Page 42 of Hooked by a Hero (Tales from the Brotherhood #4)

Elias blinked curiously at him and tilted his head slightly in question.

Caspian took a half step back and held up the newspaper he was carrying. There, printed on the front page, were the words “Marriage Amendment Act goes into effect today”.

Elias took the paper from him, his heart beating fast. “It’s really happening?” he asked, tears coming to his eyes.

Caspian nodded, his smile wide and so filled with joy. “It took time, but you Englishmen have finally come to your senses.”

Elias laughed and threw his arms around Caspian again. His heart felt so light, lighter even than when he and Caspian went for their long swims that took them away from land for weeks at a time.

“I cannot believe it,” Elias said, barely able to stand still. “It seems so incredible to me.”

“You must believe it,” Caspian said, pulling away from Elias and reaching for something behind his back.

He immediately dropped to one knee and presented Elias with a ring box that must have been in his pocket.

He opened it to reveal a band with two types of gold twined together in a pattern that resembled waves.

“Elias Bartholomew Pettigrew, will you do me the honor, after one hundred and seventy-seven years of being my one true love, of becoming my husband at last?”

Elias couldn’t help himself. He burst into tears.

Messy tears. They had waited so long, lived through times when people hardly cared whether they loved each other or not and times where they would have been forcibly wrenched from each other and executed if anyone had known.

They’d seen men like them, other members of The Brotherhood and men who hardly knew what to do with themselves get by with silent lives in the shadows or die at the hands of bigots and terrible diseases.

But now, on that glorious morning, Caspian could get down on one knee and the country they had adopted as their own would cheer them on and bless them instead of vilifying them.

“Yes!” Elias gasped as soon as his overwhelming emotions would let him. “Absolutely yes!”

Caspian laughed, then rose and reached for Elias’s hand. He took the ring, discarding the box, and slipped it onto Elias’s finger, then clasped their hands together. “I told you we would be together forever,” he said, then hooked his hand behind Elias’s neck and pulled him close for a kiss.

Together forever. That was exactly what Caspian had always said. Elias had never doubted him for a moment, and he was certain that, come what may, their two hearts would be one for the rest of time.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Elias and Caspian’s story!