After everything, I'd known for a while that this woman was the only thing I wanted for the rest of my life.
The next day, Chloe came to the room as usual. She carried coffee from the machine down the hall, head down scrolling through herphone. Probably reading some parenting post. She walked to the bed, set the coffee on the nightstand, and was about to sit when I grabbed her wrist.
Chloe froze, looking up at me. "What?"
I pulled hard, dragging her onto the bed.
Her body crashed into my chest. My abdominal wound screamed in protest, but I bit back the sound. Her phone dropped onto the blanket. Her hair swept across my face, smelling of shampoo and formula mixed together.
"You're crazy! Your wound—"
"Don't move."
My arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her whole body against mine. Her hands braced on either side of my shoulders, face less than ten centimeters from mine. Her honey-colored eyes held surprise, concern, and a hint of tension from being caught.
"Enzo, your wound isn't healed." Her voice dropped, but her breathing had clearly quickened.
"I know." I used my good hand to brush the hair from her face, fingers threading through her brown curls, palm cupping her cheek. Her face was warm. I felt her jaw tighten slightly against my palm. "Let me hold you. I've been dying to."
Chloe sighed and buried her face in the crook of my neck. I felt her lashes brush my skin. Her breath warmed my throat. Every exhale raised goosebumps on my neck.
We lay like that for a long time. Her on top of me, my arm around her waist, her heartbeat pressing through two thin layers of fabric into my chest.
Thank God I didn't die. This was unbelievably happy.
I looked at this woman so close to me and kissed her forehead.
"I have something for you."
Chloe lifted her head from my neck, looking at me.
"What?"
I pulled something small from under my pillow. Just a silver ring bent from metal wire. The craftsmanship was laughably crude, even abit crooked where it bent, but in the center sat a tiny crystal that caught the light with a faint gleam.
"You made this? When?" Chloe covered her mouth.
"These past weeks in the hospital. Had Luca get me materials. Made it myself. My hands shook so bad I bent it four times before getting it like this." I held the ring up to her. "I know it's ugly. But I wanted to give you something unique. Last time that ring ended up on the wrong person's hand. This time, I wanted to make one myself. Even if it turned out like shit."
Chloe stared at the ring, her lips moving twice without sound. Her nose reddened, moisture gleaming in her eyes under the light.
"Marry me, Chloe. Or rather, please marry me."
Chloe's tears fell.
She held out her left hand. Her fingers trembled slightly. I took that crooked silver ring and slowly slid it onto her ring finger. The wire didn't quite fit right, catching a bit at the knuckle. She helped push it down the rest of the way.
Chloe held her hand up, looking at the ring. Under the harsh hospital lights, the metal wire reflected a faint gleam. Compared to that engagement diamond, this thing was a joke.
But Chloe looked at it more seriously than she'd ever looked at any diamond in the world.
Then Chloe's tears streamed down, soaking her whole face. She bent down and hugged me, burying her face in my chest. She hit my abdominal wound, and I hissed.
"Yes." Her voice muffled against my chest.
Chapter Thirty
Chloe
