The Office Summer Picnic (Force Me) (5 page)

Still buried deeply inside her, he took a little black box from his pants pocket and handed it to her. “Marry me, Shenice. Be my wife and stay with me forever.”

She made a little “O” with her mouth, her eyes riveted on the box as she opened it with fingers that visibly trembled. Inside the box was an emerald and platinum ring he’d had designed specifically for her. The emerald large but not ostentatious, with smaller diamonds adorning the band sparingly.

With tears in her eyes, Shenice accepted the ring. “I never thought… I didn’t imagine...”

Alistair’s chest swelled with a mixture of pride--’cause yeah, he’d hit that out of the park--and relief. There was always a chance she could have said no. It would have killed him, but he’d had to take the gamble.

“So, you will be mine, my wife, my lover, and my friend? Forever? Because I am never letting you go, Shenice. I mean it.”

“Yes!” Shenice leapt at him, throwing herself into his arms.  Quickly pulling her into a tight embrace, he just held her close for a while, loving the way she felt against him. God, he had missed this more than anything. “Yes, yes, yes.”

“Good, he murmured against her hair, not ready to let her go. “I was thinking maybe a Fall Office Wedding?”

Not Quite The End