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the honeymoon

IF I TOOK every ro, and every movie I’ve ever read, heard, or seen and extracted the breathtakingthem up, they would pale in comparison to this moment

Thison her side facingthe back ofbetween us on the bed Her hair is spread out across the pillow, spilling down her shoulder and across her neck She’s staring at her fingers as they move in circles over my hand I’ve known her almost two years now, and I’ve never seen her this content She’s no longer solely carrying the weight that’s been her life for the last two years, and it shows It’s almost as if the moment we said "I do" yesterday, the hardships and heartaches we faced as individuals were hter and easier to carry From this point on I’ll be able to do that for her Should there be any more burdens I’ll be able to carry theirl since the lances up at hs and buries her face in the pillow

I lean over her and kiss her on the neck "What’s so funny?"

She lifts her face off the pillow--her cheeks a deeper shade of red She shakes her head and laughs "Us," she says "It’s only been twenty-four hours and I’ve already lost count"

I kiss her scarlet cheek and laugh "I’, Lake I’ve had about all the countdowns I can handle for a lifetime" I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her on top of me When she leans in to kiss rab her rubber band, then twist her hair into a knot behind her head and secure it "There," I say, pulling her face back tothe robes, but we haven’t once used thely shirt has been on the floor since I threw it there last night Needless to say, this has been the best twenty-four hours of my life

She kisses down my jaw and traces a trail with her lips up to ry?" she whispers

"Not for food"

She pulls back and grins "We’ve still got another twenty-four hours to go, you know If you want to keep up with y Besides, we somehow htstand, and pulls out the rooers," I say

She rolls her eyes and laughs "You’ll never get over that" She scrolls theit up "What about beef Wellington? I’ve alanted to try that"

"Sounds good," I say, inching closer to her She picks up the phone to dial room service The whole ti her to stifle her laughs as she tries to s up the phone, she slides underneath me and pulls the covers over us

"You have twenty minutes," she whispers "Think you can handle that?"

"I only need ten"

THE BEEF WELLINGTON did not disappoint The only issue now is that we’re too stuffed and too tired to move We’ve turned the TV on for the first time since I walked her over the threshold, so I think it’s safe to say we’re due for at least a two-hour break

Our legs are intertwined and her head is on h her hair with one hand and stroking her wrist with the other So TV have becoether like this

"Will?" She pulls herself up onto her elbow and looks at ?" She runs her hand across my chest, then rests it on top of my heart

"I do about twelve laps a day on the University track, plus one hundred sit-ups twice a day," I say She arches an eyebrow, so I point toabout hs and playfully punchesabout your abs" She leans down and kisses h"

I stroke her cheek and pull her gaze back to hs and drops her elbow and lays her head back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling "Do you ever feel guilty?" she says quietly "For feeling this happy?"

I scoot closer to her and lay uilty This is exactly what they’d want for you"

She looks at me and forces a smile "I know it’s what they’d want forthat happened, I would do it in a heartbeat if itthat would uilty because I"

I press ers to her lips "Shh," I say "Don’t think like that, Lake Don’t think about what ifs" I lean in and kiss her on the forehead "But I do knohat youabout it, though It is what it is"

She takes her hand in s them to her mouth and kisses the back of my hand "My dad would have loved you"