Caged by Stephie Walls Read Free Book Online

bubble over, so I take one knee.
     
                  Pulling the ring out of my pocket to present to her, before one word comes from my mouth the tears are pooling in her eyes, “Princess,” yes, she still loves to hate it. “You’re my best friend, my confidant, my partner. I love you more than life itself and never want to spend a day not knowing you’re mine. Will you marry me?”
     
                  She nods her head in agreement through the tears as I slide the ring on her finger. She never looks at it, just throws her arms around my neck, “I love you.”
     
                  “I hope you still feel that way when we get upstairs,” I wink at her and push the start button to carry us up the final floor. She watches me from the corner of her eye, she’s waiting to strike but can’t bring herself to yell at me, since I just proposed. Ahh, victory.
     
                  When she opens the door to the loft, all of our friends and family, including the crazy old bat Elsie, are there to celebrate with us. Claire immediately starts to cry as people swarm the door, turning into me, burying her face in my neck as I laugh at her. She’s not the-center-of-attention kind of girl, but she’s my world and I want everyone to know I have claimed her.
     
                  She’s quickly swept away by her girlfriends and a group of women from my family. I find a beer and the guys who got suckered into being here huddled around a football game on television. When she screams, I know she’s seen it. Everyone stops what they’re doing to look at her as she comes sliding across the floor jumping into my arms with her legs around my waist. She shows me the ring, as if I didn’t pick it out. The center stone is almost two carats, surrounded by a ring of tiny stones and encased on the sides in the same stones, “It’s a crown !” she yells, although I suspect only Claire and I would really see it.
     
     
                  _____________________________
     
     
     
                  Six months later, before her belly would be come noticeable, we tied the knot in a small ceremony in Falls Park downtown. It was simple, but classically Claire, and whatever made her happy, made me happy. I made my Princess my Queen so her heir would have a rightful place. Our Princess, Sofia, would be here soon to start her reign.
     
     
     
    T he E nd
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A bout T he A uthor
     
     
    Stephie currently resides in the suburbs of Greenville, South Carolina with her daughter, two cats, and a dog.  She has a serious addiction to anything Coach and would live on Starbucks if she could. She’s an avid reader, averaging around 300 novels a year.  Writing has always been her dream.