He tucks a loose hair behind my ear, leaving his fingers threaded through my hair. “I like you jealous,” he murmurs, leaning down until his lips hover over mine.
“It’s a rotten feeling to have, but I’m over it.” I narrow my eyes. “Unless there’s another woman you haven’t mentioned.”
His shakes his head. “No. No other women besides them. There used to be Jenny, but she’s gone.”
Something dark and painful crosses his face. A second later, the look fades away.
“Gone?”
“She died about six months ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
I’m not sorry that Judge had a fourth woman, but for the pain he obviously carries for her death.
He backs me up slowly until my butt hits the counter, and he hoists me up to sit on the edge. I part my legs when he wedges his hips between them. I place my hands on his shoulders, and his go to the counter on either side of me.
With me on the counter, I’m slightly taller than him, so I’m forced to look down.
“I love you.” His whisper is a warm caress against my lips.
“And I love you.”
Leaning up, his lips teasingly brush against mine. My tongue slips out to rub against my bottom lip, and he catches it between his teeth. I moan into his mouth, suddenly ravenous for him. My nails dig into the muscles in his shoulders, and his hips jolt against my center, heating me from the inside out.
He pulls back all too soon, and I barely suppress a whimper at the loss.
“I wanted to wait, to find the perfect time, make it romantic and special, but I don’t want to wait anymore. Twelve years separated us, and I refuse to waste another minute.”
He steps back, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling it back out. My eyes go round at the black velvet box.
“I bought this twelve years ago, knowing I wouldn’t ever be able to give it to you. I bought it because I wanted to give it to you. I kept it because it reminded me of what I could never have. I never thanked God a day in my life until you came back to me. Since then, I’ve thanked him every day and will continue to do so until I draw my last breath.” He opens the box, and I gasp at the beauty of the ring. “I’ll never understand why I was blessed to have met you, and I’ll never be worthy of your love, but I’m greedy and will take it anyway. Ellie, will you marry me?”
I’m off the counter with my arms wrapped around his shoulders and my legs round his waist, burying my face in the crook of his neck.
I lift my head and give my answer against his ear.
“Yes. I’ll marry you.”
He cranes his head back, staring deeply in my eyes. I don’t realize I’m crying until he takes one hand from my butt and wipes the tears away with his thumb.
His smile is radiant and full of life, and I know mine matches it.
It took twelve painful years to finally find each other again, but we did, and what we have now is much stronger than we had before.
Through heartache and distance, we both finally found our peace and happily ever after.
Epilogue
JUDGE
THREE MONTHS LATER
“HOW DOES IT FEEL, MRS. BECKETT?” I ask, looking down at Ellie, my heart so damn full of love.
Her fingers lazily slide through the hair at my neck. “Like I’m finally complete.”
I pull her closer, our bodies pressed together as our hips sway in sync to the slow country song playing on the overhead speaker. Others are on the makeshift dance floor at The Hill, but our little bubble contains only us.