Page 85 of The Senator: Raphael

“I’m sorry I gave you all this trouble for nothing,” I blurt out.

He pats my arm and smiles. “Everything happens for a reason. Maybe you walked up this hill to stumble on the church where you’ll one day be married.”

I bark out a half-laugh. “That’s the most elaborate method I’ve ever heard of for finding a wedding venue.”

“Well, at least you’d have a good story to tell your grandchildren,” he says, lacing his arm with mine and guiding me to the small door that leads into the church from behind the altar.

“That’s for sure,” I agree.

We walk into the church, and I feel immediate relief. The sun was roasting me alive, and I didn’t even notice. I take a few step in and have to brace myself against the altar. In the middle of the aisle stands Raphael. I blink a couple of times, sure I’m having a heat stroke and hallucinating.

He takes a step toward me, hesitantly at first. Then another and another until he is a few feet from where I stand. His hair is disheveled, and he has bags under his eyes. He’s wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt outside the house, and this worries me most.

“What? How?” I want to say so many things but nothing intelligent comes out of my mouth.

“I love you,” he blurts out and my heart skips a beat. “I should have told you sooner. I love you and I can’t live without you. I don’t care if it’s here in Los Angeles or anywhere you want to go. The only thing I know is that I want to spend my life with you.”

He doesn’t touch me; he doesn’t come closer. He pours his heart out and waits for me to say something. I feel the lump growing in my throat and the tears pressing at the corner of my eyes. This is what I was waiting for. I was scared to put my heart on the line and be the only one to do it. I was scared I was going to get my heart broken and decided to run away to keep it from happening. But no matter how far I go, my heart without him is destined to be broken. It can’t survive away from him.

“I love you too,” I whisper.

He doesn’t wait for one more word from me. It’s as though this single sentence is everything he needs to hear. He closes the distance and holds me tight.

“Raphael, I’m sweaty, dirty, and I stink.” I giggle, tightening my arms around his waist.

“I don’t care. You could be covered in manure, and I still wouldn’t let go,” he whispers.

“Gross.”

“Don’t run away from me again, please.” He tightens his grip around my body. It’s like he can’t stop holding me, like he’s terrified I’ll disappear again.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper back.

“Good.”

He detaches just enough to grab my face in his hands and kiss me like his life depends on it. He slips his tongue into my mouth and moans at the pleasure of it. He takes my hair in his hand and bites my lips, taking every single breath away from me.

“Oh, come on! You’re in a church, have some respect.” A voice comes from the back of the church.

I just now realize we’re indeed in a church, and we are not alone. Raphael detaches himself with a disappointed groan and I turn to see Father George chuckling and walking toward what looks like a dozen people staring at us.

Matthew, Harrison, Leonard, and Aaron stand with smug smiles on their faces, looking like they knew it all along. Behind them, a bunch of bodyguards that look very relieved at this outcome.

I look down, ashamed that I caused so much trouble. I realize that Raphael was not the only one affected by my disappearance. A lot of people in this church are breathing a sigh of relief, and I didn’t understand just how many people cared about Raphael’s happiness until this moment.

“Let’s go home,” he whispers, pulling me toward the entrance.

Those words never felt so true as in this moment. I feel like I’ve finally found a place in this world where I am safe and loved.

I walk into the bedroom with Silver in my arms, wrapped up in a towel, and I put her on the bed. After coming home from the church, we spent an hour in the shower, washing away the dirt, the sweat, and the fears that covered her body and soul. I found her. I finally brought her back home and my world stopped spinning.

I never thought I’d find someone after Kelsey, but Silver tiptoed into my life and carved out a space for herself. When she left me, I realized how big that space was. Enough to make me miss her desperately and crave her presence.

I lower myself over her body and brush her lips with mine. She smiles and looks up at me, curving her lips just for me. I could spend the rest of my life looking at her like this.

I kiss her again and get lost in the perfection of this moment. I take in her taste, the softness of her skin, the warmth of her body. I commit to memory everything about her because I don’t want to spend a single day in my life forgetting how she feels in my arms.

Her fingers slip down my naked body, from my shoulder to my butt, exploring every muscle and every inch of my skin. She feathers her fingertips across my lower back and a shiver of pleasure runs down my spine.

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