A New Beginning

Chapter 26

Shiloh –

I am so stuffed that I might not be of any use to my husband come the end of our wonderful evening. I can't believe what he did for me. He put so much thought and effort into planning all of this just for me and he almost brought me to tears.  He went out of his way to turn the entire area around the gazebo into something right out of a fairy tale and I am the princess to his knight in shining armor.  I have to giggle at that thought for there is no other way I am feeling right now.

From the moment he put the blindfold on me, the night transformed into something right out of my dreams. He walked us to the center of the maze and when the blindfold came off, my heart jumped in my chest with excitement and wonder at the sight laid out before me. All I could do was gasp in surprise and Ori loved every moment of it.  His happiness fed off of every one of my reactions.

The level of thought and care he put into planning this night for me was evident in our surroundings. That he thought to serve all of my favorite dishes from appetizers all the way to desserts warmed me to the core and made me feel like the most important person in his heart. It made my decision to give myself completely to him tonight that much easier.

If anything, my body was ready much sooner than my mind and heart were but that ends tonight. All of me is in now.  I want him in every way and I plan on giving myself in every way to him tonight and while we are away. I want nothing and no one between us. Just me and him!

Conversation was as always, delightful, constant and entertaining. Dealing with the Orion I see before me now is like taking a breath of fresh air. I get to keep the man I have always been with but with an almost brand new personality. I feel like I'm married to another version of him. A better version of himself.  It still fills me with wonder.

Now here we are both of us filled to bursting and leaning back in our chairs. I look over at my man and say in a loving tone, "Thank you so much for doing this. It means the world to me that you put so much thought and effort into this night."

He tentatively asks, "Was I not like that before the accident?" How do I explain the differences in him now without making him feel guilty for something he cannot help.  I go on to say, "To a certain extent, yes and no. Don't get me wrong, I always felt nothing but love from you but now, I just don't feel loved. I feel cherished, treasured and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you in every way."

Oh my God. He's blushing. Orion is downright red cheeked blushing and it has now endeared him to me even more. He quietly states, "You're welcome love but it's not quite over yet." One of my eyebrows lifts in question.  "What do you mean?" "There is one more thing I would like to ask of you." "Anything!"  I say as I smile tenderly at him.

As I'm looking over at the love of my life I notice that he is pretty nervous, almost twitchy and that is not a trait I could have ever associated with Ori in the past or present. "What's wrong?" I ask him with worry in my voice. He looks me straight in the face with determination. He gets up and walks over to my chair on the opposite end of the table and takes a deep breath.

Then he gets down on one knee and I almost lose my own breath trying to control the sudden quickening pace of my pulse. He takes my hand in his and says, "Before you say anything, just let me talk okay baby." I nod my head in agreement as that is only thing I am capable of doing at that moment and that gives him the signal to continue.

"I know that there is this whole other life that we have lived together. From what I can tell, it was a life filled with ups and more recently, downs.  I know that life was lived with a different version of me and I don't really care for that man at all considering all the hurt you endured. But the person I am right now, for me, my life just began a little less than a year ago and it started when I opened my eyes to the sight of you. It means something to me that in both versions of these lives, you have been at the center of both of those worlds.  That regardless of how I was in the past, present or even in our future, my heart always belonged to you my love."

He is shaking. I can feel it in his hands as he holds mine and I want to wrap my arms around him but I don't want to break the mood he's set. "Somehow by the grace of God, I have been given a second chance to love you forever, if you'll but have me that is."  He gives me a look filled with such unconditional love that he brings tears to my eyes.  "I love what we have evolved into but there is just one thing that my old life has that this new one does not."

I give him an inquisitive look and he says, "I want you and I to renew our vows. I want to remember my wedding day with you. I want to have a memory of the day you agreed to become mine and only mine.  I want to be able to feel that you are truly mine because we joined in holy matrimony and I will make a promise to if you agree to marry me, again."

By now there are tears falling quickly down my face as my heart fills with all of the emotions I feel for my soulmate. "I promise to never take you for granted. I promise to love you unconditionally for as long as my heart beats and maybe even longer. I promise to always put you first but most of all, I promise to never forget you ever again."

My body is trembling from the sobs escaping me. He pulls out a small black box from inside his jacket and looks at me with pleading baby blues and asks, "Will you make me the happiest man on the planet? Marry me?"