Outside, something moved, and Gio stilled. A heartbeat later, Sacha appeared. Relief washed over him.Wait. What is Sacha doing outside? He should be in bed.Gio opened the doors, and Chip dashed out. It was a beautiful night with a full, glowing moon and stars filling the sky. A gentle breeze ruffled Sacha’s hair, and Gio’s heart swelled. Sacha looked soft and warm. He’d clearly just gotten out of bed.
“Your son has something in his mouth, and he won’t give it to me,” Gio said as he walked down the steps to Sacha, who sat in one of the tufted patio chairs to the left of the pool.
Sacha smiled. “Why don’t you ask him for it now?”
“Um, okay.” Gio turned, and Chip appeared with his head lifted, allowing Gio to take the object from his mouth. “What is this?” It was a small, dark wood box. Was it a tchotchke from one of the coffee tables? Gio would have remembered it. Plus, Chip never messed with any of the trinkets around the house. He knew better.
Gio carefully took the box from Chip and opened it. He gasped, his heart skipping a beat. Was this…? Gio spun around to find Sacha down on one knee, a hand on the chair to steady himself. Was this really happening? Gio couldn’t speak if he wanted to.
Gently, Sacha took the wooden box from Gio and removed the beautiful black band inside it. It had a stunning bluish-purple inlay in the center, flanked by two thin aquamarine inlays. Sacha held it up.
“Gio, will you marry me?”
It was just like Sacha to get right to the point. Gio laughed and nodded, tears in his eyes. “Yes,” he replied, his heart and soul filled with joy as Sacha slipped the ring onto his finger. Gio helped him to his feet, then cupped his face. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Sacha replied, his eyes glassy. “You asked me why I was being so quiet, and it’s because I was trying to understand what I was feeling. After I woke up, from the moment I recognized your face, I thought about how lucky I was to have you in my life, to have someone as loving and caring as you to help me through the tough times. Things felt different, and I couldn’t figure out why.”
Gio caressed Sacha’s cheek with his thumb. “And you figured it out?”
“I did.” Sacha’s beautiful smile took Gio’s breath away. “I told you that you were my person, and you know I’ve been thinking about proposing since Winterhaven. I knew you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but before all this, I kept asking myself, why? Getting married wouldn’t change how we felt about each other. While I was in the hospital, having you there with me…I got it. I got why Ace and Colton did it, why Leo and King did it.”
“Oh?”
Sacha nodded. “It’s a promise and a declaration that I’m committed to you, that I choose you to spend my life with, through the good and the bad. It’s my way of showing you I trust in you, in us, and our relationship. And even though I don’t care what the world thinks of me, I care that if something were to happen to me, you have the legal right to be there, to know everything, and to make the decisions that need to be made.”
Gio frowned. After what just happened, Sacha’s words were painful to hear because he didn’t want to think about anything like this or worse happening to the man he loved, but he understood because he wanted the same thing. “Do you think Jack would be upset?”
“Are you kidding? He’ll be relieved that it won’t all fall on his shoulders.” A wicked gleam appeared in Sacha’s eyes. “Besides, one of these days, Jack’s gonna end up down on one knee too. You’ll see.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” Sacha laced his fingers with Gio’s and led him inside the house. “Jack has changed, for the better, and that’s because of Fitz and how crazy in love he is.”
Gio understood what Sacha meant because Sacha had done the same for him. Like Jack, Gio had been in denial about howhis actions were affecting his health. Gio refused to believe he had a condition that could be fatal if untreated, and Jack was in denial that he had been using work as an escape to the point that he stopped taking care of himself.
Fitz was the only one who managed to get through to Jack, helping him see what he was risking, just like Sacha was the one who helped Gio accept his new normal.
Gio paused just inside the sliding glass doors and turned to Sacha. “You saved my life in so many ways.”
“And you helped me see that falling in love isn’t a weakness. You’ve opened my eyes to so much more than you realize, Gio.” Sacha wrinkled his nose, making Gio chuckle.
“Lovey-doveyed out?”
“Not for you,” Sacha replied with a crooked grin. “But also, yeah. Sharing feelings is exhausting.”
Gio chuckled. “Let’s get you inside.” He looped his arm with Sacha’s and slowly led him back toward the house. Unable to help himself, Gio lifted his hand to admire the ring. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Do you know what the lines mean?”
Gio shook his head. “They mean something?”
“The middle inlay is alexandrite, your birthstone. And the two inlays on either side are aquamarine, my birthstone.” Sacha stopped to meet his gaze. “Yours is in the center because I will always be there for you, and I will try my damned hardest to always keep you safe.”
Tears welled in Gio’s eyes. Just when he thought he couldn’t possibly love Sacha any more, he went and did something so heartachingly thoughtful.
“Fitz helped me,” Sacha admitted. “I told him what I wanted, and he started talking about birthstones. It turned into a two-hour discussion about gemstones and the zodiac. I saydiscussion, he talkeda lot, and I tried to listen without falling asleep or hurting his Disney Princess feelings.”
Gio barked out a laugh. He cupped Sacha’s face. “Never change.”
