Page 125 of Mercenary

“Dieci. Nove. Otto.” People around us begin to chant. I scan the crowd, wondering what’s keeping Luciana.

“The countdown’s begun,” I say, absentmindedly. Is that what this is? A new year, a fresh start?

“Perfect, because I’m not spending another goddamn day without you.”

An uncontrollable giddiness bubbles up inside me much like the effervescence that tickles your nose when you first sip a glass of Prosecco.

“Sette. Sei.” I feel Declan move before me. But when my focus circles back toward him, I gasp.

He’s on his knees. “I love you,” he says. So serious. So humble.

“Cinque. Quattro. “

“Please, Madelyn.”

“Tre.”

I laugh as he wraps his arm around the back of my knees, forcing my legs to buckle and me to collapse into his waiting arms.

“Be mine.” God, I love how possessive he is.

“Due.”

“Mine isn’t the word I was thinking about,” I say softly, but loud enough, it causes a grin the size of Oklahoma to spread across his handsome face.

“Uno. Felice Anno Nuovo,” the crowd shouts.

“Happy New Year, Declan.” I stare into his brilliant green eyes, overwhelmed by the emotion I see there.

“I love you, cupcake,” he says, before leaning in and kissing away every painful moment, every doubt, every soul within his body count, and replacing it with something no one but an optimist like me could ever see coming.

My hero.

My lover.

My love.

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