Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
She pulled him in for another kiss, and he obliged.
“Roman, you know what?”
“What?”
“Trees symbolize so many things. Growth. Endurance. Truth. They are true in all four seasons. They are a tree—yesterday, today, tomorrow—regardless of whether they are dead or alive. There a tree once stood.” She glanced at the very thing behind him—the one that had taught him so many valuable lessons through fear and wisdom. “They are a tree no matter what beetle climbs along their bark, or what bird builds a nest on one of their limbs.
“If they bear fruit or not, they are still a tree. A tree can be turned into paper and pencils and continue to live. Trees are used to create paper money, a thing that is soon becoming part of our past, as we lean more towards plastic and electronic financial dealings. Paper, at one point in time, represented wealth. Greed. Benjamins. Dead presidents. The almighty dollar. Yeah, you definitely became the tree. You became what you loved and what you feared, and it made you stronger. That strength and wisdom wasn’t a magic trick or sleight of hand, either.”
“How’d I get someone so damn perceptive and smart, huh?” She smiled up at him as he began to rock her in his embrace. “How’d I get so lucky? You know four languages. You’re creative. Clever. Hard working. Beautiful face and heart. Fascinating. Nurturing. Your body is ridiculously sexy, and my fuckin’ shrine.” He paused and kissed her forehead. “And no matter what happens in my life, or what I say to you, then stumble over my words, you always find a way to help me and complete my thoughts.”
“And to think all of this time you knew my brother, but not me. I could have been havin’ all this good sex we’re havin’ now years ago.” She smirked. He burst out laughing.
“Yeah, but it’s become quite clear that that was divine intervention. If I had seen you way back then, I would’ve thought you attractive, and probably tried to hit on you or something, and it would have ruined things for the future. I was the wrong person for you back then. I’m the right person for you now. I think God literally kept your back turned to me in your old house when you were younger so I would never lay eyes on you, until I could emotionally and mentally handle you. Until I was mature enough to respect you, and give a woman like you what you truly deserved. In the meantime, all I got was your voice on the phone every now and again, and you walking into a room.”
“…It must’ve been a waiting room, because we arrived at the same time for the dental turned romantic appointment. Look at us now.”
The man’s eyes sheened. The sight grabbed her by the heart and squeezed. His silly smile faded and gave way to a flood of reflection. He released her, approached his backpack and began rummaging through it. He snatched something from within it and marched up to her.
“A fun place, turned for a short while into a scary place for me. That’s how it was when I realized… when I realized I was falling in love with my best friend’s sister. That scary place turned into a comforting place. A soothing place where dew-covered spiderwebs glisten like ropes of diamonds, young birds are up early chirping for their mamas to bring them food, and the vast trees are pretty in the sunlight, providing protective shelter from the rain and cover from predators in the deep of the night.
“I had no idea what I was going to say exactly today, Genesis, but I knew I wanted to ask right here. In the same place where I felt happiest as a kid, despite that frightening occurrence that happened to me when I was a little boy. I’m a grown man now. I can see the forest for the trees.” He turned and shot a look at the old tree that had filled his mind for years. “I can turn trees into money, but money don’t buy what we’ve got right now. Pure love.” He took her hands into his and squeezed. She could feel something in his palms, and her heart nearly exploded as a tear trekked down his cheek. His eyes lit up with beautiful wonder, and a gorgeous smile creased his face. “Genesis, will you marry me?”
Her body stiffened in shock, and then she buckled at the knees and screamed. “Yes! Oui, sí, and Ja!”
“Yes, in four different languages.” He laughed through a trail of tears. It was so rare to see him this emotional, and she loved it. Now they could be a crying mess together. Pure, sparkling, masculine vulnerability. “Sold! I’ll take it!” He opened his palm to uncover a small white box. Moments later he was sliding a large cushion diamond ring down her trembling finger.