Page 98 of Naughty November

I hold him tighter and press my face against the crook of his neck. “Is that what you want?”

“Yes.” His reply is breathless. Heartfelt. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

He rubs the heel of his hand in a circle over my back. “You were right all along.”

“That we’re meant to be together?”

“Yes. And my parents were very, very wrong when they said I’d forget all about you.” He puts his fingers beneath my chin and tilts my face up. “I could never forget you, Devin.”

“I don’t suppose you fancy wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt to work today, do you?”

Jools draws his brows together. “Why?”

“Because there’s something I want to write. Here.” I brush my fingers over his inner forearm.

He shivers. “The office is air-conditioned.”

“Is that a ‘yes’?”

“Yes.”

I thread my fingers through his, lead him into the bedroom, and find the orange pen. I cradle his arm reverently as I write slowly and neatly across it. ‘Will you marry me?’

He sucks in a sharp breath. He curls his fingers around the pen and tugs gently.

I allow him to take the pen.

He stares at me for a moment. I hold my breath, awaiting his reply. My pulse is quick. My skin buzzes with the need to know what he’s thinking. “Jools?”

He holds the pen over my heart. “May I?”

He’s never written on me before. “Of course.”

Smiling, he writes a single word across my chest. I can’t see it, but I can feel the strokes of the pen. Three letters. My heart flutters. I say nothing as he manoeuvres us so we’re standing in front of the mirror. He’s written ‘YES’ back to front, so it’s the right way around in the mirror. I let out a whoop, turn, pick him up, and spin him around. He might be taller than me, but he’s lighter.

He wraps his arms around my neck and rests his cheek on my shoulder. “Now I really don’t want to go to work.”

“You have to. Don’t worry, I’ll plan a special celebration for when you get home.”

“I’m looking forward to it already.”

“And I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”