64
Conal
Verity went still as a statue at Declan’s declaration. I watched her reactions play out across her face. First, shock, then disbelief, followed by radiant happiness. A tear trickled down her cheek and I wiped it away.
“You want to marry me?” Her gorgeous dark eyes blew wide at the size of the diamond ring we’d collected from an exclusive jeweler in Catania. This guy wasn’t strictly legit, but he had great contacts. The ring Declan had forked out a small fortune for wasn’t a blood diamond or stolen, but ithadbeen set aside for a Russian mafia don’s girlfriend.
Declan offered the jeweler more money for the ring on the understanding Kyril would smooth things over if necessary.
We’d picked up some additional pieces, too. Like Eden had said, a girl could never have enough diamonds.
Verity stared at the ring. “It’s, like, huge.”
Declan reached out for her hand. The ring fit perfectly; the platinum band small enough not to look too chunky on her slender finger.
“We have more gifts!” Ronan pulled a box from his pocket and opened it to reveal the diamond choker he’d chosen. I thought it was rather over-the-top, but he’d insisted she’d love it.
She stared at the sparkling choker and her jaw dropped.
“How much did you spend on all this?”
Ronan winked. “Declan’s card doesn’t have a limit.”
“It fucking does,” my older brother griped before smiling softly at Verity. “Just not for you, princess. Anything you want, you get.”
“Here’s my gift,” I said, releasing her just long enough to pull out the ruby pendant I’d picked. The glowing scarlet jewel reminded me of her red cheeks when she came. Not that I’d dare sully the occasion by telling her that.
“It’s beautiful!” She smiled through her tears as I clasped the heavy pendant around her slender neck. Ronan scowled for a moment before grinning.
“You can wear mine later, in bed. Just that and nothing else.”
“You haven’t answered our question,” Declan prompted her. He threw us a glare, reminding us we weren’t following the agreed plan. Ronan huffed and then dropped to his knees. I joined him while praying I wasn’t kneeling in pigeon shit.
“Will you marry us?” Dec repeated. The crack in his voice betrayed his nerves. Nerves we all felt, even though I felt certain she’d say yes.
“Yes,” she choked out with a sob.
“Thank fuck,” my twin exclaimed. “I have our honeymoon all planned out.”
“You do?” He’d said nothing to me about this.
“Yes. It involves my girl naked for a month.”
Declan rolled his eyes and stood. We all knew a week was about his limit for stepping away from the family business. And besides, we had a sister to hunt down before she did anything else that might endanger her life and the safety of our family.
Saoirse had gone off the grid after posting that photo on Instagram. Not even Milo could find a trace of her and that fuckwit, Cian O’Rourke. It was like they’d vanished into a different realm.
Cian was a dead man when Declan finally caught up with him. I wondered if he realized what an error of judgment he’d made seducing our sister. None of us believed his feelings were genuine. It was more likely he’d targeted her as part of a revenge plot. One he’d fucking live to regret.
“Eden’s planning the wedding,” I informed Verity. “She says you don’t need to worry about a thing.”
“I’m worried.Veryworried,” Declan muttered, yanking Verity into his arms.
She giggled, probably envisioning some hideous pink frothy wedding dress. Knowing Eden, the wedding would be an affront to good taste.
“Where are we getting married? Ireland?”
“Yes, princess. Your sister and her family will be there, but not that fucking dog.”
