Charlotte (Marked Heart #2)

by M. Sembera

  "But that's the gift that keeps on giving," she said with a mischievous smile.

  "Damn it Lotte, I'm trying to have a serious moment with you," he fussed at her with an uncontrollable smile.

  Giving him a wink, Charlotte said, "Hmm, let's see."

  Stepping directly in front of him, she placed her hands on Auggie's shoulders.

  Sliding her hands down his chest, she felt something under his shirt. Nervous and excited she quickly unbuttoned his shirt to find a white bandage taped over the left side of his chest.

  "It's not the prettiest wrapping but what's underneath belongs to you," Auggie shared as she stood there staring at it.

  He flinched a little as she slowly pulled the tape away. In awe of his permanent declaration to her, Charlotte felt like she was falling in love with him all over again. Auggie had marked his heart with a black peacock feather and keeping with tradition, there was a Celtic heart where the eye of the feather would be. The stem was her name and on the left side of the heart from the top all the way down there was a thin strip missing from it, signifying the scar on her lips.

  Wishing it wasn't brand new so she could touch it, Charlotte placed her hand on the center of his chest, holding his shirt away from his tattoo with the other.

  "There's no way for me to top that."

  Auggie gently kissed her before running the tip of his finger across her ring finger as he suggested, "You can always get an A right here."

  With a laugh she assured, "Yea, I don't think so," before kissing him.

  Reaching into his back pocket, Auggie informed, "I guess I'll give you this instead," handing her a small black box.

  Holding her breath Charlotte slowly opened the box. Inside was a princess cut peacock blue diamond engagement ring. A slow smile spread across her face as Auggie went down on one knee in front of her. Taking the box out of her hand, he pulled out the ring.

  "Charlotte Persephone Roberts, you are worth more than I will ever have to offer but if you marry me, I swear I'll do everything possible to be worthy of you."

  Nodding as Auggie slid the engagement ring onto her finger, she breathed, "Kiss me."

  Auggie was on his feet with Charlotte in his arms in an instant. Kissing the woman he loved, just like he was going to for the rest of their life together.

  Acknowledgments

  As always, thank you to my family for continuing to put up with my craziness on a daily basis.

  Thank you to my readers! Without y'all my characters would never see the light of day.

  All the INDIE blogger/reviewer/supporters out there, I appreciate everything that you do to keep writers writing.

  Thank you to my editor Margaret Civella, who keeps me from getting all verb-y and has the best editorial comments.

  And very special 'thank you' to my beta readers Susanne Lancello, Nicole Griffin, Kasey Fitzgerald, Lucii Grubb, Katelynn Luna, Addison Kline and Charity Sembera for taking Charlotte with me one step at a time. I am honored to have each of you in my corner, loving my characters.

  Playlist

  Music has a way of inspiring the smallest ideas. It allows me to create an entire scene or chapter from just the right song. For me, music is one of the most important creative tools there is. These are the songs that brought C&A to life.

  Hey Brother-Avicii

  Oh Love-Green Day

  Wake Me Up-Avicii

  Come With me Know-Kongos

  I Don't Love You-My Chemical Romance

  Bartender Song-Rehab

  Stay-Rihanna

  Let Her Go-Passenger

  Special Playlist additions

  Lucii Grubb~This is War-30 Seconds to Mars

  Katelynn Luna~Human-Christina Perri

  Margaret Civella~Glitter in the Air-Pink

  Kasey Fitzgerald~I Chose You-Sarah Bareilles

  Addison Kline~Poison & Wine-The Civil Wars

  Nicole Griffin~ You and Me-Lifehouse

  About the Author

  M. Sembera was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and now lives in Brazoria, Texas with her husband, three kids, three dogs and two cats. After writing her first short story when she was in high school, M. instantly fell in love with writing. However, life sometimes gets in the way of aspirations and it wasn't until years later, when her life calmed down, M. was able to start writing again.

  'For me, each new book I write or character I create feels like the first time and I find myself falling in love with writing all over again'

  Past works include Enduring Everything, 'The Rennillia Series', 'Life with Him: Novelette' & 'Louisiana Spice, Italian Intrigue, and Texas Bull: A Memoir'.

  www.BrokenBirdMedia.com

  Work in Progress