Her hand curls into my shirt, her palm over my heart. “But I don’t understand. Why are you leaving at all?”
I want to understand, I need to know what’s going through her mind, but at the same time, I know I’ll never let her go.
“Jessica told me what you said.”
“What did I say?” I ask her, wracking my brain, trying to remember anything that I’ve said to Jessica that would upset Mia. I can’t think of anything. I don’t really talk to Jessica a lot.
“You said—” She stops and takes a deep breath. “You said that there was an out... that we wouldn’t be stuck together forever, and I’ve thought about it all afternoon, Mason. It will probably be better if I leave now rather than later.”
I put my finger at her chin and bring her face up to mine. ‘You’re not leaving me, Mia. I won’t let you.”
She wraps her hand around mine. “But it’s for the best in the long run.”
I wrap my hand around her chin. I hate to hear her talk this way. “No, it’s not. I told that to Jessica when I first heard about my mother’s idea of the arranged marriage. That was before my mother talked to you and before I even met you.”
She blinks and opens her mouth to say something, but I put my finger over her lips to stop her. “And now, well now that I have you, that you’re my wife, you’re Mrs. Mason Mistletoe, there’s no way I’d ever let you go. Before I met you, I never believed in forever. I didn’t think I would ever find love like my parents have. But now, fuck, now, Mia, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
Her eyes widen. “So you don’t plan to divorce me once everything is handled with Snow Valley?”
I shake my head sternly. “Nothing matters to me but you, Mia. You’re my life now. Any and everything I do is for you.”
She’s watching me closely, searching my face, and I know she needs to hear the words almost as much as I need to say them. “No, Mia. I’m not divorcing you. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I love you. I know you could do better than me. I know you’re young, beautiful, smart and have your own money. You don’t need me. But I promise you that there is no one that will ever love you more than I do.”
She shakes her head. “But you’re wrong, Mason.”
I look at her questioningly. She holds on to the front of my shirt and pulls me closer so our lips are almost touching. “I do need you. I felt like I couldn’t breathe just thinking about leaving you. I need you, Mason.”
I smile, ready to seal it with a kiss, but she continues. “And more than that, I love you. I knew when I first saw you and the possessive way you looked at me that I loved you. More than anything in this world, I want to be yours.”
I kiss her then. Fiercely, without holding back. She turns in my lap, straddling me. I pull back just enough to pull her nightgown off. “That’s good, honey. Because you’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”
She raises her arms, and I pull the gown over her head. She leans in, pressing her breast against my chest. “I like the sound of that.”
I spend the whole night—the rest of eternity—showing her that I mean it. She’s mine... and I’m hers.
Mia
Later in the night, I’m nestled in Mason’s arms, and I feel so close to him.
I could stay right here, just like this—just the two of us—and know I’ll never want another thing.
Cuddled against him, tracing patterns on his chest, I ask him, “Do you think your family is going to like me?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” he starts.
I gasp and look up into his face, and he’s smiling wickedly at me. “Oh, you,” I say, playfully slapping him on the chest.
Finally he says, “They’ll love you. Not as much as I do, but yeah.”
I wrap my arms around his neck, planting a big kiss on his lips. “I love you, too. Now feed me, Mr. Mistletoe, and then take me back to bed.”
He stands up and holds his hand out. “As you wish, wife.” We go down to the kitchen where we eat, but we don’t make it back to the bedroom before he shows me again just how much he needs me.
Epilogue
Mia
One Year Later
“I can’t believe it’s been this long since I’ve been here. Do you think my parents would be upset with me?” I ask Mason.
He’s holding my hand outside of my parents’ winery and tugs me to a stop. My heart rate speeds up just looking at him. We’ve been married a year, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. Mason has proven over and over that it was definitely fate that brought us together. There is no doubt in my mind that we are soul mates and were made for each other. I know it, and I’m pretty sure he believes it too.