Page 93 of Twisted Knight

Fine, I’m going, I'll see you when I see you.

The next text was simply a photo of a stage with half-naked men. I was going to kill them, yep all of them.

I listened to the voicemail as I entered the lobby of the Bellagio.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she said with a small voice.

No, no, no, no. She couldn’t just give up on us. That was stupid. I swiped my card in the elevator and pressed our floor.

Fuck it, fuck all of it! Just the thought of not being with her was unbearable. She had to forgive me. She loved me; I loved her. She knew my life would never be easy. I could not always put her first, but she ought to know that I always would when the choice was mine.

I was going to retrieve that ring and I was going to find her and ask her to marry me. I would make her understand that without her, there wouldn’t be ame.

She was my light, my breath, my life. I existed for her only, and that taking herself away from me would be a death sentence. I was not even being dramatic; it was true. That day when I saw her at the airport, it was the beginning of the end for me.

Yes, she’ll understand, she loves you, I tried to reassure myself as I opened the door of the suite and froze on the threshold.

The whole living space was lit with dozens of candles, soft music in the background, and a bucket with a bottle of champagne.

I frowned, taking a couple of tentative steps into the room, closing the door softly.

“Dolcetta?”

“I love you, Domenico,” she said as she appeared from the bedroom, dressed in a stunning off-the-shoulder flowy red dress.

The vise in my chest settled in a second, and I had to blink away the tears of relief at having her here with me.

“You scared me, really,” I admitted, taking another step toward her.

She raised her hand to stop me in my tracks.

“Did you really think I was going to walk away from us?” She shook her head. “You still seem unable to see how deeply I love you. Is it because you don’t think you’re worthy? Maybe but it’s okay, I’ll make you understand that you are, even if it takes a lifetime.”

“A lifetime with you is all I'm asking for,” I said in an almost begging tone.

She smiled. “That’s good because…” She got on one knee and the world around me stopped. “Domenico Romano, will you marry me?”

I looked down at her completely dumbfounded. Of all the things I expected to happen, this was not one of them. I was supposed to do that; it was the plan. She couldn’t… Finally I returned to my body and walked briskly to the bedroom.

“I’m not going to lie; that’s not exactly the reaction I hoped for,” she shouted from the living room.

I smiled at that as I retrieved the small black box from my travel bag. It was going to be a mutual proposal, which was so uncommon, but to be fair, everything between us was from the start. It was somehow logical for our proposal to be unconventional.

I walked back into the room where she was still waiting for me on one knee and stopped right in front of her, my hand wrapped around the box tightly.

She looked up at me, her eyes full of confusion but also trust. Her faith in me was so humbling.

I copied her gesture and knelt in front of her.

“I really thought you left me,” I admitted. “All that because I know I don't deserve you. I know that, and yet I want you, all of you, and I know you think I’m enough, Lord knows why, but I still want to be a better man for you. Getting as close as possible to the man you deserve.” I showed her the box in my hand. “You stole my moment, Dolcetta. I wanted to do that.”

“It’s modern times, Domenico; a woman can propose.”

I nodded. “She can but I don’t deserve a woman like you kneeling at my feet.”

She gave me a little seductive smile. “I don’t remember you complaining when I knelt at your feet last night.”

I grabbed her by the back of her neck and kissed her deeply. “No, and I never will,” I whispered against her lips before pulling away a little and showing her the diamond and emerald engagement ring I bought her. “I’ll marry you, India McKenna. I've wanted to marry you since the moment I kissed you. You’re the love of my life, and just knowing you want to spend the rest of your life with me is baffling, humbling, and incredible all at once.” I smiled, grabbing her hand. “So I’ll ask you too. India McKenna, will you marry me?”

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