“Excuse me?”
“Please, do me the courtesy of not playing dumb. Your lawyer just called. I’ve got no idea how you afforded him, but I understand, okay? Please tell him to back off. You’ll never hear from me again.”
What the hell is he talking about?
I take a moment, my mind whirring.
Lex.
It had to be.
I make my voice firm, like I’ve got a full grasp of the situation. “If I ever see you again, I’ll throw the full weight of the law at you, Mr Kent.”
“I—”
He hesitates.
“Apologize?” I snap.
He clears his throat. “Yes, yes, I apologize.”
“Good. Now, leave me to honor my mom’s memory in peace.”
I hang up, a smile touching my lips for a moment. This was Lex’s final parting gift. But I’d give anything in the world to have him with me again. To feel his warm arms around me. To feel like I mattered more than anything in the world.
A rattling sound jolts me from my thoughts.
I turn, heart skipping into my throat.
Lex has just jumped over the chain-link fence. He’s wearing stylish suit pants with a tucked-in shirt, the top button undone to show his muscular chest and tattoos. His hair is wet, like he’s showered recently. He’s got a warm smile on his face and …
A jewelry box in his hand.
“I thought you were gone,” I whisper as a sob attempts to choke me.
“I couldn’t leave you,” he says huskily. “I tried. But I couldn’t ignore what we have.” He tenderly strokes his hand over my face. “So I came back. I confronted the man who sends killers after women and children. I ended him, Rose. I ended him for you—for us … so I could do this.”
When he falls to one knee, my world tips upside down.
Love used to be a distant dream, but it’s an indisputable reality now. It shivers through me in waves like a soulful orgasm. I blink as tears roll hotly down my cheeks.
He strokes his hand over mine.
When he speaks, he’s choked up.
“I lost my parents when I was a boy. Joined the Bratva and made a name for myself. I thought that was all I’d ever be, Rose, a man with his head down. A loner with blood on his hands. I’ve still got blood on my hands. But with you … I think I can be something more,someonemore. I love you.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, forcing the words past choked noises of emotion.
“I know it’s fast. I know people who don’t understand will call us crazy. But you’re mine, Rose. Mine and mine alone.”
Letting go of my hand, he opens the ring box, shows me a full glistening diamond set within a platinum band.
“Rose Hart, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I cry, no hesitation, jumping into this sparkling new future with both feet.
He slides the ring onto my finger, stands, then pulls me in for our most passionate kiss yet.
