Page 70 of Spark
I wrap my arms around him and begin swaying to the music. He joins in. We’re way off beat, much slower than the thumping bass, but I don’t care.
Finlay glides his hands up and down my back. The warmth in his smile, the twinkling in his eyes, the security of his embrace, all of it captivates me. He pulls me tighter to him. “This kind of dancing, I could do all night. Just you and me, holding each other like this.”
“I could, too.” Love for this man overwhelms me. I’m so incredibly lucky to have found him, to be with him, and I want to savor this feeling—and this human—for always. Bending my head, I touch my lips to his mouth.
The kiss starts soft and sweet as I try to relay my feelings through it. My hands flex on his back and I inhale Finlay’s scent, the scent that means home, no matter where we are.
He respects me, listens to me,lovesme. A small part of me still has trouble believing this is real.
Finlay edges his tongue along the seam of my lips. I open for him, ready to give him everything, anything, whatever he wants and needs. He takes control of the kiss, taking it deeper and sexier then slower and softer once more. As the music winds around us, the kisses continue, weaving their own pattern, fast and slow, sensual and sweet, like the ebb and flow of the never-ending tides.
Lips tingling, I lean back, breathless, caught up in so many emotions.
Finlay traces his fingertip along the side of my face. "We have a lot to celebrate tonight. I wouldn’t have finished the work on my house so quickly without your help. And the special touches you added are what made the place shine and sell so fast."
"I was happy to help you." I mean every word. Working side by side, we completed the remaining projects on his list, and the experience bonded us. It also showed me that I’ll have a willing assistant for any projects we tackle in my—now, our—home.
"And I’m happy to help you too," he says, drawing me close once more. He’s come to hang out at the club a lot of the nights I’m working and he’s helping me with my loan payments so that I’ll get through them more quickly and have more time for us in the interim.
I know that each act of help from him is an act of love. "Thank you for everything you do for me."
"Back at you, birthday boy." He winks and kisses me. Between his lips and the feel of him in my arms, I float on a cloud of happiness. "I will always support you."
"I know you will." I brush his hair away from his eyes. He’s even come to a few rugby matches, but for the most part, stays away from the field and meets us at the pub post-game. Before every game, I receive a kiss and reminder to take care, and I make sure to text him as soon as the game ends, so he knows I’m safe. "And I will always have your back."
He grins. "Our relationship started out that way, with you catching me as I fell."
"I will keep on catching you… Forever." My pulse quickens as my heart beats faster. Gazing into Finlay’s gorgeous eyes, I let the words I’ve held back fly free. "I want forever with you, Finlay."
He gives me the sweetest smile. "Teo."
Loosening my hold on his back, I slide my hands along his sides until I can grasp his hands in mine. Our fingers intertwine, a perfect fit. "When we were standing in your lab and said we wanted to build a life together, I meant it. But I want everything. To be married, to get to call you my husband, to—"
"Yes, Teo. Yes. Me too." The urgency and passion in Finlay’s voice are matched by the strength of his hands tightening around mine. "There have been a lot of changes for us, but my heart knows what it wants. You, always you, only you."
I squeeze his hands as my heart fills to bursting. "Good."
"In fact…" He tugs his right hand free and then digs into the front pocket of his jeans. "I was going to wait until we were home to do this, but here, where we first met, is perfect."
My nerves sing as my focus narrows to a point that contains Finlay and only Finlay. "Finlay, what’s going on?"
He holds up a ring. The simple band flashes with colors emanating over the dance floor. Purple, red, and blue. And my heartbeat stutters as realization sets in. Stunned, I can only gape at Finlay. At his watery smile and the knowledge that he’s had a ring on him forhours, and I didn’t have a clue. Keeping our other hands locked together, he steps closer to me.
Every cell in my body pulses with the magnitude of this moment. The air stills. My heartbeat is galloping in my chest, pounding like a wild thing.
Finlay, eyes hopeful and fixed on mine, squeezes my hand with shaking fingers. "I’ve never known a love like this. Never known anyone like you. You’re like the other half of my heart, Mateo. Will you marry me?"
Tears prick the backs of my eyes. My throat is thick as I nod, voice hoarse as I say, "Yes."
His smile shimmers like the sun as he slides the ring home. An intricate Celtic knot is etched into the thick silver band. The weight of it on my finger feels right, like it belongs there. And it does.
Just as I belong with Finlay and he belongs with me.
He wraps his arms around me, fierce and strong and secure, and I hold him tight, clasping the best thing that ever happened to me as close to my heart as possible. Our lips find each other once more. The kiss is filled with passion and promise and salt from happy tears.
"Guys," Cam’s voice booms beside us. "You promised thenextsong and that was two songs ago…"
Finlay rubs his lips over mine then raises his head and looks at his brother. "We got a little sidetracked."
