Vowed (The Vampire Journals, #7) - Morgan Rice Page 0,48

arm. He couldn’t help thinking, throughout the ceremony, of their night before, of how they’d spent the night in each other’s arms, listening to the crashing of the waves. It had been a full moon, and they had slept right under it. Before dawn, he had taken her back to the castle, and they had slept in his bed.

For those precious few hours in which they’d slept in each other’s arms, Sam had finally felt at peace in the universe. He was now certain, beyond a doubt, that Polly was The One.

Now, more than ever, he felt a desire to make the depth of his love known to her. Throughout the night, he’d felt an urgency to find her in the crowd, to express his feelings to her, and, inspired by his sister, to propose. But he hadn’t been able to find her since the ceremony.

It had been a chaotic night, vampires streaming in from every direction, and it had been too hard to stick together. Vampires from every corner of the world grabbed him, danced, spun him around, and handed him off to partner after partner after partner. The music and dancing never stopped, and in the whirlwind, Sam had not been able to find her since.

Finally, he’d had enough, and had to catch his breath. He broke from the ranks and forced himself off to the side, to the wine vats, and he stood there, out of breath, combing the faces for her. He looked for her trademark hair, her large, bright eyes. But she was dressed like the others, and it was just too hard.

Suddenly, Sam felt a tapping on his shoulder.

Sam turned, and his heart soared.

Standing there, smiling back, her cheeks flush from dance and drink, was Polly.

She threw open her arms and gave him a big hug. He hugged her back, tightly, and spun her around.

She pulled back, and looked at him, and was beaming. He could see the love in her eyes.

“I missed you,” Polly said.

“And I you,” Sam said, and they came in for a long kiss.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Sam said. “To ask you, actually.” Before she could respond, Sam took her hand and led her away from the crowd, off to the side.

He desperately wanted time alone with her.

Sam found a quiet spot, away from the chaos, and as they stopped, he could see her looking back at him with surprise, unsure what it was.

“I want you to know that I meant what I said the other night,” Sam began. “About…how much I love you.”

Sam paused. He could feel his heart racing. He took a deep breath. He felt that now, more than ever, on the night of his sister’s wedding, was the time.

Polly stared back, smiling, waiting.

“I want to be with you forever,” Sam said finally.

“So do I,” Polly said back.

Sam shook his head.

“No,” Sam said. “I really mean it. Truly. Forever. Just like Caitlin and Caleb. Forever. ” Sam dropped to one knee, and took Polly’s hand.

“I don’t have a ring—yet,” he said. “But I hope you won’t hold that against me. I promise that when the time comes, I will get you the greatest ring you’ve ever seen.” Polly looked down at him, and broke into a smile.

“What are you asking me, Sam?”

Sam suddenly realized that, in his nervousness, he forgot to say the most important thing.

He smiled up at her.

“Polly?” he said, “will you marry me?”

Polly burst into a huge smile, and screamed. “YES!”

Sam stood, and Polly wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug he’d ever felt. He lifted her, and spun her around, again and again, feeling his own joy in her response.

“YES YES YES!” Polly screamed. “A thousand times, yes!”

As Sam spun her around, again and again, he could feel her joy, her happiness coursing through him. And at that moment, he finally knew what true love was.

*

Caitlin looked up at Caleb as he held her in his arms, looking down at her with pure love. His eyes were shining with excitement, as he led her through the huge crowd, vampires cheering all around them. As Caleb parted the way through the crowd, leading them, Caitlin was overwhelmed.

Her wedding night had been incredible, like a dream, from the ceremony to the feast, to the drinking, to the dancing….It was grander than any wedding she could have dreamed of.

On the one hand, the festivities never seemed to end, but on the other, the night went by in a flash. Caitlin couldn’t