Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
He’s panicking.
Just like last night when he burst into my room.
“It’s fine,” I said, deliberately keeping my gaze averted from him.
If I looked at him, the jig would be up, and I wanted to punish him a little for leaving me alone in bed all night.
And, well, putting a bit of fear in him usually worked out in my favour.
“I’m the one who asked for this, right?” My voice was thick as I stood up. “Do you have a pen?”
“A pen? What for?” He froze again. “To sign that? No. Absolutely not.” He reached over the desk and snatched the papers out of my hands.
“Ouch!”
“Fuck.” He ran around the desk and grabbed my hands, turning them over and over until he found the small papercut he’d accidentally given me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Deli. I wasn’t thinking. I—I’m still half asleep. Hold on. Let me get a plaster. I’ll—”
I dipped my head to hide my smile.
He was so cute when he was flustered like this.
“Fred?”
He stilled, his thumb pressing against the spot on my hand where the papercut was stinging. “What is it?”
I looked up at him. “Do you love me?”
He drew in a deep breath and hesitated, but before he could answer, a bright pink flush spread across his face. His eyes widened with a little twitch, and a mix of both panic and relief flashed in the blue depths of his gaze.
My heart skipped inside my chest.
He loves me.
I brought my hand to rest on his flaming cheek and reached onto my tiptoes, bringing my face close to his. “Because I love you, Fred. I’m in love with you.”
His shoulders heaved, and his grip on my hand tightened, but the pain of the sting barely registered as he grabbed the back of my head and kissed me. “Yes,” he whispered against my lips. “I love you, Deli. I’m so in love with you I don’t even know what to do anymore.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and kissed him firmly, leaving no room for air between us whatsoever. He released my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist, and I circled my arms around his neck, pulling myself even closer to him.
A tear squeezed its way out of my eye and trickled down my cheek, and he kissed it away. “Don’t cry,” he murmured against my skin.
“Idiot!” I thumped his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was a coward.” A tiny smile tugged one side of his lips up. “How was I supposed to tell you that you’ve become my very soul?”
His words made my breath hitch, and I buried my face in his chest. “You said it last night, though. You said you love me.”
He briefly stilled. “You heard me?”
I nodded. “I wasn’t quite asleep.”
Fred groaned. “So, your little performance just now…”
“Was your punishment for leaving me alone all night.” I pouted, looking up at him. “You deserved it.”
“You’re so clingy.” He brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “Don’t ever change, Delilah.”
“Answer me one thing first.”
“What is it?”
“What were you doing with those divorce papers?”
He sighed. “Trying to convince you to not leave me. They were going to follow the annulment papers into the fire.”
“The fire you didn’t light,” I pointed out.
“Well, it was one a.m.”
I met his gaze. “Do we need those papers anymore?”
He raised his hands to cup my face and dropped a kiss to my forehead. “Not in a million years, my pretty wife. I’m not letting you go.”
I extracted myself from his arms, grabbed both sets of papers from the desk, and marched them over to the fireplace. I tossed them in the hearth and snatched the matches from the unit next to the fire, then lit three and tossed them onto the papers, one by one.
The papers caught quickly, and I stared into the flames as they licked at the dry paper until every last inch of it was consumed and all that remained of ending this marriage was a pile of hot ashes.
I put the matches back and turned to look at Fred. He dragged his gaze from the fireplace up to meet mine, and I held his look for a moment.
“Well, I suppose that’s that,” he said.
“Now, you can’t divorce me. You’re stuck with me forever.”
His lips pulled up into a smile that lit up his eyes. “I can’t think of anything worse.”
I skipped over to him and jumped. He grabbed me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles at his butt. He gazed up at me as I looked down, and for a moment, I lost track of time as his eyes warmed with love.
“You’re mine,” I whispered.
“I’m yours.” He tilted his lips up to meet mine. “Always. I’ll always be yours.”
I kissed him back fervently. My fingers tangled in his messy hair, and he held me tightly, as if he were afraid that I’d slide right down his body.