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He kisses my temple as he holds me close. “Nobody is going to die, my love.”

“Promise me… we go together,” I whisper through a lump in my throat.

“Shh, baby.” He rolls me onto my back. His lips drop down my neck, and the emotion coming out of him tears my heart wide open.

I love this man.

With all of my heart I love this man.

We made it through our first fight.

________

Roma. What a beautiful place.

I’m reminded why it’s so special to me.

It’s Friday night, and Rici has brought me here for the weekend. We’ve just had dinner at the restaurant where we met. It feels so long ago now. So much has happened, and I’ve never felt closer to anyone in my life. Something about our fight on Wednesday cemented something. The energy has shifted between us. Him telling me that he couldn’t orgasm with another woman has calmed my insecurities. I have completely given myself over to him.

I’ve been in Italy for a few months now, and my time with him has been the happiest of my life.

And I was deadly serious; I don’t want to live in a world without Rici Ferrara. He promised me that everything is all right and that he was just taking precautions.

“Where are we going?” I ask as he leads me through the crowds of people by the hand.

We come to an opening, and I see the Pantheon come into view. It’s lit up with an aura around it.

“Oh, it’s so magical,” I whisper.

“Our special place.” He smiles softly and takes me into his arms.

“Thank you.” I kiss his lips. “This is the perfect date.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the secret side door. Once there, he calls someone. The man in the suit comes and opens the door. “Enrico, my child. Welcome. We have been waiting.”

We walk through and the man leaves us alone. I look around and my heart stops.

There is a small round table with candles, a bottle of champagne, and two crystal glasses on it. It’s sitting right near the spot where we spoke our truths all that time ago.

“Rici,” I whisper. “You are perfect.” We kiss softly, our lips linger over each other’s.

“Olivia, non posso vivere senza di te. Ti amo con tutto il cuore. Vuoi sposarmi, amore mio?” He goes straight into the translation. “Olivia,” he whispers. “I cannot live without you. I love you with all of my heart. Will you marry me, my love?”

He drops to his knee and pulls a ring from his pocket. My hands fly to my mouth in shock. “Rici,” I whisper.

He slides the ring on my finger and then presses my hand to his face. “Answer me, my love.”

I smile through tears. “Si.” I drop to my knee beside him and kiss him softly. “A million times, si.”

Chapter 27

OLIVIA

Enrico’s eyes search mine, making my heart constrict at the overwhelming love passing between us.

It’s emotion overload, and my own eyes well with tears.

Marriage.