Page 135 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“How’d you find those?” I gasped. I’d made a special point to hide them both in a box with our wedding photo and I had personally moved them to Nick’s. Then I’d stuffed the box behind a stack of my clothes in the closet.
“I was in the closet, trying to figure out how I could make it bigger.”
My cheeks felt hot. I was embarrassed that he’d found something I had always hidden away.
“I’ve missed this ring for a decade,” he said. “I hated that I didn’t have it to hold when I missed you. That I could still feel it on my finger but when I looked down, it was gone. And I hated that I thought I’d never get it back.”
How many times had I been tempted to donate them to charity? I was so glad that I hadn’t, that I’d kept them all this time and had never given in to the urge to give them away.
“I was going to wait until tomorrow to bring these out, but I can’t,” he said. “It’s been three days since I found them and I feel like they’re burning a hole in my pocket. Emmeline Austin, love of my life, would you do me the great honor of wearing my ring on your finger? Of staying my wife?”
I nodded frantically. “Yes.”
A wide, white smile filled my vision. The golden-brown flecks spread through Nick’s sage-green irises.
“Hi, Wife,” he said as he slid my ring on my finger.
“Hi, Husband,” I said, doing the same for him.
When it was settled against his knuckle, Nick leaned forward and placed a soft, sweet kiss against my lips. Then he raised my hand and kissed my ring finger.
I slipped my hand from his and into his beard, gently stroking his lower lip with my thumb. “I love you, Nick.”
“I love you, Emmy. Always.”
Tears flooded my eyes. The happiest tears of my life.
I hated that Nick and I had missed so much time together but that sting was nearly gone. There was no guarantee that we would have stayed together, that we would have made it. We had both been so young when we’d married. I had been naïve. He had been learning how to put distance between himself and his family. Those nine years had changed us and made us the people we were today.
Who we h
ad become was who we were meant to be, two people who would hold onto one another until the end. Who would savor every moment together. Nick had my heart completely and I had his.
He rolled me onto my back and captured my mouth. Then his hands began wandering. When my body started shivering, I pulled at Nick’s clothes.
“Condom,” he said, breaking our kiss and reaching over to his bag.
“No,” I said, grabbing his hand and bringing it back to me.
I wanted my dreams. I wanted a family with Nick and I didn’t want to wait.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
I nodded.
It didn’t take long before our kissing became frantic. His lips broke from mine so he could peel off my clothes.
“Hurry,” I pleaded. I was soaked and throbbing.
Nick didn’t delay in lining up his cock and thrusting inside. His hips stilled when he was planted deep.
“More,” I pleaded.
“Tell me you love me,” Nick ordered, pressing even deeper so his cock was against my womb.
“I love you.”
“Tell me you want my baby.”
