Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“Aw, Trev, I want that too.”
He leads the way to the Eiffel Tower and produces tickets for us to go up. I look at him with a questioning gaze. I thought we were saving this for last. We still have a week here.
He leans in to peck my lips. “You’ll understand once we get to the top,” he says against my mouth.
I smile and bounce on my toes beside him. My belly fills with butterflies and my heart feels so full it could burst right from my chest. My anticipation goes through the roof.
I think I hold my breath the entire ride up. When we exit, the wind is a little brisk. Trevor tugs me into his embrace and looks down into my eyes.
“I wanted to save this for last for a reason,” he says.
He reaches into his pocket as a guy with a handful of roses moves closer to us. I take my eyes off Trevor as the guy stops beside us. I bounce my gaze back and forth between them.
“Oh, right, these are for you,” Trev says with a nervous laugh.
He takes the roses from the man and hands them over to me. I take them and bring them to my nose, inhaling deeply. A smile spreads across my face.
“I thought long and hard about this one. We’d get in trouble trying to toss something from up here and I didn’t get the feeling that anything we left would stand the test of time, so I thought we needed to change the rules just this once.
“I took that lock of hair Nanna gave you and had it placed in this locket. You get one half and I get the other.” He holds up the locket for me to see.
“Look, if you open this side, there’s a picture of the three of us and if you open the other side, there’s the lock of hair. I thought… well, I thought we could make a promise to her.
“This doesn’t end here. Pook wanted us to live, love, and be happy. Right here, right now, we should promise her that, and as long as we wear these, she can live through us no matter where in the world we are,” he finishes and swallows, his eyes searching mine.
I cup his face and lift up on my toes to kiss his lips. “Thank you. This is perfect. You’re perfect. I love you so much and I love this. Thank you for being such a good friend to my sister, Trev. She would have loved this.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and tugs me in close. “I’m not done. Pook originally wanted to travel Europe, not just Paris. Not everyone could afford to do a month here, another month there, and then a few weeks somewhere else.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” I say.
“As a compromise, we all decided on Paris, but Pook still talked about hopping over to Italy before we returned home. You know, me, her, and Tom.”
“I had booked the trip to surprise her and Cliff. Especially after she spent the money to help a few book their flights when it looked like they wouldn’t have enough to make it.”
“She did that?”
“Yeah, you know her heart. Some had to work extra hours and save to come along. It was her Christmas gift to get them on the plane. Anyway, I still have these tickets and a romantic trip to Italy on my hands.
“I want to spend the next week with you in Italy. Will you come with me?”
“Are you freaking kidding me? Of course. Besides, wasn’t I told I have to stick to your side?”
He releases a scoff. “Yeah, that was the instruction given.”
He cups my face and brings his lips to mine. He kisses me passionately and groans into my mouth. I wrap my arms around his neck as best I can while holding my roses.
Up here, above it all, I feel like another part of me begins to heal. I’m following my heart and living out an adventure. I get to check off another place for my sis. All while in the arms of the only man I will ever love.
CHAPTER 27
My Juliet
Trevor
We made it to our rental villa in Verona the night before last. The place is much nicer than I thought. It has an old-world charm to it, with upgrades of modern touches that surprisingly complement the space.
As annoyed as I am with Lynn, I can’t help but purse my lips to hold back my grin and laughter. All we’ve done since arriving in Italy has been bicker.
It’s like old times, only now I want to kiss her into submission each time she fusses with me. She’s so darn adorable while she gives me all that attitude. This shouldn’t even be an argument, but I believe we both love goading each other.