A breath I didn’t realize I had been holding releases. She’s willing to go all in. I want to stand up right now and kiss her. I grab the deck. At least I have two pair. I just have to hope she doesn’t have anything on her end.
I put my thumb on top of the card and push it up, then flip it over onto the table.
Holy. Shit.
If I had any doubt about whether or not we were meant to be together, it has been decimated. A five of hearts sits in front of me—a perfect sign of our love.
“What do you have?” I ask as I watch her chew on the inside of her cheek.
Her poker face is back. Then she flips her cards over. “Three of a kind.”
She has two fives, and the last five of hearts is the one to give her this hand. I see the fear in her eyes.
I put her out of her misery and smile. “Straight,” I reply as I show her my hand.
Her lower lip quivers. She bites it to stop it.
“I won. Are you going to honor that bet?” I raise an eyebrow as I stand. “Because I’d really like to claim my prize.”
It takes seconds before I’m standing directly in front of her.
She tilts her head back and looks up at me, green eyes shining. “You really want me? Us? Here with you?”
I lean down, placing a hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table. My face is inches from hers. “I want it more than my next breath.”
Her lips find mine. It feels like something inside of me snaps loose. Her mouth, soft and warm, feels like coming home. I kiss her like I need her to understand how I feel—like I need her to know everything that I haven’t found the words for yet. I kiss her hard and possessive. She matches each stroke of my tongue.
I pull her up and into my arms. Her arms swing around my neck.
“I need you …” she whispers against my mouth.
I pull away an inch. “Like …need me, need me?”
She nods her head quickly. I lift her into my arms and carry her into the bedroom. I lay her down onto the bed slowly. I want to worship every single inch of her tonight.
“Before we go any further,” I mutter over her, “I need to know for sure that this is it. Right? I love you for real. Put aside the bet.”
She looks up at me through her lashes. Her hand reaches up, and her fingers glide through my hair. “I love you, Roman. Everything about you. You’re more than I could have ever dreamed.”
All the money in the world could never match what hearing her say those three words does to me. I would never have thought I could fall so hard, so quickly.
The irony of a man who doesn’t believe in love or forever getting knocked in the face with love at first sight. Because there is nothing that could convince me otherwise now.
My body knew immediately that she was forever. It just took my mind a little time to catch up.
It started out as obsession—sharp, consuming, impossible to get enough. But looking down at her now, being on the receiving end of this affection, I know better.
This isn’t obsession anymore. It’s love. The kind you choose.
And now that I know that love is a choice, I’m going to choose her every morning for the rest of our lives.
THE END
Epilogue
Roman
The early morning sun creeps through the shades I had installed in my room. It’s just a crack of light getting through but it’s directly into my eyes.