My cheeks burned from the blush.
"In my eyes you are mine. I'm selfish and impulsive, Mia. I act before I think a lot of the time but when I make a decision, I stick to it. I've had plenty of time to think about this and this isn't enough for me anymore."
I panicked. This wasn't enough for him? We’d had such a good few weeks together and now this wasn't enough for him. I was about to respond when Luc pulled something out of the pocket of his jeans and dropped down to one knee in front of me. My hand flew to my mouth in shock.
"I need you," Luc told me. Those were the words he had told me when we first started to get close. "I love you." The words I no longer doubted when I heard them from him. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Luc opened the box, but I didn't look at the ring. I couldn't move my eyes from Luc's face. He looked so vulnerable and hopeful that it made my heart flutter.
I felt the sting of tears in my eyes before they spilled onto my cheeks. I knew what he meant. I had never expected to fall in love with him, but I did and I had fallen hard. Looking at the man in front of me now, I knew this wasn't a decision he had made lightly.
Slowly, I nodded my head. "Yes."
"Mia."
"Yes. Yes. Yes."
I threw myself at him and Luc just managed to steady us in the sand as I kissed him hard, tears flowing freely.
"OH MY GOD!" Vittoria screamed from up the beach and I broke apart from Luc and laughed.
"Let me put this on you," Luc said. He had managed to keep a hold on the ring. We stood up and I gave him my hand, only now realizing how much it shook. Luc pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger, and I threw my arms around him again.
He’d picked something classic and elegant. A simple band that held a single diamond that I had no doubt would have amounted to the annual salary of the average man.
"Thank you," Luc said to me. The grin on his face was the widest it had been since we came on vacation and he kissed me before we walked to our friends. I felt as if I was floating.
Dante was the first to greet us, narrowly beating Vittoria. He picked me clean off my feet and swung me around. "Finally becoming part of the family!"
"Dante," Luc said, amused. "Put my fiancée down right now."
He placed me back on the ground and I laughed hard. Vittoria moved in to hug me and then looked at my hand where the engagement ring sat. She let out a low whistle. "Tiffany's?"
Luc showed her the little blue box the ring had once nestled in.
"Dammit, Luc," Vittoria said. "Harry Winston, Cartier and now Tiffany's. I'd ask if you have a brother, but we all know Stefan's an asshole."
"You always have Dante," Luc told me. "He helped me pick it out."
Tori rounded on Dante. "You knew? You knew he was going to ask her?"
"Uh..." Dante said, eyes wide.
"You knew and you didn't say anything?" Tori demanded.
"You would have told her."
They started to fight, and I noticed Gabriel watching us with a faint smile. It knocked me just how much he looked like his father in that instance.
"Congratulations both," Gabe said to us. He came over and hugged us. "You really will be part of the family now. I'm sure Dad will be happy to hear it."
Xavier might be happy to hear it and so would Dom and Lydia, but it struck me that I knew there would be plenty of people unhappy with the news, including Dad.
Chapter Fifty Seven
Mia
When we arrived home from our trip, Luc and I broke the news to the rest of our friends, and Tori and Gabe insisted on hosting an engagement party for the pair of us, despite Luc's reluctance. A full month of planning had led to us expecting an exhausting number of people at Luc's house.
