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I wipe the tears from my face as he hugs her to his chest.
He pulls a small, black box from his pocket, holding it out to her. "I got you something to wear to the event."
She smiles up at him, taking the box from his hands. Skipping to her bed, she plops down and opens it, squealing with delight. She pulls out a shiny necklace and clasps it around her neck.
"Look, Mom," she says, leaping off the bed.
Fuck that sounds strange. Mom . . . what the hell was I thinking?
She stands in front of me, tilting her head back. A sterling silver necklace with cursive lettering spells out her name— diamonds adorning the "S" glitter up at me.
"It's beautiful."
"And this is for you," he says holding another box out to me.
"What's this?"
"Just a little something," he says, smirking.
I take the box from his hands, raising my eyebrow. Opening the lid, my heart stutters. A silver bracelet with the words ‘pentru totdeauna’ engraved on the surface lies inside. On the clasp are three, diamond encrusted letters— L, B, and S.
"Blake . . . it's beautiful."
He takes the bracelet from the box and holds it out. I extend my left wrist and he secures it against my skin. It sparkles as the light catches the diamonds.
"Every time you look at this, I want you to remember that I want you and Sorina, forever."
"Pentru totdeauna," I say, smiling up at him.
"Forever sounds good to me," Sorina says, wrapping her arms around both of us.
Blake leans down and kisses her hair, and then my lips.
†††
We spend the rest of the day with Sorina. She's more inquisitive than Blake, just less annoying about it. She bombarded both of us with a million questions. I tried to keep up, and answer everything truthfully, but some subjects are still too touchy for me to discuss in detail.
Surprisingly enough, when I refused to answer certain things, she simply says okay, and moves on to the next question. We got a lot of the rules and expectations down at least. I lie in bed, well past exhaustion, and smile. He's going to be the nicer parent. Go figure, I'm the strict one.
Blake's standing in the door leading to the closet, a towel wrapped around his waist looking like some GQ model. He sifts through his clothes, the muscles in his back rippling from the movement. My belly clenches and I bite my lip.
"Just drop the towel and come to bed. You've been standing there forever," I say in mock irritation.
He looks over his shoulder and smiles. Turning to face me, he lets the towel go and my eyes wander greedily down his body, as I lick my lips. He looks better than brandy to an alcoholic. He saunters over to the bed, his eyes never leaving mine, and lowers himself on top of me, running his nose along my jaw.
"We need to go to bed," I whisper, tilting my head back as he gently nips my neck.
"Then you should let me put clothes on," he says in a husky tone.
"Blake, I like you without them for more than just sex," I say seriously.
He sits back and looks at me, the questions dancing in his eyes.
"You forget you're the first person I've had this with. I really just like the way your skin feels against mine."
His eyes soften and without another word, he sits up, pulling me with him. In one swift movement, he pulls my shirt over my head and twists, lying on the bed with me on his chest. I close my eyes and drift. This is the only place I want to be.
†††