So Little Time
Page 23
“Everyone does it nowadays,” she said gently, leaning toward him to reassure him. “It’s perfectly safe.”
He gave her a quick glance. “I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
“Once we’ve left the ground you’ll hardly feel it.” She almost laughed at his expression. “Don’t worry, I’ve done this lots of times.”
The plane lifted, and Granger closed his eyes. A few minutes later he opened them again and looked cautiously out of the window. “Amazing,” he said, his voice hushed with awe. “I can’t imagine what wonders you still have in store for me.”
Corie grinned. “We’ve only just begun. Just wait until you see Disneyland.”
He gave her a questioning look, and she shook her head. “You’ll see.”
“I’ve seen all I want to see. I have the woman I love by my side, and that’s all I need.”
“It’s all I need, too.” She looked into his eyes, her pulse quickening when she saw her love reflected in their depths. “I do love you, Granger.”
“And I love you. More than you can possibly imagine.” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her fingers. “I need to find a job. I need to support myself somehow.”
She hesitated, not sure how he would take her suggestion. “I have enough money to start a business. I’ll need help with it, though. Would you consider taking on the job?”
“I would indeed, if you think I could handle it. What kind of business?”
She smiled. “We’ll think of something.”
For a long moment he didn’t answer her, then he shook his head. “You are a very special lady, Corie Trenton. Tell me, do people still marry in the old-fashioned way?”
She had to catch her breath before answering him. “Well, they sometimes find odd places to do it, but yes, people still get married.”
“This might not be the right place, but I don’t want to wait any longer.” He grasped both her hands in his. “Corie Trenton, I have nothing to offer you but my heart, and my undying love. But I need you, and I can’t live without you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Breathlessly she looked up at him, her heart filled so full of love she thought it would burst. “I would love to be your wife, Granger. I need you, and I’ll do my best to make you happy.”
His finger traced down her cheek as he said softly, “We will make each other happy. This was meant to be.”
“I believe that, too. Even the distance of time couldn’t prevent us from being together.” Her smile faded, and she gripped his hand as if afraid to let it go. “I almost didn’t go to Arizona. Dr. Richards told me Specturne had veered from its orbit.”
“What do you think happened?”
He lifted her fingers to his lips again, and she shivered as his mouth caressed them. “I don’t know. But I suspect he told me that so that I would forget about what happened and wouldn’t report him to the government for what he did.”
“What made you go back, if you thought the star wouldn’t return?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I felt compelled to say goodbye one last time, by being in the same place at the same time, even if we were separated by a hundred and thirty years.”
“I felt you there,” Granger said softly. “I felt your presence and knew what to do. I didn’t forget.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “How could I forget you, when I loved you more than life itself?”
She smiled up at him. “We have a lifetime of memories ahead of us now. And I think it’s appropriate that you proposed and I accepted, high above the earth.”
His smile spread across his face as he looked down at her. “I have you now, my sweet Corie. Thanks to a special star. Wherever it shines now, I hope it brings as much happiness to others, as it has to you and me.”
“Thank you, Specturne,” Corie echoed softly. “Wherever you are.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4592-8729-7
So Little Time
Copyright © 1995 by Doreen Roberts
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