“Are you crying?”
“No,” she lied, tears forming in her eyes.
I dropped the wine opener and wrapped my arms around her. “Baby, talk to me.”
“Everyone’s gone,” she breathed out, sliding her hands around my neck. “And I’ve come to terms with that. I have Lennon and I’m good. Well, I was, anyway. But then you came along and opened up myworld again and sometimes I’m so scared I’m going to lose you, it overwhelms me. And I love your mom and your sisters, so I worry—”
“Let’s get married.”
“What?” she squeaked.
“Marry me,” I said, this time as more of a demand.
“It’s too soon.”
“Who says?” I countered.
She met my eyes. “We’ve been together for less than a year, Gio.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Do you want a big wedding?”
“Actually, it’s been less than six months.”
“Mom’s gonna want to go all out, but if you want something small, we can elope.”
“Technically, it’s been less than four.”
“I just need to know what kind of ring you want.”
“Are you even hearing me?” she snapped.
“Yeah, I’m hearing you,” I said. “Are you hearing me?”
“Gio, we don’t know each other enough to get married.”
“Then we’ll get to know each other better livin’ together.”
She let out a quiet huff. “It’s irresponsible.”
“Why?”
“Because we should protect our money. Do a prenup.”
“Then we’ll do a prenup.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have a whole lot to protect. Just a little inheritance from my parentsand grandparents. But I do own this outright.”
“Okay, so you should decide if you want to keep this and live in it for a period of time or rent it out and buy something together.”
“I don’t have the money to keep thisandbuy something.”
“I do.”
“You do?”
“Baby, I got over two million in the bank, not to mention, I own a place in Beaverton that I rent out. I make over forty-grand a month with the club, so we can keep both, rent them out and buy something together.”
Her eyes widened. “Then why do you live in a crappy apartment in the worst part of town?”
