Chapter 74
Ella
There were eternities within the moments Lorenzo and I were ensconced in our own bubble in that mostly empty parking lot. Every touch was life-affirming, assuring me that this was real—a dream, but a reality nonetheless. It took my breath away every time I heard those two words uttered between us: Mine. Mate.
I drank in Lorenzo’s clean scent of fresh air and of morning dew, committing it to memory, and pulled back just enough to see him.
“Happy birthday, love,” he murmured, his thumb brushing against my cheek.
I giggled. My birthday seemed ridiculous now against the discovery that he was my mate but I said, “Thank you,” nonetheless. My eyes traced his forehead, the straight nose, his light eyes and the dark lashes that framed them, his cheekbones, the sharp jawline,
