“I do. I miss making people look and feel beautiful.”
“You should come back, then.”
“But I’m out.”
He shakes his head. “If you feel uncomfortable about that, you can come back as a consultant, rather than CEO. See how you like it. See if you want to take over the company’s management again.” He reaches inside the case, plucks a stunning violet iolite hydrangea pin and sticks it in my hair. “Made it just for you because this was your favorite design.”
And he picks up something else from a different display case behind him and crouches down at my feet. I feel a cool weight around my ankle. I look down when he stands—and see a string of rubies.
The ruby anklet he told me about. The bright red stones glitter like hearts pulsing with hope and anticipation.
“I would’ve brought it sooner, but it took a while to reset the stones from bracelets into the anklet. I didn’t like the stones on the ones we had on hand.”
I’m touched he remembered, but I’m also confused. Does he plan to give me pretty things to prove himself now? The one thing I’ve never lacked in my life is beautiful baubles.
“What are we doing?”What areyoudoing?
“I’m giving the woman I love something nice that I made while thinking of her.” He takes a moment to look at me. “You’re the moon in my night sky. I’m just putting a few stars around you so you can shine even brighter.”
“But why? We’re getting divorced. You aren’t even going to contest it. So why are we here?”Do you really love me?The most important question gets lodged in my throat.
“Not contesting the divorce doesn’t mean I don’t love you or don’t want to be with you,” he says quietly. “Our marriage didn’t start out right. You deserve to be courted, made to feel special. I should’ve proposed to you properly, and I should’ve put my ring on your finger.”
This time, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a dark, square velvet box. He drops to a knee and pops the lid open. “I designed this ring for you. So I can beg for another chance from the woman I love.”
It’s a stunning Toi et Moi ring made with a sapphire and a diamond. But unlike the one I got, it has a constellation of smaller diamonds that sparkle around the bigger stones.
“You and me,” he says. “Plus all the people in our orbit. You think you don’t have anybody, but you do. Matthias. Yuna. And you have my brothers and their wives on your side as well. Regardless of your answer, you are the owner of all our shares. I’m having them transferred to you. I don’t ever want to see you lose your dream. And I convinced the board to bring you back.”
“How?” I manage as shock shoots through me like a bolt of lightning.
“By guaranteeing you’d hit all the milestones you said you’d hit during the shareholder meeting.”
“That couldn’t have been enough.” I grip his forearm. “What else did you do?”
He shrugs. “If it doesn’t work out, I’m on the hook for a few hundred million, payable to Peery Diamonds.”
“No!” I gasp.
“I have to put my money where my mouth is, Valkyrie.”
“But Sebastian—!”
He smiles up at me. “I have faith in you. You should, too.”
Tears sting my eyes, and my cheeks get hot. Never in my life did I dream that someone would do this for me. “You’re crazy,” I say between sniffles.
“Crazy in love with you.”
“Ask me,” I demand, doing my best not to burst into tears.
“Will you marry me?” He takes my left hand and kisses the spot where the rings used to be. “I’ll devote every moment of my life to making you happy.”
“Yes.”
He gives me a smile more brilliant than the gemstones on the ring. He slides it on my finger, where it sparkles perfectly.
As he stands, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He kisses me back, and heat rises between us. I clench my hand in his hair, pulling him close.
