She tittered, grinning.
“Will you be my wife? Will you stand beside me for the rest of our lives and be mine, past death do us part?”
She kneeled before me, her eyes only reaching up to my nose. My heart was strumming in my chest, already expecting another refusal. My mind whirred with how else to woo her into understanding how serious I was.
“Adrien.” She cupped my jaw and cheek. “If I get admitted, we’re talking three years of studies for my diploma.”
I turned my head and kissed her palm. “I’ve already purchased an apartment downtown. We can live here, and I’ll fly back south when necessary. I’ll be wherever you are. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
She smiled wide and bright. “Who said I wanted to?”
“Tessa,” I ground out, my patience wearing thin. My temple rested on hers. “Give me an answer.”
“I thought you said you were done demanding.”
I growled at her. “You do realize who you are talking to.”
“Yes, my forever grumpy Adrien.” She traced over my scar and lowered her voice. “My killer. My big bad bossman. The man I love. The only person I would ever marry. Now take out that ring that must be burning a hole in your pocket and put it on my finger so I can promise never to take it off.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Now who’s the demanding one?”
“Don’t lie. You love a little fire.”
“From you. Only from you.”
I kissed her softly and slipped the ring over her finger. Emeralds, the color of her eyes, surrounded the diamond center stone and led down to the gold band meshed with tresses of more emeralds and diamonds. It was as beautiful and as intricate as its owner, both to the eye and to the touch, the design as unique as her. A perfect blend of artistry, radiance, andfortitude for the woman who won over my black heart, not once but twice.
“I love you, Tessa.”
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Almost Two Months Later
Afterlast-minutetouch-upstomy makeup were finished, Alizé adjusted my veil.
“You look beautiful.”
The lacy fabric was as smooth as silk against my skin, tugging ever so slightly on the intricate braided updo. For safety reasons, my dress had no train and ended at my ankles, but the lacy off-the-shoulder mermaid silhouette with embossed floral designs I wore was better than anything I dreamt up when I was younger. I knew the moment I first tried it on, the way it draped on my skin, the way it followed my curves, that it wasthedress. I shook out my hands. This was it. Today I was marrying the love of my life.
I bent my nose into my bouquet, letting the aromatic blend of roses and wildflowers handpicked that morning by my husband-to-be calm my nerves.
“Any news on Renzo?” I asked Alizé. He was supposed to be walking me down the aisle in the next hour and had yet to stop by the bridal suite.
She huffed through a lip trill.
“What? What is it?”
“So don’t panic.”
“That is not what you tell a bride on her wedding day.”
“Right. Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. Bad news, his flight landed this morning, but…he wasn’t on it. Good news, Thibault will walk you down the aisle.”
I shook my head as my hand held down the hairpins keeping the veil in place. “Renzo? My brother, Renzo, missed his flight?”
“Yes.”
