitely wasn’t.” She lays her head back down and traces circles on my chest with her fingertip. “What are we going to do today?” Her hand drifts lower.

“If you keep doingthat,we’ll never leave the room.”

I feel her smile against my skin.

“You have a problem with what I’m doing?”

“Not at all. But Diego signed us up for every single activity the resort offers, so we should probably do at least a few of them. You know he’s going to check in to see how many we did and will tease us endlessly if we stay in the room every day and do nothing else.”

Soon after starting work for Diego, I learned he owned a resort near his hometown, and he’s a hands-on owner. He ensures his workers are treated and paid well and there’s no corruption at any level of the organization. He also gave Leslie and me a week in a luxury suite as a wedding gift.

“I don’t care if Diego teases us,” she says. “What does he think people do on their honeymoon?”

“Apparently deep-sea fishing, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, surfing—”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Which are we doing today?”

“I’ve always wanted to try surfing.”

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