“I wanted to wait longer. I knew the moment you saw me, you would realize I wasn’t good enough for her. Anna values your opinion above anyone else’s in the entire world. And if you told her to leave me, there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do about it.”
“So you were buying time?”
“I was buying time, and I was hoping I could make her fall for me hard enough that your disapproval wouldn’t matter. I failed in that endeavor.”
The corner of her mouth twisted up into a sly smile. “And what would you do if I approved?”
Half a dozen smart-ass retorts were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. This wasn’t the time for jokes. She was asking me exactly what my intentions were, in a way that was meant as a challenge I intended to meet.
I had asked Samara, Elena, and the other wives for their recommendations on a romantic way to propose.
Romance was never something I thought I had to be good at. I had never even considered the idea that I would ever get married, and if I did, it would have been a business arrangement.
Any proposal would have been done with a lawyer and a prenup.
I hadn’t seen Anna in my future. She wasn’t a possibility that had occurred to me until it was too late.
It was Zoya who had told me what I needed to hear.
“Romance isn’t about flowers. It’s not about diamonds, skydiving, or grand gestures. It’s not even about black-and-white films and proclamations of love. Romance is about intimacy. Knowing your partner so well that you know what they would want. What is important to her? Once you figure that out, the rest falls into place.”
That was the moment that I knew Edith needed to be a part of this, that she needed to approve of the union before I could ask. Some men asked their intended’s father. I had a feeling those men got off easy.
I took the black velvet box out of my pocket and laid it on the table between Edith and me.
Anna froze. The violin dropped from her fingers as her hands went to cover her mouth.
Edith reached for the box, turned it so the hinge was facing Anna, and opened it just enough to inspect the ring inside.
She closed the box and pushed it toward me.
My heart was in my throat, and my stomach was in more knots than I knew was possible. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think. I just waited for this tiny woman to lay down her verdict.
“Well?” she asked, with a sparkle in her eye. “I am an old woman, and I will not be here forever. What exactly are you waiting for?”
Before she could change her mind, I grabbed the box and jumped up from my seat. The plastic folding chair clattered to the floor, and everyone in the activity room seemed to stop what they were doing. The only sound was Ella’s crooning and my heart thundering.
I knelt down in front of Anna. Her lips were parted, and her hands fell to her lap when I opened the box to show her the vintage 1950s Art Déco ring.
This was the perfect moment for her.
She didn’t care about fancy dinners, about long, drawn-out speeches. For her, perfection was knowing that she was loved and cared for. And the people in her life who wanted her to succeed and supported her unconditionally were present for the important moments in her life.
All she needed to know was that we supported her for who she was, that I saw her for who she was, not for who I wanted her to be.
“Will you sing only for me, my little nightingale? Will you be only mine forever?”
CHAPTER 36
ANNA
Six months later
The sun streamed through the lace curtains of Gregor’s estate as I sat in front of the vanity, surrounded by the other Ivanov wives.
We were in a small building outside the stunning gardens.
I didn’t want a church wedding, or something people could crash. I wanted an intimate wedding in a place that felt important and was filled with family.
