Rory brushed his knuckles across her cheekbone and leaned down to gently kiss her. “I promise I’ll keep bubbles and sparkles in your life forever.”
“I don’t need bubbles or sparkles,” she said. “I just need you.”
“Aw. You know, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a green velvet ring box.
She frowned, her engagement ring pleasantly heavy on her left finger. “What is that?”
He flipped open the top to reveal her original engagement band with the wedding band. He’d had them combined into an intricate swirling ring with a three-carat emerald on top. “This stunning stone matches your eyes.” He took her right-hand finger and slid on the ring.
“Rory,” she said, touched. “It’s beautiful.”
He finished securing the ring and then kissed both it and her nose. “Thank you for agreeing to marry me again.”
She smiled. “Always. This time, we’ll make it to the wedding.”
He threw back his head and laughed, even as more boisterousness came from the other room. “You sure you know what you’re taking on?”
His grin sparked something inside her. “Yes, I know exactly what I’m taking on. I love you.”
He kissed her again. “I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Anna Albertini snuck out the back door of the dress boutique and hustled to her sister Tessa’s Nissan Rogue, where Nonna Albertini was already sitting in the back seat.
“You texted?” Anna asked wryly, climbing in next to her grandmother. The vehicle was surprisingly warm, even though it wasn’t running.
Nonna grinned, her smile slightly lopsided from all the champagne. Her eyes were a sparkling brown, her features animated. “Yes. Since you’re my partner in crime, I thought we’d have a quiet debriefing.”
Uh-oh. Anna knew better, but sometimes she got caught up. “I’m not your partner in crime.” Her sisters would absolutely kill her, and she didn’t want to take on any of her cousins.
“Well, that’s too bad,” Nonna said, “because you’re in, and you know it. You’re the one who started the ball rolling with getting Tessa and Nick together.”
It was true. Anna couldn’t deny it. She was so happy with Aiden that she wanted her sister to be happy, too. “Nonna, I don’t think we can handle the whole family being irritated with us.”
“Oh.” Her nonna waved a hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. I’m thinking Donna’s next.”
“I thought you were going after Knox,” Anna said quickly. Donna was her older sister, and she knew better than to tick her off. She was the quiet smart one, the normally calm one. But if you crossed her... Anna gulped and tried to course-correct. “I don’t know. I don’t have anybody in mind for Donna right now.”
Nonna tapped a red nail against her lips. “Neither do I. That’s why we’re having this debriefing.”
“I think you debrief after a campaign, not before one.”
“Oh. Well, a strategy meeting then.”
Anna nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s probably the right way to think about it. Honestly, Nonna, I can’t think of anybody right now who Donna would like.”
Nonna’s expression fell. “There has to be somebody. What about that nice Detective Grant Pierce in Timber City?”
Anna winced. “He doesn’t want anything to do with the Albertini women.”
“I can’t blame him. We do seem to get him into trouble a lot. Hmm, let me think.”
A knock sounded on the door, and they both yelped, turning guiltily.
It opened to reveal Aiden Devlin, his eyes a sizzling blue, his hair a pure black, and his expression full of warning. He stood strong and powerful in the snow, his body broad and muscled. “What are you two up to?”
“Um,” Anna hedged.
