Page 104 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
Instinctively, I took a step back, but he insisted, rubbing his head against my leg. I think it was a sign of peace.
Although I was trembling and still suspicious, I put my hand on his head, stroking his fur.
“Are you worried about Michael?” I asked. “Yeah, I am too. The hearing is only a few weeks away, so we’re going to need to be very supportive of him until then.”
He lifted his head, looking me in the eyes, and I realized that this was the first time in my life that I hadever talked to a dog. Well, I always talked to Waffle, so in the end, I didn't find it that worrying.
“I think we can be friends, don't you? Besides, if I'm a cat's human mother, I can be a house wolf's mother too.”
He tilted his head to the side, as if he understood what I had said.
I smiled. He was a good boy...
“Come on, now let's take a snack to your human upstairs. Come on, follow me. Oh, but make sure you don't bite my ass, okay?”
I picked up the tray that was already ready and lead the way, leaving the kitchen and going up the stairs. Apollo came right behind me, and I confess that from time to time I looked back, just to make sure that I wasn't going to get bitten.
When I entered the room, I thought I would find Michael lying down, but he was sitting at a table, with a laptop open in front of him.
I left the tray on the bed and approached, noticing that he was watching the news about Alice's kidnapping and all the repercussions of the case. I sighed and leaned over his back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek.
“Love, you shouldn't be seeing these things.”
He returned the kiss, soon returning his focus to the screen.
“You should read the comments on these news stories. They're saying horrible things about me.”
“Don't you know the number one rule for maintaining mental health on the internet? Never read the comments. Especially if they're about a news story about you.”
“The case has already become public, Cami. And, unfortunately, public opinion always has its weight in situations like this.”
“You shouldn't. These are people who don't know you, who don't know anything about you.”
“Nobody cares about that, Cami. I'm afraid that everything is now lost.”
“It isn’t. Listen, my grandmother told me that she saw your press conference and that she was very moved. Just wait until all the media outlets broadcast it and you’ll see how many other people will have been moved. There was a lot of truth and feeling in what you said.”
“Speaking of which, —” He swiveled his chair around and pulled me so I was sitting on his lap. “— Thank you so much for today. For everything so far, in fact, but specifically for what you said to the reporters. I liked the way you said our wedding was rushed because our love was too.”
Only then did I realize that we hadn't even said 'I love you' to each other, and how completely irrelevant that was. Because I already felt his love for me, and I knew he felt mine for him too.
“I told the truth, didn't I?”
“The most wholesome truth. You are incredible, Camila.”
“I was thinking... Not that it makes any difference, but... I wanted to tell you, in no uncertain terms, that I love you. I think you already kind of suspect that, but I hadn't said it yet.”
He ran his thumb lightly over my face and took my lips with his. After a slow, lingering kiss, he replied, “I love you too. But I've said that before, although you probably don't remember.”
I raised an eyebrow, not really remembering such a fact. He smiled teasingly and sang the infamous final verse ofEndless Love:
“...'Cause no one can deny... This love I have inside... And I'll give it all to you ... My love...”
Holding back laughter, I sang the next verse, “My love , my love...”
And we concluded together, again in a bizarrely out-of-tune way, “My endless love...”
I started laughing and he joined me. Then I hugged him, burying my head in his shoulder. And we stayed like that, in silence, for a long time.
