“Alex, is it—”
Just then, the dark-haired woman turns her head and peers over the railing, staring pointedly in our direction. She's smiling. No, beaming.
“They're saying goodbye,” I whisper, as I smooth my thumb over the locket at my throat.
“Goodbye,” Trudy breathes, wrapping her arm around my waist.
The women move onward, but their feet no longer seem to quite touch the ground, and as they rise higher and higher, I notice, amused, that Elizabeth is wearing her showy red boots.
Hmm. I wonder if I could pull off a pair of red boots... I glance down at my feet, at the old, worn boots that have accompanied me to hundreds of dig sites—and to dozens of cots. These boots represent someone I no longer identify with, no longer know. And Cordelia once told me that red is my color...
The ghosts dissipate into the mist, or maybe they become the mist, my mother's water dust. The space they occupied against the sky flickers, for just an instant, with a rainbow.
“Oh...” Trudy regards me with shining violet eyes, her face stained with tears. “They're together. Alex, they're together. They're safe. It's beautiful.”
“You're beautiful.” I press a kiss to her salty-sweet mouth, weaving my arm through the crook of her elbow. We move off of the rocks and ascend the staircase, and with each step, I feel as if I'm sealing a promise. A promise to Trudy—and to myself.
A promise to be brave and vulnerable. To love wildly but softly. To trade my skepticism for possibility, my stubbornness for compromise, my solitude for companionship, my aloofness for love.
With Trudy's warmth by my side, her cotton candy scent tickling my nose, I know that it's a promise I'll never falter on, never, ever break. Not for all the treasure in Egypt.
Cross my heart.
The End
More from Natalie Vivien:
Gillian's Island: Shipwrecked on a deserted island with a gorgeous woman...what could possibly go wrong? A heartwarming, romantic romp.
The Vampire Next Door: (Co-written with author Bridget Essex) Courtney's book store is failing, and she thinks her girlfriend might be cheating on her...Courtney doesn't even think she believes in love...that is, until she meets the vampire next door.
Heart-Shaped Box – Can a chance meeting lead to lasting love? A heartwarming, romantic novella.
The Ghost of a Chance – What if a new woman walked into your life while you were still haunted by the woman you'd lost? A poignant, passionate novel about love, loss and letting go.
French Lessons – Would you have the courage to restart your life—and give love a chance—in a completely foreign country? A novel full of romance and mystery, set in the provincial French countryside.
Drawn to You – Could you learn to love—and trust—again after suffering a painful betrayal? A novel about two women who, after the course of one eventful week, realize they were meant to be together.
Love Stories – Escape for an hour or two in the tender, passionate pages of Love Stories. In her first collection of lesbian romantic short stories, Natalie Vivien offers nine romantic tales of love found and broken hearts mended. Each story features a woman who finds herself altered—and empowered—by love.
The Thousand Mile Love Story – Would you take a thousand mile road trip with your best friends...and the ex who broke your heart? A novel about two women who fall in love all over again, and the funny mishaps a thousand mile road trip can bring.
For the Love of Indiana – It all started with one crazy, disaster-prone dog... A funny, romantic novel about a very bad dog, and the two women he brings together!
Falling for Hope: The Hope Stories Collection – A sweet, romantic series of stories about a group of women who go camping, and the two women who fall in love.
These and more are available now.
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About the Author
Natalie Vivien writes love stories, because she lives a love story that inspires her every day. Together with her wife, author Bridget Essex, for over a decade and married for over eight years, they are madly and passionately in love, and build a good, cozy life together with several fur babies who get away with murder because they're so adorable.
Natalie and Bridget founded Rose and Star Press in 2014, a publisher of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction. Lesbian romance is Natalie's life's work, and she hopes very much that you enjoyed Cross My Heart.
Learn more about Natalie at http://natalievivien.wordpress.com or send her an email at [email protected].
Learn more about Rose and Star Press, publishers of lesbian romance and fiction of distinction, at http:///www.LesbianRomance.org
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