Page 120 of World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon

“Ah.” After considering her statement for a moment, he lifted his hands to cradle her face. “Do you think you can love me, Gwen? Not just today, but for the rest of our lives?”

“Of course.” That much was a given. “Always and forever. Easy-peasy, melted cheesy.”

“Do you…” He swallowed. “Do you think you can let me be your baby’s father? If I promise to raise that child with all the love and devotion in my heart?”

Her eyes filled. “I think my baby would be the luckiest child on this green earth to have you as their father.”

“Do you think you can stand to live with a demon who organizes his sock drawer by both color and texture?” His lips curved the tiniest bit. “Even though his socks are all black?”

She had to smile back at him. “As long as he can handle an enormous infusion of color into his life and home.”

“One last question.” The earnestness in his gaze melted her knees, and she couldn’t resist leaning against him. “Do you think I can make you happy?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t even begin to imagine the joy of a life spent with Hugh. “Oh, gods and goddesses,yes. Nothing and no one could possibly make me happier.”

“Then the verdict is in: If you agreed to be mine, you would, in fact, be more than enough for me. In fact, you’d make me the most joy-addled demon alive.” His thumbs brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Honey, I love you to distraction. Also, my sister said she’d body-snatch someone aboveground, track me down, and kick me in the nuts if I didn’t marry you. Please don’t make her hurt me.”

She bit her lip and looked to the side, lost in thought. “I suppose Iamquite a powerful oracle now. As long as I keep taking vitamins even after I give birth, I should keep having those huge visions.”

Hugh’s thumb on her chin urged her eyes back to his. “I want to be absolutely clear about this: Even if you switched to entirely cheese-based meals after your pregnancy, stopped taking vitamins, and never had another one of those terrible visions again, I’d still think you’re the absolute best oracle I’ve ever known.”

Okay, now he was patronizing her. “Come on, Hugh. We both know—”

“No, really.” With uncharacteristic rudeness, he spoke over her, his tone firm. “I mean it. Gwen, most oracles use their talent to earn corporations money or make wealthy people even richer or assist the government in dubious causes. Instead, you’ve spentdecades helping people who genuinely need assistance and who deserve easier lives. I find that remarkable. I findyouremarkable.”

She couldn’t argue against that stern expression.

She kind of wanted to kiss it, though.

“All that said…” His forehead creased in a mild frown. “If you ate an entirely cheese-based diet, I would worry about your gastrointestinal well-being.”

The unexpected laugh hurt her throat in the best possible way.

“You’ve built a community around yourself through your own hard work and caring,” he added, smiling right back at her. “So if you want to continue residing among your human neighbors in Zone C, fine. I’ll move there too.”

“Really?” She tried to imagine him living in her apartment and failed entirely. “Until your penthouse is repaired, you mean?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Permanently.”

The obvious occurred to her. “Are you particularly willing to move because our zombie-free property values in the Zone are about to skyrocket?”

“That doesn’t hurt.” The pad of his thumb glided over her cheek. “But I’d have moved regardless.”

“Are we going to buy a tumbledown old house for basically nothing and renovate it?”

“In the bougiest possible fashion,” he said dryly.

She grinned, imagining the piles of cashmere blankets. “I could live with that.”

After everything they’d gone through together, all the questions they’d posed and answers they’d given, something inside her felt…settled now. Confident that he wanted her just as she was and just as she always had been. The world’s okayest oracle, whether or not she ever experienced another apocalyptic vision.

She loved him. Because he loved her too, that was enough to make him happy. And somehow, those simple facts encompassed an entire universe of joy.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Hugh studied her expression carefully—but if he was looking for continued uncertainty there, he wouldn’t find any. “Because I do know it’s very fast, and I don’t want to rush you.”

“I’m sure.” She nuzzled into his hand. Pressed a kiss into the cup of his cradling palm. “And you’re not rushing me.”

His frown smoothed, and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.