His mouth curled into his classic lazy grin. It was Finn, in the flesh. And he was on a train, filled with more germs than you can imagine.
She pushed away from him. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you wearing a mask?
His grin widened, dimples deepening. The pupils dilated in his crystal blue eyes.
“Because… if I’m wearing a mask, I can’t do this…”
His hands rose to tangle in her hair. His head dipped toward her, his mouth kissing a lazy trail from the top of her forehead, down the side of her face and under the edge of her jaw, setting off a chain of goosebumps that reached all the way to her toes. Playful lips slid over to tease the corner of her mouth. She held her breath as he edged his way to the center of her lips, brushing lightly over the sensitive skin.
Then it was as if he couldn’t hold himself back. His lips took possession of her mouth—demanding, claiming her. Eyes closed, she was back in her dream—weightless, floating through the air, with only his arms to keep her bound to the earth. The galaxy flashed inside her eyes, eclipsing all her senses. Nothing existed but Finn and his kiss.
When she looked up, she saw love written in his gaze, and it brought tears to the surface.
Is it real? Or am I seeing what I want to see?
“Please, don’t cry,” he begged, kissing the tears from her eyes, cinching his arms around her like a prison. “I should’ve told you I loved you, but I was afraid. Tell me I’m not too late. Tell me you still love me. Tell me you still want me.”
“I tried all day to drive you out of my system. It hurt so bad.” She took a shuddery breath. “I’m sorry, Finn. I don’t think I can handle any more pain.”
He covered her face with kisses. “Tell me you love me, and I’ll promise never to do that again. I’ll buy you new diamonds every day, so you’ll know I love you. You’ll never doubt me again.”
“I don’t want diamonds,” she whispered, nothing but air in her voice. “I never wanted anything from you, but you.”
“You have me,” he said, his eyes shimmering with tears. “I’m yours, if you want me. I’m nothing, if you don’t. Please say you’ll marry me. I can’t guarantee many years, but I’ll give you every last second of my life.”
“I can’t believe it’s real.” She tasted her tears in the back of her throat. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and this’ll all be a dream.”
“It is a dream,” he said, dropping to one knee and stretching out his hand, a small black box open on his palm, a gargantuan diamond ring tucked in the velvet folds.
“Cripes! Is that the one? The Avanza? From last night?”
“It is!” His smile split his face. “And the others are in the trash, I think.”
Her heart wrenched in her chest. “But you didn’t need to spend that kind of money on me! I don’t need that. All I want is you.”
“I used to think I would never share my life with someone. That it would be negligent for me to marry.” His mouth flattened into a determined line. “Jerome told me, if you love someone you have to show them what they’re worth. This ring is my way of telling you you’re the most precious thing on this earth. That I want to be with you, even though I won’t have a long life. That it would be irresponsible of me not to marry you.”
“Jerome told you that?” A light wind would’ve knocked her to the ground.
“Never mind Jerome.” Finn took the ring out and tossed the box over his shoulder. Then he lifted her left hand and pressed his lips to the back of it, sliding the ring onto her finger. “This diamond has hundreds of millions of years in it… that’s how long it took to form. And that’s how our life together will be. We’re going to squeeze millions of years into a short time.”
As he rose to his feet, she stared at the ring on her finger. Her heart swelled with his love. But she wasn’t ready to accept his description of their future together. Holding back a sob, she gripped his arm with both hands. “Stop talking like you’re going to die in a few years. Some people with CF live to be in their sixties. Some have made it to seventy.” She stuck out her jaw, swallowing a lump of air. “You don’t have to promise to live that long, but you have to promise to try.”
His hand rose to caress her face, his thumb brushing a tear from her cheek. “I’ll keep living as long as I can. With every fiber of my being, I’ll try.” He kissed her forehead and held her against him, his voice rumbling in her ear. “Until this moment, I’ve never had a reason to try. But now I have you… my reason to live.”
Epilogue
Finn had sweat beading on his forehead, and it wasn’t because of the temperature. In fact, the hospital room was cold. But, trying to comfort his emotional wife was proving to be the challenge of his life.
“Nothing’s happening the way it was supposed to,” she said, in a wobbly voice as she shifted in the hospital bed. “I ruined your birthday.”
“You didn’t ruin it—you’re giving me the best gift ever.”
“This is your big day…” She sniffed. “I had this really great speech ready, all about how you turned thirty-eight and officially beat the odds. And how our next forty years together will be even better than our first five have been.”
“You can give your speech later. I’ll still be thirty-eight a month from now, and we’ll still be married.” He bobbed his eyebrows up and down to tease her. “At least, I hope so.”
Her mouth twitched, like she was holding back a smile.