Page 69 of A Sinner's Truth

“Where?” she asks me.

“Pick anything you like,” I tell Aria as we stare down at a collection of diamond rings.

“You want to buy me a ring?” she asks.

I press my lips to her temple. “I should have done it the day we were married. I’m sorry it’s taken me this long.”

“Okay, but if I’m wearing a ring, then so are you.” She looks at me, waiting for a negative reaction. She won’t get one. I’ll wear that ring with fucking pride.

“Deal,” I tell her, and she smiles. Aria has a possessive side that rivals my own. She just hides it better. I’ve seen it come out, though, and I fucking love it. Shelli was never possessive of me. I thought it was because she trusted me. She knew she didn’t need to worry about other girls because I was fucking loyal. Now, I think it’s because she just didn’t care that much.

In all fairness, I don’t think I felt the same level of jealousy towards my ex-fiancée that I feel for Aria. It’s just different with her. At first, I put it down to the fact that she’s my wife. I know better now. It’s because she’sher.

Aria turns her attention back to the rings before she plucks up the smallest fucking diamond on the tray. I snatch it out of her hand and put it back down. “That’s too fucking small. I want people to see your rock from outer space. It needs to be big. I want every fucker to know you’re mine.”

“You say the sweetest things, you know.” Aria laughs. “My hands are little, Santo, and I’m not a flashy person. I can’t wear a huge-ass rock.”

Ignoring her, I pick up one of the larger stones. It’s a round solitaire diamond on a platinum band. I slide it onto her finger and smile. “It fits,” I tell her.

Aria holds up her hand, the light reflecting off the stone. “This is the one you like?”

“You have to wear it. Do you like it?” As much as I want to put the biggest stone on her finger, I’m not a total ass. I do want her to be comfortable wearing it.

“I like that you picked it. If we did this differently, if we dated and fell in love and then you proposed, would you have picked something like this?” she asks me.

I think about her words for a moment. “Do you regret getting married?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “We’re just doing it all backwards. I love being married to you.” Aria pushes up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine. “I want this one, but only if it’s within the budget.”

“For you, there is no fucking budget, darling.”

“Okay, let’s pick yours,” she says.

“You pick it.” I slide the ring off her finger and pass it over to the jeweller. “We’ll take this one. We need wedding bands too,” I tell him.

I find a platinum band that matches the diamond ring perfectly. Aria then takes about twenty minutes looking around the store. She inspects every option and finally decides on aplatinum ring for me to wear. “I want to get something engraved on it.”

“We can do that,” I tell her.

“Do you like it?” she asks me.

“I love it.” I slide the ring onto my finger. It feels right.

After paying the jeweller, I lead Aria back out to the car. Where I open the boxes and take out both of her rings. “I vow to always protect you, to always be by your side, through the good and bad times. I vow to be yours and only yours for eternity,” I tell her as I slide the ring into place. “I love you.” The last words are whispered as I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it.

Aria picks up my ring as she peers up at me through her thick lashes. “I promise to always be honest with you. I promise to be yours and only yours for the rest of my life. I promise to love you unconditionally,” she says as she glides the ring onto my finger.

My lips slam down over hers. My heart is so damn full. I thought I knew love once, but right now, I know that wasn’t true love. It was love, but it wasn’t anywhere near what I feel for this woman.

“Sure you don’t want to skip lunch and just go home? I want to fuck you while you’re naked and wearing this ring,” I tell her.

Aria laughs. “How about we do lunch and then we go home and you fuck me until I don’t know what my own name is?”

I groan. “Just so you know, I’ll be sitting through lunch with a fucking hard-on while I imagine all the things I’m going to do to you.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

I’m starting to think I should have taken Santo up on the offer to go home and let him fuck me senseless. Don’t get me wrong… I love Drew and I’ve missed him. Catching up with my best friend is high on my priority list, but it’s really hard to pay attention to him when Santo’s fingers are tracing love hearts on my upper thigh.

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