White Ginger

chapter 21



When Amelie woke in the dawn light, she knew she had come home. Vaguely she remembered driving back to her cabin and falling into her bed, only to make love again. Her head rested on Arne’s shoulder, his heart beating strong and slow beneath her cheek. In sleep, his arm lay heavily across her hip, his hand warm on her bare thigh. Such a night of exquisite passion they had shared. Together they had soared to the stars.

As she marveled at the wonder of lying here with him, he opened one eye, then the other. Tenderly, a look of wonder in his eyes, he stroked her hair, her cheek. She turned her head to kiss his palm.

“I love you,” she told him again.

“You are mine,” he whispered into her ear. “A`ohe mea `imi a ka maka.”

“What does that mean?” She kissed his neck, then pulled back to look into his eyes. She doubted she’d ever get enough of looking at him like this.

“It means we belong together. I need nothing more than you. Marry me? Let me love you forever.”

“Yes, with all my heart.” She kissed him as promise of her word then forgot everything as they pleasured one another again.

More than an hour later, they got up to a lazy breakfast. Sitting on her little veranda, she poured milk over her cereal. The use-by date on the container glared at her like a malevolent spell. It couldn’t be right. On legs that barely supported her, she raced to the bedroom to check her diary.

“What’s wrong? For God’s sake, sit down. You’re white.”

“My visa expires in two weeks. I’ll have to leave. When can we be married? I can’t leave you.”

His smile was almost smug as he pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

“How can you sit there so calmly? It’s no laughing matter. We have to arrange blood tests and get a license and I don’t know what else–”

His lips stopped her words, stopped her panic, and the need for him built again.

“But I do. It’s all taken care of.” He twined his fingers in hers and raised her arm, kissing along the soft inner length from her wrist to the faint needle mark at her elbow.

“We’ve had our blood test.” He kissed the needle mark. “While you were in hospital I arranged for them to do both of us.”

He kissed along her upper arm. “Rex has the special license”– he kissed along her collarbone– “and Madeline is flying in from Australia this Thursday so…”

She couldn’t think as his lips trailed up her neck and along her jaw.

“You’ll have to wait until Friday to marry me.” He claimed her mouth with such passion she had no breath to protest. Not that she wanted to.

They were going to be married–in less than a week she would be his forever. Nothing else mattered. “About time, Arne Keloki, because I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

“Do you want to test that?”

Several minutes later, they came up for air. Arne lifted Amelie onto his seat and dropped a light kiss on her nose. “Wait there.”

When he returned from the bedroom, he looked at her with an expression that revealed the depth of his need for her. “I want to do this properly.”

He went down on one knee in front of her and took her hands in his. “Amelie, my love, will you marry me?”

Joy filled her as she contemplated the rest of her life with the man she loved. “Yes please, Arne. I want to be your wife and share all the pleasures of life with you.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out an engagement ring which he slipped onto her third finger.

“It’s beautiful, Arne.” She turned her hand so the ring caught the light. Created with a central sapphire with diamonds either side, it was the color of the sea on a sunlit day.

“It was my mother’s. She never wore it when they went out on the boat. It’s been in her jewelry box since she died.” He caught her left hand in his and kissed her knuckle just above the ring. “I promise to cherish you all the days of our lives.”