The band stops playing, and the singer hands Dominic her mic. “Thank you, Sophia,” he smiles. “How about this band?”
The people in the room cheer and clap. I join in, but I am still unsure of what he’s doing on the stage. Is this some end of the quarter business dinner type of thing? I realize it’s not when he smiles at me before speaking.
“You’re probably all wondering why I brought you all here,” he goes on.
“You mean it wasn’t for the free food and booze?” Andrew calls out, and everyone laughs.
“No,” Dominic smiles. “You all deserve that. We’ve worked really damn hard this year. We’ve fought for a lot, from partnerships to contracts and even in the ring. But there’s another reason I wanted everyone who is in this room right now to be in this room right now,” he says, and his eyes fall down on me. Then he holds out a hand with acome-heregesture, and my heart beats against my ribs. “Mila, will you come up here, please?”
Oh my god.
It suddenly hits me what he might be doing. I mean, it makes perfect sense: the fancy dinner, the dress, the room full of people we both know, including his father. If he is doing what I think he might be doing…I think I might faint. I feel Lainey behind me, coaxing me onto the stage. With no other choice, I walk up the steps and take his hand.
My heart is pounding so hard I’m certain the mic is probably picking it up, broadcasting my nervousness to the entire room. But within moments, he takes my hands in his and leans in, pressing his lips to mine. Every piece of me shoots to the moon, exploding into a million stars for everyone to see, and I don’t even care.
The room oohs and awes, and eventually I pull away, a smile on my lips and heat in my cheeks. “This right here,” Dominic says into the mic, “she is the reason for tonight’s celebration.”
“So get to the point and tell us what we’re celebrating already,” Andrew calls out.
“Grab yourself another drink and, for once in your life, put a sock in it, Whitehurst,” Dominic claps back, and everyonelaughs. Then he looks at me, and his smug grin turns into a warm smile that reaches his eyes.
“Mila. I can’t believe I am doing this,” he says, and my heart slams into my ribs. “Honestly, I never thought I would. I didn’t think love was in the stars for me. But you changed that. Because youarethe stars. Bright when the sky is dark. I’ve spent my whole life looking at the world around me, trying to build something in the space in front of me, not realizing that I needed to stop for a moment and look up.”
He drops to one knee, pulls a small box from his pocket, and opens it, his eyes fused to mine. “Mila Rojas, will you marry me?” he asks, and everyone gasps, including me. The ring is gorgeous; it’s the most brilliant diamond I’ve ever seen. It isn’t until I blink that I realize tears are streaming down my cheeks.
“Well?” someone calls out. I snap my mouth shut before nodding.
“Yes,” I say with a bubbling laugh. “Yes.”
Dominic comes to his feet and slips the ring on my finger, and for a moment all I can do is stare at it. Then my eyes flash up to his, and we kiss, sending the room into a frenzy. I grin as we pull away and throw my arms around his neck. Dominic leans in, kissing me on the cheek before whispering in my ear.
“You are amazing.”
“So are you,” I tell him. “I love the ring.”
“I can tell. You played that off so perfectly.”
“I…” suddenly I stop, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach as reality hits me like a brick.
The proposal is part of our agreement. We have to get married for him to have access to his inheritance. We can’t get married if we aren’t engaged. That’s all any of this is. A fake proposal for a temporary marriage. When it’s over, we won’t be together because that’s not part of the plan.
The other thing that’s not part of his plan is becoming a father. But it’s a growing truth. A truth literally growing in my belly as we speak.
I pull away, heat rushing to my head. A wave of nausea runs through every vein in my body. Dominic looks slightly concerned but is sidetracked when a couple of his friends rush the stage to congratulate him. I take the opportunity to slip off to the bathroom just in time to get sick.
Chapter 31
Dominic
“Beautiful. Just beautiful,”Niko says with tears in his eyes. I have to smile at that. The man has always been a bit of a sap. That and he’s partaken in a about three hundred dollars worth of Dom Perignon.
“Thank you,” I say as he shakes my hand.
“Who would have thought that Dominic Wolfe of Bad Wolfe Security Solutions and one of the highest profiting boxers my ring has ever seen would marry one of my cocktail waitresses?” he asks, and I shove my hands in my pockets.
“Yeah. Who would have thought?” Rafe’s voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see him standing there with a grin on his face.
“Shaeffer,” I address him.
