“That would be blasphemy,” she agrees, wiping her hands on a cloth. “Be right back.”
As she heads inside, I grab a handful of paper towels and frantically clean my messy hands. Then I reach into my pocket where the ring has been burning a hole for the last two hours, pull it out, and drop it into Isla’s hollowed-out pumpkin.
Just in time.
She pops back out onto the balcony. “Twenty more minutes to go.”
“Plenty of time. Thanks for checking, babe.”
I hold my breath as she resumes her position at the pumpkin. She reaches in and then pulls out a palm full of goop, frowning.
“What on earth…”
The diamond is glinting in the lights, sitting on top of a pile of orange slime and seeds.
She looks up at me. “Alessio.”
I abandon my pumpkin and go to her, dropping to one knee. “Isla Davenport, will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course I will, baby.” Her hand trembles. “The ring is gorgeous. And huge. It must have cost you a fortune. You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I did.” I pluck it from the pumpkin guts. “I’d do anything for you.” Carefully, I slide the gold ring and massive diamond onto her left hand, grateful she scooped the pumpkin out with her right. “I even asked Luna for permission.”
Isla smiles down at me, tears shimmering in her big green eyes. “What did she say?”
“She said it’s about time and that if I didn’t propose to you soon, she was going to break my nose a second time.”
I wince, thinking about her original wedding day to Priest, when she headbutted me while trying to escape. Needless to say, we’ve all come a long way since then. And it brought me here, to this moment, with this woman I love more than life itself.
Isla laughs and touches a sticky finger to the bridge of my nose. “I’m pretty fond of it just the way it is, so I’m glad you came to your senses before it was too late.”
There’s pumpkin smeared on me, and I don’t care. My woman just agreed to marry me, and from this moment on, life just gets better and better.
I stand up, pulling her against me. “How much time did you say was left on the lasagna?”
“Twenty minutes. I just told you.”
“I was a bit distracted. I’m not sure I was understanding English at that point.”
“Were you worried I’d say no?”
“A little,” I admit.
“You know I’m yours forever, baby,” she says softly.
I kiss her hard. “Grazie, tesoro.” Then I kiss her again. “I can’t fucking wait to make you my wife. We could put that twenty minutes to better use than pumpkin-carving…”
She grins. “I don’t know. I’m kind of a sticky mess. I might have to shower.”
I love fucking her in the shower, and she knows it.
“Excellent idea. I’ll wash all the pumpkin away, and then you can come on my tongue.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, mobster.” She grabs a fistful of my T-shirt and tugs. “Let’s go.”
I follow her back into the penthouse.
I’d follow Isla anywhere.
