Special Needs

Chapter 63: The Answer

"I mean it, Jules," he whispered as we savored the afterglow. "Marry me?"

An effervescent laugh spilled from deep inside me. "Yes, Harry. Of course I'll marry you."

He fell back into the sheets and expressed an extreme sigh. "I bet I'm the only boy to marry his nanny!"

I shot up and turned to look at him. "What!?" I cackled. "Did you really just say that?"

A mischievous smirk took over his face. "You bet I did."

I climbed over him and started to tickle his sides. He writhed in fake agony, barking out laughter. "Stop! Stop!" He cried and I continued my attack.

Finally I stopped and leaned over to kiss him. "I will be honored to be your wife."

His smile settled into one of perfect contentment. "And I will be honored to have you as my wife." He raised his head to kiss me a bit more deeply. "But Jules?"

"Mmhm."

"I don't want to wait."

I sat up and tilted my head in question.

"I said I wanted to marry you as soon as we escaped. And I still do. I want to marry you now. Today. Or as soon as we can."

I stared at him in awe and considered what he was saying. That meant no big church wedding, no big bash reception, no wedding dress.... And I realized those things didn't matter to me as much as claiming him as my own and giving myself to him completely as his wife, his partner for life. 

"Okay," I grinned. "But my mom has to be here. So we have to find out when she can come back."

He just smiled and nodded, and then he tugged me down to kiss him one more time.

"Harry?" We heard yelling. "Jules?"

"Shit!" I said and jumped off the bed to find my clothes. We got dressed in record time and managed to seat ourselves on the couch and pick up a book before Dad and Clive knocked at the treehouse door.

"Come in," I called and gave Harry a guilty look. God, I hoped they couldn't tell what we'd been doing.

Harry waved his book at me as Dad and Clive entered. I noticed the green cover and grinned widely. It was Matched. I gave him a knowing smile and clutched it to my heart, fully intending to take it with us.

"Wow, this place is fantastic," Dad said and Clive agreed.

"This is only a small part of it," I told him. "There are walkways across the treetops that go for hundreds of yards. It's pretty amazing."

"Looks like it," Dad replied. "At least you guys had some fun out here." Harry and I looked at each other, our eyes wide in disbelief when he continued, "Jules told us about exploring the woods behind the house. I just never imagined how cool it really was."

With a barely audible sigh of relief, Harry and I stood up and I asked, "How is Anne?"

"She's been taking notes," Clive answered. "Trying to figure out who to call first. That woman is..." He shook his head in wonder. "She's amazing. And strong. I can definitely help her, but she's just...amazing," he repeated. "Anyway, we're thinking it's just about time to head out unless you two want to do anything else."

Again, Harry and I exchanged guilty looks. "No, we're good for now," he answered for us.

We made our way back to the car, stopping momentarily to absorb the enormity of the damage from the fire. "You okay?" I asked Harry quietly and his equally quiet, yet somewhat naughty answer was, "I am now." I pushed him playfully and he giggled.