Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58442 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
I take a microphone and look down at the room, where the guests are mingling. When the music dims and the spotlight shines on me, my heart begins to pound.
“Most of you know me,” I say, my voice filling the room. “But what most of you don’t know is that I’ve spent large portions of my life gripped by darkness. I’m often haunted by nightmares from my time in the Marines. Most of you won’t know that, for a long, long time, I thought I’d never find anyone. I never thought I’d have a real connection. I’d come to terms with it. This wasn’t a mask. It was who I was.”
A second spotlight shines on Aurora, glistening off her mask, illuminating her gorgeous shape and the expert work of her dress.
“Then I met my Aurora, my light, my perfection,” I go on, causing several women to gasp, but I’ve only got eyes for Aurora. “The moment I saw her, I knew she was special. She’s talented, funny, and fierce. She’s human, vulnerable, and real. She’s unsure at times, certain at others. She’s a woman who will never stop obsessing about me.”
I slowly walk down the steps toward her.
“Aurora,” I say, dropping the mic when I get close enough. “Aurora…”
My voice shakes as I struggle to keep it together. Emotion threatens to overcome me. My mind flits with vignettes from the past year, the horror movie nights, the discussions about her passion, her work. The simple act of being together without feeling the need to say a single word.
The passionate sex, sometimes with her being my plaything, and sometimes intense lovemaking that goes beyond the physical.
I tear off my mask, drop it, then reach up and gently remove hers. Her eyes glisten with tears, and her kissable lips tremble.
“You’ve always been the one,” I tell her. “From the very beginning, you made me feel like no other woman ever has–ever could. I know you’re not as dramatic as I am.”
She laughs at my ironic tone, then grabs my lapels and pulls herself closer. The whole room is silent, watching us, transfixed, but we’ve only got eyes for each other.
“But I know you felt it too,” I go on.
“I did,” she whispers through a sob.
“I love you, Aurora,” I say, reaching into my jacket pocket.
She gasps, taking a step back, her hand flying to her mouth when she sees the ring box.
I lower myself to one knee and open the ring box, showing a brilliant, cushion-cut diamond set within a band with intricate vine detailing, hinting at the Halloween theme with two orange gemstones on either side.
“Aurora Maren,” I say, “will you marry me?”
For a long moment, she doesn’t say anything. She stares down at me as tears streak down her face, somehow making her even more beautiful. Her love brings her perfection up a few notches, which shouldn’t even make sense.
How can she make perfect more perfect?
“Yes!” she exclaims.
I slide the ring onto her finger and then leap to my feet, pulling her in for a hug. All around us, people applaud and cheer.
EPILOGUE
AURORA
Five Years Later
“Mommy, look what I made!”
Liam rushes across the living room with his pumpkin in his hand. I put aside my sketchbook and smile down at my son’s creation. A pumpkin painted with a masquerade mask. He got the idea when he saw me and his father looking at photos for ideas of what we’ll wear to the next Retreat.
Liam has his father’s eyes, glinting with the same intensity despite his young age. I already know he’s going to be a little heartbreaker one day.
“Do you like it?” he asks.
“No,” I tell him.
Across the room, carving a pumpkin of his own, Raiden looks across at me with love etching his every feature. Years pass as we grow into what one publication has called a power couple, but what strikes me most is how much deeper our affection grows, our lust never failing, the spark never fading.
“I love it!”
Liam giggles and puts it down, then climbs into my arms. I hug my son, feeling drunk on his love. He wraps his arms around me and puts his head against my chest. It’s not long before he’s snoring softly.
Raiden walks across the room of our high-rise apartment. We’ve been thinking about moving out of the city, but with Raiden’s clinic and my design studio, we’re established here. Perhaps we’ll get a townhouse.
“What are you thinking?” Raiden asks. “You’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The one you get when your mind is sparking away at a million miles per hour.”
“Just how lucky I am to be able to think, oh, shall we get a townhouse or a house-house outside the city? To be able to design for celebrities all over the world. To have a husband who can follow his passion of helping veterans with their service-related injuries. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel real.”