I kiss her again, and this time it's different. Deeper. More intense.
"Should we go to dinner?" she asks breathlessly when we break apart.
"Fuck dinner." I sweep her into my arms, carrying her toward the bedroom. "I'm taking you to bed and worshipping my fiancée properly."
She laughs, arms around my neck. "Your fiancée. God, I love the sound of that."
"Wait until you hear 'my wife.'"
"How long do we have to wait? Can we get married tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? That's ambitious."
"I don't want to wait. I've already waited three years just to kiss you. Don't make me wait longer to marry you."
"When we get home, then. Something simple. Just family and friends. Nothing fancy."
"At the ranch?"
"Where else?"
"On Frank's hill," she says immediately. "Where he proposed to his wife. That's where I want to get married."
"You sure?"
"Positive. It's perfect. We’ll be part of the ranch’s story. Forever."
I carry her into the bedroom and lay her on the bed, looking down at her. My fiancée. Soon to be my wife. The woman who changed everything.
"I love you," I tell her. "More than the ranch. More than my promises. More than anything in this world."
"I love you too." She pulls me down. "Now stop talking and show me how much."
So, I do. I strip off her sundress slowly, kissing every inch of skin I reveal. I worship her curves. Those perfect curves I've loved since the first moment I let myself really see her. I make her come two times before I even think about my own pleasure.
And when I finally slide inside her, she looks up at me with those brown eyes full of love and trust and forever, and I know I'm the luckiest man alive.
We make love as the sun climbs down through the window. As the sounds of Santorini drift up from below. As our future unfolds before us…
Later, when we're tangled together in the sheets, sweaty and satisfied and completely content, Nicole traces patterns on my chest.
"Boone?"
"Mm?"
"Thank you. For saving me. For loving me. For building this life with me."
"Thank you for calling me that night. For giving me a chance. For staying."
"I'll always stay. As long as you're there."
"I'll always be there. Promise."
"No take-backs?"
"No take-backs."
She falls asleep in my arms, and I lie awake for a while longer, thinking about how much can change in two years. How one phone call, one night, one moment of bravery can alter the entire course of your life.
