Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I’m going to rip your clothes off the second we get to the hotel, and in the morning, I have something to show you,” I purred, linking our hands.
“You’re being very secretive,” he chided lightly.
“I know, but trust me…it’s something you need to see, not hear.”
The following day, we drove to our new farmhouse. Frost glistened on the rooftop and on the muddy trench in front of the driveway.
Alistair wrinkled his nose as he shut the door, shaking his head in dismay. “It’s like a bloody moat. You should have warned me to bring my wellies.”
I dug my diva sunglasses from my bag and chuckled. “Tiptoe through the puddles. Come this way.”
He trudged behind me, grumbling without heat about the warm bed we’d left in the city to skulk around a cobweb-ridden farm in winter. I couldn’t blame him. The house was in dire need of a facelift, but it had good bones. I opened the door, put my sunglasses away, and led my husband inside, past the dark kitchen to a narrow doorway.
I knocked on the wainscot-covered wall—once, twice…
“What are you doing? Is there a secret compartment or—”
“Bingo!” The wall gave way to an inner chamber and a steep stairwell.
Alistair gaped. “A wine cellar? This is a nice surprise.”
“It gets better.” I used the flashlight on my phone and slowly navigated the steps. “Be careful. It’s safe but very old.”
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and felt for the string to the lone lightbulb the contractor had rigged down here at my request. The small cave-like area was illuminated, revealing what had once indeed been used as a wine cellar.
“Cool, huh? But look at this.” I fumbled along the wall until I located a niche built into the stone. It was half covered with a piece of wood hanging by one hinge. “This was a vault at one time. A place to store jewelry or precious belongings.”
Alistair opened the makeshift door and studied the collection of old bottles. He picked up what might have been a perfume bottle, turning it slowly in his hands. “These are initials. A and W…like us.”
“Yes, and a heart.” I pointed at the date. “It’s a hundred years old. It’s a treasure. Kind of like the ones you examine from ancient Egypt, right?”
He grinned. “I suppose that’s true.”
“I wonder who this belonged to. Maybe a nice married couple, or maybe two lovers who had to hide their identity. Maybe two men or two women.” I paused for a beat before rummaging in my bag. “It made me think that we should leave our own mark.”
“You’re not proposing to make this into a tomb for us, are you?” he snarked.
“Ha. Ha. Nope. I made this.” I pushed some newer bottles aside to reveal the crude stick figures I’d painted on the stone. Me in a purple coat and a hat and the professor with glasses and a blue sweater.
Alistair threw his head back and laughed. “It’s perfect.”
“A hieroglyph of us. And someday, many thousands of years from now, someone will find it and know we were here. Two guys who met and fell in love and stayed in love forever. Do you think it will last a thousand years?”
“Ten thousand or more. Have I told you I love you today?”
“Yes, but say it again.”
“I love you, Win.”
“I love you too.” I held his face in my hands and kissed him with everything I had. We stared at each other, breathless and starry-eyed. I couldn’t speak for Alistair, but I was a little overcome.
He saw me. He knew me. He loved me for who I was, flaws and all. He showed me his scars, his fears, and invited me into his world…to stay.
He even gave me Paris. In return, I’d give him forever.