Page 175 of One More Kiss

I wondered what other secrets he had and asked, “What secrets? We love each other. What else is there?”

The ugly monster was about to take over my thoughts again until he leaned backwards, expelled a breath, and said, “Follow me after boot camp.”

“What?” I asked, searching his eyes for any signs of joking.

I knew he loved me by his admission, but would he wait for me? Three months away from one another was a long time. I wanted this, oh how I wanted him to want me.

“I talked to your dad,” Phoenix revealed, “the day you saw us on the front porch swing. I asked for your hand in marriage. I told him if you accepted, we would get married after boot camp. He agreed as long as you finished school. I want you to know with all of your heart that you’re the girl I love most in the world, and I would wait for you. Will you wait for me?”

This was it. He’d been planning on making me his. All this time, negative thoughts consumed my mind, tried to control me, and make me believe he didn’t care for me. Phoenix stood before me telling me how much he loved me. He wanted us to be together, to be husband and wife. He wanted to hear me say I would wait for him. He wanted to know I felt the exact same and not shatter his heart.

I knew precisely what I wanted but wasn’t one hundred percent sure I wasn’t making the most horrible decision of my life. What was it my grandmother always told me? Oh, yeah, she’d say I only had one life to live and to live it to the fullest. Even though I wasn’t brought up with a golden spoon, I was loved and cared for. Phoenix admitted to providing the same love and care.

I wanted this. I wanted us, the promise of a man who would wait, a husband who loved his wife. So, with two feet firmly planted on the ground, and my hands against the cheeks of Phoenix, I gazed into his eyes.

His pupils seemed to dilate as I spoke the words of my heart. “Yes, I’ll be your wife. Waiting for you won’t take as long as you think when we have our whole lives to make up for the three months we’ll lose. I’ll miss you more than my next breath, but I can confidently say, I love you, and I want you with all my heart.”

He seemed to suck the next breath out of my mouth as he sealed our promise with a kiss. Our offer of love and devotion to one another was just the beginning of a future, I was more than willing to dive into with all that I was.

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