Gage’s chuckled was dark. “Oh, baby, you don’t know the half of it.”
“That half of what?”
His hands cradled my face, and his blue eyes bore into mine as he said, “Of just how much I love you.”
And just like that, the world stopped spinning.
Chapter 40
Gage~
Her big brown eyes immediately filled with tears and they escaped beautifully down her perfect face. “Gage…” she mouthed, surprise rendering her speechless.
It’s the first time I’ve ever told her I loved her. It wasn’t a phrase we’d ever used before. But that was because it felt pale in comparison for what I felt for this woman in my arms. I didn’t just love Mystic, my soul was connected to hers.
“It’s true,” I told her. “I love you. I more than love you, but I don’t know what that is. I just know that ten years dimmed nothing. I love you just as much now as I did when I first saw you by your locker. I knew I loved you then. I knew that whatever piece of my soul was missing, it found that piece in you. I’ve always loved you, Mystic. I always will.”
“Always?” she asked through her tears.
“Always,” I confirmed. “I never had a choice. I didn’t have one back then and I don’t have one now.”
“Even after ten year?”
“Baby, the name of my company is Stymic Financial Holdings,” I replied.“StymicFinancial Holdings, Mystic. S-T-Y-M-I-C.”
I watched patiently until realization covered her entire face. “Stymic,” she whispered. “Oh, God, Gage.Mystic.”
“Even through the rage, heartbreak, and resentment, my love for you shined through it all.” The tears came hard now, and Mystic dropped into my chest, her face tucked into my neck, and her shoulders wracking with sobs. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” I told her. “Everything had been drawn up, loans secured, plans in place, the vision was becoming real. The night before we broke ground on our first property, me and Lorcan were drinking, celebrating really, and he asked me if I had decided on a name for my company.” Mystic’s sobs quieted and I knew she didn’t want to miss a word. My arms tightened around her, and she burrowed deeper into my embrace. “I told him I wasn’t sure yet, and then he told me not to think too hard on it. That it should be simple. He said think about what you would call the most important thing in your life. What would you call the one thing that you’ve pour your entire heart and soul into? What would you call the one thing that’s bound to consume you for the rest of your life?”
“Gage…”
“The only thing that came to my mind for every one of his questions was you. Your name was the only thing that popped into my head. If I thought I could get away with it, I would have named my company Mystic Financial Holdings, but instead I rearranged the letters of your name.” I sat her up, so I could look into her tearstained face. “There has never been anything or anyone more important in my life than you, baby. It’s always beenjust you.”
“I love you,” she breathed out and the force of her words felt like a slug to the chest. I’d always thought them pointless because we more than loved each other, but hearing her say the words, I knew I’d been wrong. While they couldn’t accurately convey the true depths of our emotions, they weren’t pointless. “I’ve always loved you, Gage. Iliveto love you.”
“Good,” I replied. “That’s good. Because, baby, I can’t live without you. I did it once, there’s no way in hell I’d survive it a second time. I’ll never let you go, Mystic. Ever. You need to know that. You need to know that marriage, kids, none of that matters. None of that ties us together. Your soul is tied to mine and that’s why I’ll never let you go. My soul only exists if it’s tied to yours.”
The tears began again. “I know,” she whispered. “I know. I’ve known it since I was fourteen-years-old.”
“Marry me, Mystic.” It wasn’t a question. There weren’t any choices left. We didn’t have choices, Mystic and I. “Marry me. Marry me and get off those goddamn birth control pills.”
She let out a small laugh. “All of it right now, huh?”
“All of it and more,” I answered her honestly. “I won’t be satisfied until there’s nothing left for you to give me. But, even then, I’ll still try to take everything you have.”
“What about work?”
“That’s up to you,” I told her. “You can continue to work for CI, or you can quit. You can be a career mom or a stay-at-home Mom or both. I don’t care, baby. As long as you’re happy and it’s me you’re coming home to every night.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted softly. “It’s scary to have everything you’ve ever wanted staring you in the face. It’s almost too good to be true, Gage.”
“Mystic, we’ve paid our due to get here. We spent ten years apart. This isn’t too good to be true. This is our reward. This is our reward for managing these past ten years without each other.”
“Yeah?”
“Marry me,” I repeated.
Her smile lit up her entire face as she nodded down at me. “Yes.”
