“Samantha Lynnise Kelley…” he began, his smile growing even wider, “…Say that I can have you forever.”
Tears spilled from my eyes and I decided to let them. If ever there was a reason to cry, it’s the moment the love of your life makes it clear that he’s just as determined to spend his life with you as you are to spend yours with him.
Before a syllable left my mouth, I was nodding my head and pulling him up from his knee to embrace him. With my arms locked around his neck, I gave my answer.
“Yes, AJ….Yes!”
And there it was; after all the heartache, all the loss, and all of the difficult lessons that we learned along the way, the finish line had finally come into view.
AJ released me only long enough to slide the ring on my finger, and then scooped me up into his arms again.
How did I ever manage to find someone so perfect for me?
And how did I manage to think for even a second that I’d make it without him?
AJ stared back at me with the same love and adoration in his eyes that fills my heart every time his name even comes to mind, and then his lips gravitated toward mine. It wasn’t lost on me how lucky I was that our story concluded happily, considering the road we’d traveled. I reveled in the warmth of his embrace and let it finally sink in.
This man was going to be my husband……
Epilogue
The FinalChapter
Two Years Later…
Sam
Maisha leaned across the table to set down a five of diamonds on top of AJ’s four. She and I had been whooping his and Terrell’s butts in spades for the past two hours and they just kept coming back for more. Deanna handed out a round of bottled waters from the fridge before sitting beside Karl on the couch again, smiling at Terrell’s frustrated sigh as he watched me trump his King with an Ace.
AJ leaned back and glared at his partner across the table while Maisha and I pursed our lips to contain our smiles. He and Terrell had been struggling the whole time. Between Terrell reneging twice, to AJ bidding blind-nil in an effort to catch up, only to be set in the third round the last game, Maisha and I may as well have been playing against children.
“Dude…you’re killing me,” AJ said to Terrell under his breath, amused by how badly they were losing.
Terrell shrugged and I covered my mouth with my cards to keep from laughing.
After I laid down yet another Ace, AJ tossed his cards in and decided to put himself and Terrell out of their misery early.
“Alright, I think I’ve had enough of you two ladies’ brutality for one night,” he announced, rubbing his hand down his face. “And I’m sure you’re pretty tired by now, too,” he said to me, making this assumption because, lately, I was always tired. On cue, our son kicked me hard enough that I had to place a hand on my stomach, attempting to rub the tender spot that he’d been pummeling all day.
“Same side?” AJ asked.
I nodded and he gently moved my hand out of the way, replacing it with his own. I rested my head against the back of the chair and took a deep breath while AJ stroked in slow circles.
“Only two more days, hun,” Deanna said consolingly – or at least that’s how she meant for it to be taken. Truthfully, I was scared to death about what was to come. Due to the baby being breech for the past several weeks, my doctor took the initiative to schedule me for a C-section to avoid complications during the delivery. Just thinking about having to cope with major surgery and getting used to being a mother made me terribly nervous.