Page 101 of Love Under the Microscope
“I still love you, Zelda. It kind of surprised me since I didn’t think I’d ever find someone to love after losing Aisha, but I do, and I know she’d approve of us. I’m glad about that because I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”
Realizing and saying that must’ve been hard for him. I appreciate his words, and I won’t be jealous of a dead woman. I owe Aisha for helping Jack to become the man he is. “Thank you.”
“There’s one thing you can’t trust me with, though.”
I’m not worried because he’s smiling. And he’s already soothed my biggest concern—his late fiancée. “What’s that?”
“Your heart. I plan to steal it every day.” Jack kisses me. It’s soft and sweet, with a little tongue to add a hint of spice. Exactly how I enjoy being kissed.
“That’s terrible.” I sigh when he pulls away and try not to laugh. I don’t succeed. “The words, not the kiss. You need to practice more.”
“I can work on it. I figured I’d lost my skills. It’s been a while.” He rests his forehead against mine and pulls me closer. “The sentiment’s decent, right?”
“Absolutely.”
He kisses me again, this time for longer, and pulls me against him. This. I could have lost this had I not come to my senses. Had I not taken that leap of faith that he still loved me.
I trace the outline of his square jaw with my finger. So handsome and mine. “Do you want to take a vacation before you look for another job?”
He flinches. “You heard I quit.”
“Your horrible editor told me. I went to the magazine to make sure he wasn’t printing the story he wrote. He told me you no longer worked there.”
“Let me guess,” Jack says with an eye roll. “He told you he fired me.”
“Yes, he did.” I shudder, remembering how uncomfortable I felt during the discussion. “Awful man, but he’s no longer part of our lives. So, what do you think about a vacation?”
“I like the idea. Where and what?”
I shrug. “Days spent by a pool and then an adventure.”
Jack nods. “How do you feel about an adventure that lasts for the rest of our lives?”
My heart jumps, and my stomach flips at the idea. The first thought that crosses my mind? He’s it for me, and I don’t ever want to be with anyone else. For the first time in many years, nothing else seems as important as he is. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good because I want to revel in you and me for as long as I breathe.”
An emotional lump forms in the back of my throat. “Revel?”
“Yes, baby. Revel. Our love is something worthy of revelry, even glory, and I’m being romantic. I’m never romantic.”
I laugh because he’s so wrong. “If you think that, then you have no idea about romance. Romance isn’t flowers or jewels or fancy dinners. It’s being kind and listening, taking care of someone, and telling them they’re beautiful. It’s supporting who they are and not trying to change them. It’s breaking and entering with them. It’s calling your girlfriend … baby.” I breathe him in and gaze into his eyes. “It’s everything you are, Jack. It’s everything you do for me. That’s romance.”
“Wow,” he says softly. “I really am romantic.”
“You really are, and I’m not a big lover normally, but you converted me.”
He licks his bottom lip and then swallows. “You mentioned wanting a family the first time I went to your office. Does that mean you’re up for marriage and babies?”
As long as they’re all as wonderful as you are, Jack. “Definitely.”
“Fantastic.” He runs his finger along my jawline. “You’ll be a wonderful wife and mother.”
I’m not sure if a heart can actually melt, but it feels like mine does and lands in a giant pile of goo at my feet. Still, I’m not sure how to answer in case I say the wrong thing, but when I look at the man I love waiting for me, I know it’s best to be honest.
“I’m ready for anything with you,” I say. “I’m up for it all, especially if we have a long honeymoon with lots of sex. Lots and lots of sex.”
“I can arrange that.” He lands a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. “God, you’re everything to me, Zelda. Never forget that.”
