“I’m not good at speeches,” he starts.
“You’re doing fine,” I manage.
His mouth twitches. “I’m not good at being vulnerable. Or soft. Or any of the things a man should be when he asks the woman he loves to marry him.”
“Anton—”
“But I’m going to try.” His eyes lock on mine. Dark green. Intense. “Because you deserve the words. You deserve to know that three months ago, a drunk woman stumbled into my temporary apartment and changed my entire life.”
Jasper makes a choked sound behind me. I ignore him.
“You were supposed to be a complication,” Anton continues. “Someone to get rid of. Instead, you became everything. The reason I came back from Moscow. The reason I want to be better. The reason I believe I can be more than just The Reaper.”
My hands are shaking in his.
“I love you, Mary. I love the way you sing off-key karaoke. I love how you talk to our baby like she can already hear you. I love that you chose me even when you knew what I was.”
He reaches into his pocket. Pulls out a small box.
Opens it.
The entire room goes silent.
Because that’s not just a ring. That’s astatement. Pink diamond. Enormous. The kind of stone that has its own security detail.
“Holy shit,” Jasper breathes. “Is that…? Anton, is that a five-carat pink diamond?”
“Five point two,” Anton says without looking away from me.
“I’m going to faint. Mateo, catch me. I’m fainting.”
“You’re not fainting,” Mateo mutters.
But I barely hear them. Because Anton’s looking at me with those eyes.
“I bought this for you,” he says quietly. “Not a family ring. Not something passed down. This is mine to give. Yours to keep.” His thumb brushes over the stone. “Pink. Like you blushed that first night when you told me I was hot. Like you are right now.”
Iamblushing. Furiously.
“One stone,” he continues. “One love. One woman for the rest of my life.”
Oh God. I’m crying again.
“Will you marry me, Mary? Will you wear this and let everyone know you’re mine?”
I’m sobbing too hard to speak.
So I nod. Again and again and again.
“Yes,” I finally gasp out. “Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.”
He slides the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly.
And then he’s standing. Pulling me into his arms. Kissing me like we’re the only two people in the room.
Except we’re not.
Because suddenly everyone’s cheering. Jasper’s crying—actual tears streaming down his face. Ruth is dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Grandma’s smiling so wide her face might crack.
