One Year Later

“Ready, love?” Ben’s voice floated over to her as she crammed a spare outfit and some sexy undies into her purse.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Fiona smiled as she rushed out of the room and into his arms, planting a kiss on his fuzzy cheek. Her cream dress, which was covered in a dark red lace, hugged her curves, and she could tell from the appreciative look Ben gave her that he loved it. She had purchased it specifically for the occasion. One didn’t go to Paris for Valentine’s Day every year, so she figured she might as well make it as special as she could.

It was hard to believe that a year ago, he had sat her down and explained how her view of the world was like looking at a picture and only being able to see the blues. He introduced her to the reds, yellows, greens, purples, hell, pretty much everything under the sun. She hadn’t believed him at first, thinking she’d finally found herself a complete nut job, but then he’d showed her his eyes. They had been red. At first, she had convinced herself he had somehow put contacts in when she wasn’t looking, and then he had shown her his wings. The big, crimson, leathery wings had appeared out of nowhere and had made her completely flip out, but after a while, she got used to it.

“Let’s boogie.”

She snorted. “Let’s boogie? Where the hell did that come from?”

“Just trying something new. Now, hold on tight.”

Fiona wrapped her arms around him and watched as he willed the universe to cocoon them and transport them to Paris. Shadows grew up out of the floor and came out of the corners in the walls, surrounding them in darkness. It all happened in a matter of moments, and then the world felt like it shifted, as though she’d just disembarked from a boat, and when the darkness cleared, they were in the city of love.

It was already evening there, and warm yellow lights greeted them as they walked toward the main road. Suddenly, she could see the Eiffel Tower. Her heart froze in her chest and her breath caught at the towering illuminated structure. She had always dreamed of seeing the world—London, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, Sydney, Hong Kong, her list went on and on—and now with Ben’s help, they were slowly starting to cross her dream vacations off her list. Paris on Valentine’s Day was lucky enough to be first.

His fingers twined with hers as he tugged her forward. They had to make it to the boat in time for the dinner cruise, so dawdling wasn’t an option. It was a mad dash through streets where she wanted to take her time and examine every storefront, try every pastry, or stop and have a café au lait, but there wasn’t time for that. When they made it to the docking area for the boat, they joined a large crowd of people all decked out in their finest, waiting to board. The captain greeted them, and one of the stewards ushered them toward the table at the bow. The tablecloth matched the chairs in a distinctive reddish-orange color. It was a prime viewing spot and must have cost a pretty penny, but Fiona wasn’t about to complain.

Within seconds, they were both holding a glass of champagne, and a waiter at their side offered his opinions on what they should choose from the a la carte menu. Moments later, they were sailing past the Eiffel Tower, and Paris was slowly opening to them like an evening primrose to the moon. A violin and piano began playing somewhere else on the boat. The sweet music was a perfect accompaniment to the images of the city of love at night that were slipping by as they traveled down the Seine.

They ate the gourmet food that was delivered to them and talked while taking in the sights. It was a five-course meal where each plate brought new delights and new flavors. She couldn’t have been happier, and looking over at Ben, she finally knew deep in her heart and soul that he was the only one for her. It wasn’t that they were in a super-romantic setting or that she’d had a couple glasses of champagne or even that she’d just had the best food experience of her life while watching buildings older than the country she lived in pass as they glided by on one of the most famous rivers in the world. None of that mattered. It was nice, but it wasn’t what cemented the feeling of rightness that she felt when she was with Ben. What had finally made her heart and brain come into alignment? The fact that he knew she was nervous as hell to be there, that she knew he’d probably gone out of his way to book a table that wasn’t crowded by other people, and that he hadn’t let go of her hand for a second since they had arrived, except to eat.

Ben wasn’t rushing their relationship, which she appreciated since she knew he’d had some kind of talk with Eros and Hades and had been convinced from week one that they were soulmates. She, on the other hand, had resisted, part of her waiting for the other shoe to drop like it had with her ex, but it never came, not even a hint of a red flag being raised. The whole evening, he’d been regaling her with everything he knew about the city and even stories the siren brothers had shared with him. She knew it was because he wanted her to have the best possible time, to make an amazing memory.

By the time the desserts had arrived, she knew she wanted to tell him. They had seen the Louvre, Notre Dame, Tour Saint Jacques, Île de la Cité, Musée d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe, and she had even caught a glimpse of the Statue de la Liberté, Paris’ own Statue of Liberty. She knew the cruise was ending soon, and she wanted to tell him before they left the boat.

“Ben, I want to tell you something . . .” she began. The words were right there, but a stinging sensation on her wrist drew her attention away. When he hissed and unbuttoned his shirt sleeve, confusion settled in. As they both looked at their wrists, an image seemed to rise to the surface of their skin that looked almost like a tattoo. Two snakes, one the color of red wine and the other the color of the earth, which were intertwined with one another, had appeared on her skin, and she had no idea how. Each snake was eating the other’s tail in a dual ouroboros. She knew from college that it was a symbol not just of infinity but of rebirth and becoming whole. Had this happened because she had finally realized what her heart and brain had been trying to tell her all along?

“I love you, too,” Ben said, his voice hoarse with emotion, and tears shining in his eyes.

“But I didn’t . . .”

He held up his matching wrist and pointed at the red snake and then the brown snake. “Me and you. I had been so worried that this hadn’t appeared yet, and now that it has, I want to shout it from the rooftops.” His lips landed on hers as he finished speaking, pulling her into the most passionate kiss he had ever given her. It wasn’t a sloppy make out, but a tender, love-fueled meeting of two partners.

“What is it?” she asked when he pulled back.

“It means that you and I are true soulmates, and that no one can part us again if we don’t want to be parted.”

“You knew I would get a weird tattoo and didn’t tell me?” She hissed the question.

“I knew a mark would appear that would denote we had both chosen each other as much as the fates had chosen for us. I didn’t know it would be two snakes, but I guess that makes sense with me being a fury and all. Honestly, I had figured it would just be a birthmark type of thing.”

“Well, it stole my thunder and I’m not happy about that.” She pretended to pout, barely able to suppress the smile that tugged at her lips as much as her heart.

“What mark? I don’t see a mark.” He chuckled as he hid his arm under the table.

She cleared her throat and shoved her own wrist under the table. When his hand found hers, the jolt of recognition that went through her was like putting a match to flame. Her body burned for him. “I wanted to tell you that I love you.” She sighed, resisting the urge to drag him off the boat and mount him in the nearest hotel. “I love you more than the sun loves the moon, more than Westley loved Buttercup. I know I had doubted you when you said that we were soulmates, but now I truly believe that we are. I’ve never fallen so completely in love with someone so quickly, and I’ve never been as comfortable around anyone as I am with you. You really are my better half, and I know I’m not immortal, but I hope we get to spend as much of our lives together as we can.” By the time she finished talking, her voice was strained from holding back her emotions.

“You have me for as long as you want me, and I love you more than there are grains of sand in the world. Fiona, I love you more than tacos and pizza combined.” He cupped her face and kissed the tip of her nose.

She giggled. “You really love tacos and pizza.”

“I know, but I love you more.”

“I love you most,” she whispered.

He kissed her then, and it had to be one of the all-time greatest kisses in the world. She felt like there should have been fireworks going off in the sunset behind them as they rode away on horses. It was that kind of a kiss, and she couldn’t wait to get him back to the hotel and turn it into an up-against-the-wall-strip-him-naked kind of a kiss. For the moment, though, with the Eiffel Tower behind them and the glittering lights of Paris surrounding them, she simply enjoyed being loved by him.