To Thine Own Self

She nodded. "It makes me feel secure to know you're there and I can depend on you. I trust your judgment better than I do my own."

"I know, and you shouldn't. Don't patronize me, Carmen. It makes me feel small. When you called Gerald instead of me because you thought I would be upset, do you have any idea how that made me feel?"

She gazed up at him. "Paternal?"

He frowned down at her for a minute. "I guess that pretty much sums it up."

She unbuttoned the first buttons on his shirt and slipped her hands inside, sliding them around to the back of his neck. Pulling his head down, she whispered with her lips close to his.

"The way I feel about you has nothing to do with father-daughter relationships. You're still the sexiest man alive to me."

She stretched up and pressed her lips to his. When his arms surrounded her, she slid her arms up and around his neck, pulling his lips down on hers.

They were embarking on a new phase in their lives together, leaning on each other without becoming a burden. They were two individuals joined in marriage because they wanted to be lifetime companions. There would be no more doubt or fear that he would one day leave her. They would enjoy each day that had been given them as a gift. Fretting about the future was futile. They would take each challenge and know the joy and pride of working through it together. That was what marriage was about.