Page 96 of XOXO, Valentina

A server came up and filled our wineglasses. Another delivered bread and appetizers. Joey’s father raised his glass and toasted happiness.

“I have something for you,” Joey said in a low voice that made chills dance along my spine. “Come with me.”

He pulled me from my seat and led me through the kitchen. A door stood open to a supply closet, and he pulled me inside. Grinning, he shut the door behind us. “I have a thing for closets,” he said. “It was in that closet at school when I first fell in love with you.”

He led me to the center of the small space and pulled a small box from his pocket. My heart plummeted to my stomach as if it was on a roller coaster ride.

“I’ll never try to replace the husband you lost,” Joey said. “But I love you so much, Gabriella. I want you to be mine.”

Heat filled my chest and spread to my cheeks. “I love you too.”

He lifted the lid on the box, revealing a platinum ring made of two gracefully twisting rows of diamonds entwined in an eternity band.

My pulse raced, and my throat went dry. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

A wistful smile curved his lips, but he shook his head. “No. I respect you too much for that. I know you don’t want another husband right now. But maybe someday…” His words trailed off, and he cleared his throat. “Maybe someday, you’ll change your mind, and you can askmeto marryyou.”His brows pinched together. “This ring is because I want you in my life. I want you and Shane to—”

I shut him up with a desperate kiss, showing him how much I’d missed him, loved him, and wanted him. The noise of the restaurant faded into the background, and it was just the two of us in the closet, stealing a kiss like old times.

Tears filled my eyes as I pulled back and took the box from Joey. My hand shook as I plucked the ring from the velvet lining. The diamonds shimmered in the light, entwining into infinity.

Lightness filled my chest as I stared at the ring. I started to slide it onto my finger, but stopped after the first knuckle. Something wasn’t right.

Montel would always be a part of my story. Every time I looked at Shane, I would think of the love we’d shared and the life we’d created. But it was time to have a life of my own again. Time to have a future. With Joey.

My breath hitched when I pushed Joey’s ring into his palm.

His hand closed over mine, and his eyebrows rose. “It doesn’t fit?”

“It’s not that.” I slid the gold band Montel had given me so long ago off my left hand and switched it to my right hand. Tears filled my eyes as I lifted my left hand. “I think it would fit better on this hand.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Joey snatched me off my feet and claimed my mouth in an intoxicating kiss. For a moment, I worried that he would drop the ring as his hands roamed over my back. His tongue slid against mine, and I stopped thinking about anything besides getting closer to him.

We panted for breath when we parted, our chests heaving and eyes glistening. Joey set me back on my feet and reached for my hand. He’d miraculously managed to hold on to the ring, and he slid it onto my finger with a smile that rivaled the brightest ray of sunshine on a summer day.

I stared at the twinkling symbol of everlasting love on my finger with a sense of wonder. I’d never thought I would find a love like the one I’d had with my husband, but I’d been wrong. I’d never been so happy to be wrong in my life.

“Te amo, Fernando,” I said, stretching up on my toes to press a kiss to Joey’s smiling mouth.

His grin grew, and he kissed me back. Before I knew it, he had me backed up against a wall lined with boxes. Our lips locked together, and it seemed like nothing could tear us apart.

Except a knock on the door. We parted reluctantly as the door creaked open, and Santiago’s head and shoulders filled the crack.

“I didn’t meanthisroom,” he said, laughing. “Food is on the table. You want us to start eating without you?”

We adjusted our clothes, fixed our hair, and emerged from the closet with matching goofy grins. When Joey held his hand out to me, palm up, I laced my fingers with his and we joined his family.

Next time, we’d join mine.

THE END