I laughed. "Yes."
"Good, because there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
By the look on his face, I knew that whatever this something was, it was serious, and I leaned forward against the armrest to give him my full attention. Even though he always had my full attention. "Okay."
He reached out, and grabbed my hand, and his hand swallowed mine. "The President's asked if I'd be interested in overseeing the Gaians' assimilation into the global economies."
My heart swelled with pride, though I wasn't the least bit surprised. "Alex, that's a huge honor."
He squeezed my hand. "I know."
"And you would be great at it," I said. "Perfect for it, really, especially since you've spent so much time on both planets."
"That's exactly why he's asked I do this."
I searched his eyes. "But you…haven't accepted it yet?"
His eyes moved over my face. "I plan to. Of course, he thinks it'd be best that I relocate to the East Coast, and being that Washington D.C. isn't too far from Yale—at least closer than if you'd attended a university on this side of the States—I'm all right with it. I'll have to travel a lot initially, but at least you'll be there when I return, and, considering your chosen area of study, maybe they'll even let you come with me sometimes. Assuming you want to."
"But…?" I prompted.
"It's not really a but…at least I hope it isn't." He ran his hands through my hair. "He'd like me to move in a few weeks, which is still months away from when you start at Yale, and I can't handle being away from you that long." He brushed the backs of his fingertips along my jaw. "Which leads me to what I initially wanted to talk to you about."
I waited, lost in his gaze and the feel of his fingers against my skin, and my nerves suddenly started buzzing.
"I wanted to, you know, plan something surprising and romantic," he continued, "but considering the circumstances, I don't think that will work out very well. We're sort of pressed for time." He reached behind him and pulled out a small, black box, which he held in the small space between us.
My heart skipped a beat.
He leaned forward. "Open it," he said against my ear, filling my stomach with butterflies.
My hands trembled as I took the box from him and lifted the lid, and inside was another velvety black case. The kind that usually held a very nice and specific piece of jewelry. I took out the velvety case and lifted the lid on its hinge.
The ring inside took my breath away. It was the vitality stone—the one Alex had given me and I'd worn around my neck, but when I'd woken up without it, I'd assumed I'd lost it during the battle. He must've taken it off me during my stint in the hospital, and then had it fashioned into this gorgeous ring. The red stone sparkled, drawing in the light from the fire and splattering it upon my legs and his arms, and accented around the beautiful red stone were smaller, emerald-cut diamonds, all set in a thin gold band.
"I know it's not traditional," Alex said, brushing the hair back from my neck, tickling my skin. "But none of the diamonds were quite right, and I liked this better."
"Alex, it's…it's…" I could barely speak, too overwhelmed with feeling. I trailed my fingers over the vitality stone, which felt warm to the touch. "I've never seen anything so beautiful."
He smiled. "Here…put it on." His hands slid over mine as he pulled the ring from its sleeve, and then he held my hand as he used his other hand to slide the ring over my ring finger. It fit perfectly.
"You knew my ring size?" I asked. "I don't even know my ring size."
"Ah, well, I took a few of his sizing rings and tried them on you while you were sleeping."
I was too busy staring at the gorgeous ring on my finger to comment.
"So you like it?" he whispered. "You're not disappointed I didn't go with a diamond instead?"
"No, Alex, I love it. Really. It's perfect." I looked up into his eyes.
I didn't need my emotion-sensing ability to sense all the love in his gaze, and it warmed me from head to toe.
"Good." He smiled and then he kissed me, long and hard and deep, and when he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine. "I'm not leaving without you, but you're marrying me first."
I played with a piece of his hair and smiled. "Don't I get a say in this?"
He chuckled, sliding his arms around my waist and pulling me in his lap. "You already said yes. I'm just capitalizing on your answer before you change your mind."
I placed my hands on his face—that perfect, handsome face—and I gazed deeply into his eyes. "Alex, I've never been more certain about anything in my entire life."
His smile brightened his entire face, his eyes slid to my lips, and his mouth followed. And I gave silent thanks to Gaia for giving me my life so that I could spend it with the man I loved more than anything else in both worlds.
If you enjoyed Heir of Pendel, please consider leaving a review HERE. Barbara loves hearing from her readers.
About the Author
Barbara Kloss loves adventures, and finds them through reading, writing, trekking through the wilderness, and gaming—though she doesn’t consider herself a gamer. She just happens to like video games. RPGs, specifically. She’s also a bit of a fitness enthusiast, a classically-trained pianist, and she believes that maintaining balance in life is a good thing (coffee excluded).
Before she opted to write full-time, Barbara worked for years as a clinical laboratory scientist. She was lured there by mental images of colorful bubbling liquids in glass beakers. She was deceived.
She currently lives in Northern California with the man of her dreams and their two boys, whom she fully intends to turn into little adventurers. Author of Gaia’s Secret, The Keeper’s Flame, Breath of Dragons (a 2015 RONE Award finalist), and Heir of Pendel. Stay tuned for more at: www.scribblesnjots.blogspot.com
More Books by the Author
Gaia’s Secret
The Keeper’s Flame
Breath of Dragons
Connect with Barbara Online
Join her exclusive email list
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Acknowledgements
So much goes in to publishing a book, that I often feel like my name should be accompanied by a hundred co-authors. Like my husband, for instance, who lets me talk for hours through plot points and character development, throwing ideas at me (many, of which, I fight at first, then later realize he's right). And then there are all the times he lets me leave for hours while he watches our boys, so that I can get huge, uninterrupted segments of time to focus. Ben, I could not do this without your constant support and encouragement. I love you. Thanks for being my biggest cheerleader (and biggest love – quite literally).
To my alpha reader and greatest friend, Jenny. Thank you for conspiring with me, caring about my characters so much you correct me when "they" get off track. You are the most supportive friend a person could ask for! And thank you for reading so fast, and for all your insight, nursing wisdom, and hilarity as I read through your brilliant comments. I'm truly sorry for the brow.
To Christine, for your constant enthusiasm, swooning, and critiques…you've been with me through every step of this series, from beginning to end!
To Jules, for being too logical and picking out every single snag. And for always catching the passives.
To Anthony, for your support, encouragement, and for giving me new grammar lessons with every book. (I think you're secretly withholding lessons just to perpetuate the cycle.)
To Brea, for having such a deep understanding of my characters and keeping them consistent and real, and always demanding I dig deeper. THANK YOU.
To Kristine, for giving me your honest impressions – I know it's hard! But you have no idea how much they help me.
To my mom, for always listening and always caring, and for never hesitating to tell me when you don't like something I've written.
To Laura, my friend, critique
partner, and brilliant editor. I think you're wired with some internal plot-hole scanner. I know I tell you this all the time, but I really COULD NOT do this without you. You help and encourage me at every single phase of the writing process. You are amazing! Thanks for everything you do.
And last, but definitely not least, I want to thank you. For loving these books and these characters, for your emails and comments and feedback. You have no idea what it means to me, how it encourages me and pushes me forward. Thank you for being the best readers and friends and fans a person could ask for!
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) Page 59