Page 168 of Blue Gold

“I do not know what it mean.”

“This document verifies that a company is officially registered and exists as a legal corporation,” I explained to him in French.

Realization sank in on him, and his scowl was replaced with a smile. “Does this mean your new company is official?”

I chuckled at his excitement. “It has been official for a while now.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, this isn’t why I’m showing you this. Here—” I pointed at a line in the middle. “Read the name of the company.”

He sighed before looking down again.

“Williams and Dufort At Law,” he read, then paused.

I didn’t say a word; instead, I sat patiently next to him, waiting for his reaction that soon followed.

“You… You used my name?” he whispered, still focusing on the certificate.

“I did.”

He held still, and I wondered what he was thinking when a small drop hit the paper, spreading as it soaked in. Then another drop fell, followed by another. Like raindrops, his tears dripped down, creating a pattern of wet spots around my company name, or should I say, ours.

Looking at me, Elliot’s eyes glistened with tears as he bit down on his bottom lip.

“You don’t like it?” I asked, brushing my thumb over the wet path his tears left.

Trying to hold his voice in, he shook his head. “T-this is—” A strangled sob escaped him. “The best thing.” His whole face scrunched up. “You wanted my name there, too,” he finally said in English, and at this point, I couldn’t hold back the tears either.

Wrapping him in my embrace, I held him close as we both wept like little kids.

“Of course I wanted your name.” I kissed the top of his head. “I mean, how could I possibly not?”

“I-it’s like we’re married,” he joked, his laugh turning into a charming sob.

“You could say I got ahead of myself⁠—”

“What?” He gasped, pulling back

Holding his shoulders, I couldn’t help but smile. “You can’t possibly be surprised, can you?”

“Do you really want to marry me?”

Surprised he could still doubt me at this point, I grabbed his face in both hands and took his lips in a tender kiss.

“There’s nothing I would like more than that.”

“But it is not possible here, right?”

“Not yet,” I said, my heart full of hope. “But one day, yes.”

Instead of answering me with words, Elliot kissed me, his hands slipping to my waist as he did. Pulling closer, he parted his mouth wider, allowing me to thrust my tongue in. He sucked on it, then groaned when I licked into his mouth. My temperature rose, and the same went for my pulse. Feeling my heart beating hard in my chest, I grabbed his hand and brought it there.

“Can you feel it?” I asked, my lips ghosting his. “Can you feel how my heart beats just for you?”

He bit his lip, his eyes dipping down before going back to meet mine.

“Make sure it never stops,” he ordered, and per usual, his words were my command.