“Rebecca White. You are the only person in my life who makes me feel like I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. You scare me, shock me, make me feel like my entire world’s been flipped upside-down.”
…surely he was getting to the good part
here?
“But that’s exactly why I love you.”
He stared up at me as if I was the only thing in the room, the only thing in his world.
“Because while you are reckless and bold, you are beautiful and sweet. Someone smarter than me with the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. You challenge me every day to break down my walls and change my perspectives. You’ve expanded my horizons in ways I never thought were possible. You’ve made me fall in love.”
His voice grew soft as he reached up to wipe a tear from my cheek.
“So my dear Rebecca, mother of my child, love of my life…will you marry me?”
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even catch my breath. I just gave him a teary smile and nodded my head quickly up and down.
“Y-yes,” I finally managed. “Of course I will.”
He beamed back at me. “That’s good. I think you might have started another Cold War if you’d said no.”
I thought of Tatiana and the dressmakers and laughed. He kissed my hand, but instead of getting to his feet, he stayed on the ground, rummaging through his pocket.
“Marcus, what—”
Then he held up a ring.
A tingling chill ran up my body at the same time that a warm flush rushed all the way down to my toes. It was the ring Augustina had given him. His family ring—passed down from generation to generation. I had completely forgotten he had it.
He took off my bulky diamond and slipped it onto my finger instead. I literally gasped aloud. It was so beautiful!
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my other ring too—but from the second he’d put it on my finger, it hadn’t felt like me. It was too big, and too flashy.
This ring…was me.
A tiny thread of sparkling diamonds laced around my finger in a delicate circlet, topped in the middle with what looked like a miniature star. I couldn’t believe something so small could be so exquisite. It seemed to catch the light from every little corner of the room and send it sparkling back to me tenfold.
I held it to my chest and stared at him, utterly speechless.
The next second, he scooped me into the air, cradling me against him before lowering me down onto the bed.
“You have no idea what it does to me to see you wearing that ring. I’ve always wondered what woman would be wearing it. I’ve been waiting for her so long, and now I finally know who she is. It’s you. And you’re the love of my life.”
“That was beautiful,” I said, a tear rolling down my face.
He touched my face and we shared a tender kiss. The kiss deepened. But before anything else could happen, I pulled away, holding his face gently between my hands.
“Marcus?”
“Yeah, honey, what is it?”
“I…” my voice fell to a whisper, “I never thought I’d fall in love.”
He chuckled softly. “Well, I’m glad you did.”
“I’m serious.” My eyes swept the room, landing on my ring before resting back on his face. “This…all of this,” I pressed my hand to my stomach, “I never knew I could be so happy.”
I stroked my hand through his dark hair.