He chuckled, eyes slipping closed in a long blink. “I never thought I’d be having a shotgun wedding, but Camila, love, I want to marry you. I want to be here for you, to protect you, always. And this baby, even if they weren’t mine, I’d want to raise him or her as ours, carrying my name. I love you, Camila. I wish I could have promised to you in a better way, and made it more romantic, but thanks to the situation we find ourselves in right now, this is the best I’ve got. I don’t even a ring…”
Camila’s eyes went wide, and her heart beat hard in her chest. He just said he loved me. Samuel loves me. She touched her stomach and thought over his words. He said he’d love the baby, even if it wasn’t his… Her heart swelled with love and her eyes filled with tears. She didn’t even realize she’d held her breath, until she felt her lungs ache and she inhaled in a gasp.
“You—” her voice broke as she stared at him, afraid that she was dreaming.
He pulled back, just enough so she could see his grin. “I mean it, sweetheart. Every word. I’m asking you, Ms. Camila Blake, if you would marry me, love me, and bear my children.”
Camila just stared at him for the longest moment. Then, she released the pillow, and wrapped her arms around Samuel’s neck instead. She let out a quiet laugh, even as tears ran down her cheeks.
“Yes,” she whispered, desperately. She had to let him know she loved him too. “I love you, Samuel.” She held his face in her hands and stared into his eyes. “I knew… I knew you would come for me, you would find me. I knew you would save me. The entire time I was gone, you are what gave me the strength to fight, to escape, to get back to you, and I tried so hard to get back to you.” Tears slid down her cheeks but she couldn’t stop there. “I love you, Samuel, with everything I have. I don’t know how this will all end, but… yes. Yes to everything.”
She wrapped her arms around him and he held her. They stayed like that, just breathing each other in, their hearts beating together as if they were already one.
“I love you, Camila,” Samuel whispered softly.
“I love you too,” Camila pulled back and gave him a smile, her cheeks stained with happy tears. She rubbed her hands over his cheeks and they shared a few sweet kisses.
“Should we tell your mom and Bri?” he asked after a few minutes.
Camila shook her head, no. “Not yet. I want… I want this to be for just us for a while… is that okay?” she asked shyly.
Samuel hugged her to him. “That is definitely okay.”
“Can we wait until… after?”
“Yes,” Samuel stroked her hair and smiled at her. “I think that might be a good idea. Then we’ll have a big celebration.”
Camila nodded. “I’d like that.” Camila smiled. Some of the stress she hadn’t realized she had been feeling fell away and she felt lighter.
Now all she had to do was wait for the police to do their jobs and then she could be completely and utterly happy.