reaction to what happened today. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I believe in the whole marriage thing anyway.”
Liam gave me a puzzled look.
“But I thought all women dreamed about getting married one day.”
“You mean the whole big diamond ring and white pouffy dress thing?”
Liam nodded, bemused. The poor man obviously thought he was offering me every girl’s dream, only for me to shatter his illusions.
“Not me. I’ve always thought it was a pretty pointless, vacuous exercise, and a total waste of time and money, when you consider that being married is still no guarantee that things are going to work out and everyone’s going to be faithful,” I stated firmly.
“And I thought I was meant to be the cynical one with commitment issues,” Liam commented wryly.
“Oh, come on. Even you must have seen how some girls focus on spending a fortune on a big wedding with all the frills, only for it to all fall apart and end in divorce within the year.”
“I agree, some people get married for all the wrong reasons. It wouldn’t be like that for us though, would it? I would mean every word of our marriage vows, because I want you to know that I will always love you, that this is forever, and that I’ll still be there for you, even when we’re old and grey.”
“That’s a really lovely thing to say, Liam.” I kissed his cheek. “And it makes me love you even more, if that’s possible. But I’m just not ready to get married. This has all happened so fast, so why don't we slow things down a little, and just get used to being together first, hmm?”
He sighed loudly.
“I’m used to being decisive, going after what I want and getting it. I don't usually do slow and wai ting around. But as long as you’re not turning me down flat, I suppose I can wait until you’re ready. How long do you think you’ll need? A week? A month?”
I burst out laughing.
“I have no idea, Liam. To be honest, I’m not sure that I’ll ever be ready to get married, because I don't see the point of going through all that old fashioned palaver, just for a little piece of paper that doesn’t mean anything when it comes down to it. I’m really not comfortable with the whole concept.”
“Well, I’ll just have to convince you, won’t I? For now, I'm just really happy that we’re together, and that you’ve told me that you love me. But I’m going to keep asking you to marry me until you say yes, Seraphina Jones. And I’m warning you now that I'm very persistent, and that I always get what I want in the end,” he smirked, as he snaked his hand down between my legs.
“And I’m warning you, Liam Starr, don't think that you can steam-roller me into becoming your obedient little wife,” I smirked back, as I too snaked my hand southwards until I reached my goal, thinking that this battle of wills could prove to be quite interesting.
All I cared about right now was that I loved Liam, and he loved me, and nothing was going to come between us.
Chapter 3 ~ Jamie ~
The fantastic relief I felt as I walked out of my final exam was almost worth all the years of studying. I was literally walking on air, and just at that moment I didn’t care what results I got. All I cared about was that I was done. Finished. No more stupid fucking exams for me.
Toby and I had plans to go out and get totally wasted to celebrate the end of our student days, but first I was having dinner with my brother, at his insistence.
“Does it have to be tonight? Can't it wait a few days?” I argued when he rang, suspecting that I was in for some kind of dull, boring lecture from him about my future plans.
“No, I need to speak to you as soon as possible. We can have dinner early, and then you can head off for whatever mindless plans you and Toby have made,” he’d stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
And, as usual, he held the winning hand. He was funding my year out in