“I couldn’t warn you while you still had a chance to get away.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Now you’re trapped.”
She laughed while Will reached out and put his hands on her hips, pulling her toward his body. “I don’t mind being trapped by you,” she said.
“Have I told you how much I like this dress?” His fingers caressed the bare skin of her upper back.
Elizabeth edged closer to him, grateful that her sheath dress didn’t restrict her maneuverability. “You might have mentioned it,” she murmured.
“It displays every one of your curves to advantage,” he whispered in her ear as his other hand trailed lightly over her hip. “And….” He swung her into the closet. Her back thumped against some shelves while a broom and a mop crashed to the floor. “You fit in here perfectly. A big, poofy skirt would not serve the purpose nearly as well.”
“I must admit that I did not choose this dress with broom closets in mind.”
“You should have known we would end up here.”
“I should have,” she said with a rueful laugh.
There was a long silence as he kissed her thoroughly, producing a surge of desire Elizabeth could feel all the way down to her t
oes. “What a shame we can’t start the honeymoon right now,” she mumbled.
“Mm-hmm.” He was kissing the sensitive skin under her ear and making her shiver. “We’ll have to return here when we have more time and less…restrictive clothing.”
“Regular broom closet inspections are important.” Elizabeth nodded solemnly. “No detail is too small for the president.”
“Or the first lady,” he replied.
Her eyes widened. “Oh! I guess I am first lady now. That’s going to take some getting used to. I never expected to acquire a staff when I married.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “You’re going to be a great first lady.”
“I just hope I can do justice to your presidency.”
“I’m sure you will.” Careful of her tiara and veil, one of his hands skimmed down her cheek. “I am a lucky, lucky man. I still find it hard to believe you proposed to me.”
She shrugged helplessly. “You weren’t going to do it.”
“I thought you were in Jakarta!” Will exclaimed. Elizabeth gave him an apologetic shrug. “I did fantasize about proposing, though.”
“You did?” Elizabeth hadn’t heard that before. “What would you have said?”
Now both his hands were roving around her back while his eyes remained fixed on hers. “I would have told you I wasn’t surviving very well without you, which was true. And that you were the only person I could imagine spending the rest of my life with, also true. And if I proposed now, would you please wait six years until I was out of office?”
Wow. “I would have said yes.”
His smile lit up his whole face. “Really? Yes to a six-year wait?”
Elizabeth blinked back tears that threatened. “I would have waited forever for you, but I’m very happy I didn’t need to.”
Will leaned in for a kiss. “Me, too, Mrs. Darcy,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m ready for the rest of our lives to begin.”
The End