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INAYA

Three Months Later

We dropped off Marius for a playdate with Tatum, although I’m not sure how much babies can play together. Still, I’m excited to see whatever surprise Dante has in store. I would think that his lifetime in stealth mode would make it easier to hide that he was up to something, but it didn’t. I choose, however, to remain in the moment and let the events unfold the way he sees them in his mind.

I look out the car window, noting the beautiful spring day. The sun shines, but a gentle breeze gives the foliage motion and keeps the day from being too hot. We’re traveling north of Andrea’s home, which takes us farther from the water and downtown. My curiosity is high since this is a new part of the city that I haven’t seen. Fields and land tell me this is the more rural part.

Eventually, Dante stops and pulls the car over on the side of the road. He cuts the ignition and pops the trunk. This would have scared me when we first met, but I know better now. The car bounces a little when he closes the trunk. I watch through the passenger mirror as he approaches. Dante still hasn’t cut his hair, and it now brushes his shoulders, which is dangerous for him since I have the propensity to pounce every time he puts it in some sort of bun or ponytail.

I still get so caught up in how good my man looks, I don’t hear anything he says. Dante gives me a patient smile and opens the door for me.

“Follow me , Muneca ,” he repeats.

I take his hand and giddily follow him like we met under normal circumstances and this is our first date.

We walk through the field as I look at all the flowers since I’ve never been anywhere like this before. Dante stops once we’re in a clearing and spreads out a blanket. After a peck to my lips, he guides me to sit on the blanket.

“I’ve always wanted to have a picnic,” I admit as I watch him take things out of the basket.

Once I finally rip my eyes away from him, I realize he has placed me with the field of flowers behind me. All I see is the empty land and blue skies.

“Why aren’t we facing the flowers?” I ask when he finally settles in next to me.

“Because, Preciosa , I want you to look at our land and tell me what type of house you want.”

My mouth drops open when I look at him. “Our land?”

Dante's brown eyes are filled with a warmth that he’s only recently found as he traps my chin in his fingers just before he takes a lingering kiss. He breaks the kiss and laughs when I try to take things further like a horny teenager. He squeezes my thigh affectionately.

“Not yet, Inaya. Let’s plan the house we’re building.”

“All of this land is ours?”

“Yes. Just for our family.”

Family. For the first time in years, that word fills me with love and hope and hearing Dante say it so smoothly like he’s been a family man his entire life just makes me want to attack him with kisses.

Instead, I swivel my head, taking in all the open space. It’s not as much as Andrea’s compound but it ensures that we’ll never have a nearby neighbor.

“I have so many ideas,” I gush. “I love you so much, Dante.”

“I love you, too.”

I’m surprised when he lays his head in my lap instead of reaching for the food. Instinctively, my fingers find his hair. It’s a perfect moment for us filled with hope and peace. I don’t realize I’m humming until I look down to see him smiling up at me. There is something deep in his gaze that I can’t place.

“What’s so amusing?”

Dante sits up and steals yet another kiss from me as his thumb caresses my cheek. I’m all for receiving affection from my husband but this amount is out of character. I don’t have to press because he responds.

“Remember when I was sick on the island?”

I nod. “Of course. It was a scary moment you were so out of it. I was worried because your nightmares weren’t allowing you to rest but then you finally fell into a peaceful sleep.”

“Because of you.” The tenderness in his tone gives me butterflies but I don’t understand. “You mean the drugs.”

“No,” he argues with conviction. “You. I was in the middle of a nightmare but it changed. I ended up in a field filled with flowers. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue and the sun warmed my skin. You called out to me. I followed your voice and found you sitting on a picnic blanket. Your smile outshined the sun and you were wearing a yellow dress.” My eyes start tearing up as he speaks because his insistence for some things wasn’t his usual need to control the details. “I laid my head in your lap and you told me to rest. You played with my hair and started humming.” He shakes his head although he’s smiling. “You symbolized peace. I just really wanted to make that moment more than a dream.”

He cups my face as his thumbs wipe my tears. “And have you?”

“No. It’s better than my dream. You and our son mean so much more than peace. I think I already loved you then but didn’t know how to recognize it.” Dante grabs both of my hands and looks me in my eyes. “ Inaya, will you marry me?”

I laugh at his request. “We’re already married.”

The wind blows some of his hair in his face but it doesn’t distract him from the moment. “I know but you deserve a proposal. You deserve to hear me ask you to be my wife because I love you and not for a legal trick.”

It’s my turn to cup his face. “Thank you. I just want you to know I understand that you would have never married me if you didn’t care.” I push him until he’s lying on the blanket and stretch my body over his. “Yes. I’d marry you a thousand times.”

“I love the sentiment but twice would be more than enough.”

My laughter is drowned out by his kiss. I accept it with everything I have. Our kiss gets a little heated and I want nothing more than to make love to my husband.

“Dante, do you think Andrea would be mad if he had to bail us out?”

I don’t have to explain my question to him since his erection is pressing against my belly while he has a handful of my ass cheek. He nuzzles my neck before responding.

“I think he’d be disappointed in us if we didn’t risk it.”

He rolls us over before I can respond. As my husband makes love to me on the land where we’ll start our future, I can’t help but find peace with the past since it led us to this perfect moment.