A Love Worth Having

Chapter 17 - Plans

The next morning, Christmas Eve, Saryah unwillingly opened her eyes to the sunlight coming into the room. She hadn’t slept much between her mom being sick most of the night, the worries over Ben’s news, and chatting with her sister and Mike until the wee hours. She rolled over, bumping into a sleeping Ben? When did he move to her room? And more importantly, why?

“Good morning, Gorgeous.” He greeted her without opening her eyes.

“Ben, why are you in my bed?” She whispered in a morning rasp.

“You weren’t sleeping well, and I could hear the tossing and turning from the couch. So, I came in here and you settled down as soon as I snuggled up next to you.” He chuckled at her shocked expression, offering a half-grin, sending a thrilling shiver through her.

“Ben. We’re at my mom’s house.” She said, surprised at his boldness.

“I know. She’s the one who told me to come in here. She was pretty sick last night.”

“She’s one of the reasons I had so much trouble. You were the other one.” She whispered.

“Ya know, woman, you’re under my skin. Right here, in fact.” He pointed to his chest right above his heart. Never bringing his voice above whisper level, he continued. “I promise you right now: I’m coming back! Alive! To you! And we’re getting married as soon as possible afterwards because I can’t see my life any other way than waking up like this. Saryah, I pictured doing this in so many other ways, but this is right – right now. I love you more than life itself.” He smoothed the hair away from her eyes; gently caressing her cheek. “Will you marry me?”

She buried her face in his bare chest, crying. Words wouldn’t form in her mouth, though she was trying to respond. She just couldn’t.

Ben lifted her face to look in her eyes, drying her still-flowing tears with his thumbs. She looked at him. All she saw was pure love. He didn’t love her for just her body, though attraction was certainly there, and he didn’t love her for what she could do for him. He just loved HER … for herself. He’d proposed to her with morning breath and crazy hair, for goodness' sake.

Saryah still couldn’t bring any words to fruition, so she nodded. She looked into his deep brown eyes, catching her breath at the raw emotion emanating from them. If there was ever a love so deep and true on the planet, she didn’t know of it. Lying there, right next to him, her wildest and deepest dreams were coming true.

“Yes.” She finally whispered before plunging into a deep, sensual kiss full of promise. A shadow of longing passed over his face for a brief moment. Saryah knew what he was thinking; she was thinking it, too. “Ben.” She said his name so quietly it was almost as if she’d not spoken, but only breathed his name.

Ben shook his head. “Don’t say anything.” He dove into another kiss, pulling her body up close so there was no space between them, rendering her helpless. His kiss reverberated in her innermost being, all the way to her soul. She felt like she was in heaven in his arms.

# # # # #

An hour later, a knock sounded on the door. “Hey, guys, breakfast is ready.” Maura’s voice said, through the door. “Mike and Sonya are here, too.”

“Okay, Mamma, we’ll be out in a few.” She giggled looking at Ben. “You know she thinks she knows what’s going on in here, right?”

“What she thinks doesn’t matter. We matter. Right here matters. Our forever matters. She will make her mind up about what happened, ask us, or assume. There’s nothing we can do about that. I love you. You are my reason… for coming back, for everything.”