Page 61 of The Cinderella Prince
Tristan blushed, and I tried not to set a precedent by leaping with joy. I failed. I grabbed Tristan’s hand and practically ran to the bedroom. “You didn’t,” I whispered in disbelief as I carefully opened the door. A mixed-breed golden cocker retriever stumbled around our bed.
If any frost had remained in me after the chilly stroll outside, it was gone now. Warmth spilled through me as if my heart couldn’t contain all its blood and all these feelings. They overwhelmed me. I hadn’t had a dog since I was a little boy, and even then, the dogs had been selected and cared for by other people.
“Are you going to kill me?” Tristan asked.
“What?” I heard myself ask, my gaze on the light brown, furry thing making itself comfortable on my pillow. Biscuit barked, then grew alert as if he hadn’t been the one barking, cocked his little head, then made circles around my pillow.
I saw myself moving carefully toward the bed, Tristan trailing after me and kneeling on the edge of the mattress. Ilowered myself carefully and extended my hand far to Biscuit to sniff. His big, black eyes were smart, his fur clean because Tristan had, no doubt, bathed the puppy.
“You impossible thing,” I whispered, not sure who I was talking to. My love. I was speaking to the love of my life. “You incredible thing.”
The puppy sniffed me carefully, then immediately decided we were friends and abandoned his work on my pillow in favor of getting to know me.
Tristan joined me on the bed. “So, you’re not mad?”
Biscuit sniffed my face and licked my cheek, his excitement so typical for a puppy without a care in the world. He quickly became too happy to hold still, welcoming ear scratching and belly tickling. “Mad?” I asked, my throat closing as I felt the oncoming happy tears. “Are you crazy? I’m happier than I can tell you.”
Tristan’s face split with a brilliant grin. “You’re gonna help Biscuit?”
“Oh, my love, I’m going to keep Biscuit. For us.” I teased the puppy thoroughly, then let him get away and catch a break from my fingers. When I looked at Tristan again, his eyes glimmered. “He’s ours, Tris.”
My love bit his lip and leaned in. As he released his lip, his mouth pressed against mine, and we kissed deeply and passionately. An inexhaustible pool of love existed in me. However much I dived through it, exploring its depths, I always knew I was far, far too close to the surface, and there was no end to it, no matter how deep I went.
“I love you,” Tristan said.
“And I love you,” I replied.
As we kissed, Biscuit decided he wanted more scratches.He tucked himself between Tristan and me and got a belly rub of his life.
This was who my love was. He went through life picking up strays, fixing what was broken, and making the world a little better with every new day.
