“You’re welcome. Now—” She eyes me expectantly. “I believe it’s traditional for gift exchanges to be reciprocal?”
“Greedy.”
“Curious. There’s a difference.”
The small blue Tiffany box has been burning a hole in my pocket since collecting it yesterday. The jeweler nearly wept with joy at the commission, a custom piece, rush order, money no object.
The box is placed in her hands, and watching her face as she opens it is worth every dollar spent.
Inside, nestled in white silk, is a ring. Not a traditional engagement ring, it’s too soon for that, despite how much theidea appeals. Instead, it’s a cocktail ring, a large amber stone surrounded by diamonds, set in platinum. The deep honey color of the center stone matches her eyes when she’s happy, and the diamonds catch the light like stars.
“Alessandro.” His name is a whisper. “This is—”
“Too much?” Doubt creeps in. “I can have them change it—”
“No! God, no. It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.” She slides it onto her right hand and it fits perfectly, because of course Marco got her ring size somehow. “But this must have cost—”
“Don’t worry about cost. Worry about whether you like it.”
“I love it.” She holds her hand up, watching the stones catch the light. “But Alessandro, this is significant. Rings mean something.”
“Yes, they do.” Taking her hand, I study the ring, her hand in mine, the stone glinting between us. “They mean you’re mine. I’m claiming you publicly. Anyone who looks at you will know you belong to The Shadow.”
“Possessive.”
“Extremely.” No point in denying it. “But Elena, this isn’t just about possession. It’s about—” How to explain what she means? “It’s about the fact that you’re the best thing to happen to me in fifteen years. You see the monster and choose to stay anyway. That you make me want to be better than I am, even though I’ll probably fail spectacularly.”
“You won’t fail.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. Because I’ll be there to remind you.” She rises on her toes, kissing me softly. “We’ll figure it out together. The monster and the florist. The Shadow and the light. All of it.”
“Together,” the word is tested, tasted. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me now.” She glances at the clock. “Though speaking of stuck, don’t you have a crime empire to run? Enemies to vanquish? Federal investigations to dodge?”
“All of that can wait.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close. “Today is Christmas. Today, I’m just Alessandro, and you’re just Elena, and nothing else matters.”
“Just Alessandro and Elena,” she repeats, smiling. “I like that too.”
“Good. Because tomorrow, reality returns. Tomorrow, we deal with Greco and the feds and everything else.” The promise comes dark, certain. “But today, today is ours.”
“Ours,” she agrees, settling into my arms. “The perfect Christmas.”
“Not quite perfect yet. But it will be.” The words come quiet, meant for me as much as her. “Soon, you’ll legally belong to me. Soon, everyone will know that Elena Harper is under The Shadow’s protection. And tesoro—” The ring catches the light as her hand rests over my heart. “Soon, you’ll be Elena De Luca. My wife. My heart. Mine in every way the law and God and this violent world recognizes.”
She looks up, eyes wide. “Are you, is that—”
“Not a proposal. Not yet.” Though the hunger for it burns. “But a promise. When this mess with Greco is settled, when the immediate danger passes, I’m going to ask you properly. On my knees if it’s what you want. With a ring that makes this one look like a placeholder.”
“I don’t need a bigger ring.”
“But you’ll get one anyway. Because you deserve everything I can give you.” The kiss is soft, reverent. “You deserve a man who’s worthy of you, but you’re stuck with me instead. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret this choice.”
“I could never regret choosing you.”
“You say that now. Wait until you’ve survived a few years of my world.”
