Page 47 of A Taste For Trouble
DOMINIC
She let out another little sob and flew into my arms.
I set the paper bag and Scary Mary’s carrier down hastily and wrapped my arms around Rosie. My Rosie Posie.
“You already knew what was going down this evening,” she guessed.
“Of course,” I admitted, and was rewarded by a little pinch on my chest. “Commissioner MacNeil called me as soon as you set up the ambush. Besides, Logan’s team has been tailing you since you left the apartment. But it would have been nice to get a heads-up from you, Rose.”
“I didn’t want you barging in to rescue me,” she said. “It was high time I rescued myself, Dom. And I needed to know you’d come to me even when I didn’t need you just because you couldn’t stay away.”
“Well, here I am,” I promised. “All yours. Forever. If you want me, that is.”
“Of course, I want you, you idiot,” she snapped, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“Well, that was romantic. Now, let’s put this away before Beelzy lets Scary Mary out of the carrier and they attack it,” I said, picking up the paper bag and handing it to her just as her cat stalked across the room towards it with his evil intentions plastered all over his face.
“What is it?” she asked, wiping her eyes on my ochre-cloured tie.
“Hey, that’s the last one I have that doesn’t have glitter on it. Now, it’s got makeup all over it,” I complained. “And glittery makeup at that!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, a little glitter won’t make you melt, ya big baby,” she growled, taking the paper bag from me. “Whatisthis?”
Her head shot up, and her eyes went wide in shock as she sniffed carefully at the bag.
“Is this…? Did you…? Did you make lasagna?” she yelped.
“Not just any lasagna. It’s my famous ‘marry-me-lasagna’,” I said smugly.
She tossed her head disdainfully.
“Oh, please! You can’t just claim that title for your first attempt,” she informed me loftily.
“Try it,” I dared.
Rose took the lasagna from my hand and headed to the kitchen, while I shut the front door before I released Scary Mary from her carrier. She came to me for a quick, reassuring pat before she trotted over to skippity-pap Sweetpea for leaving her without so much as a kiss goodbye.
I followed Rose into the kitchen and found her setting the little round table for two people.
“Allow me,” I said, taking the knife from her and cutting into the pasta before I placed some of it on her plate. She waited untilI had served myself before she picked up her fork. I held my breath, dying to see what she thought of it.
She tried to cut a piece and frowned when her fork hit something hard. She dug around a bit more and then clapped a hand to her mouth as she pulled out the object I’d hidden in the pasta - a gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring.
When she looked up, I was on one knee in front of her.
“Marry me, Rosie Posie?” I asked gently, taking the ring from her hand and holding it out.
She nodded vigorously and smiled through the tears streaming down her face.
“And that’s how you make marry-me lasagna on your first attempt,” I said with a smug smile.
She began to laugh, even as more tears streamed down her face.
I pulled her forward and kissed her hard, as if I was worried she’d disappear. Which was true. I had never been as frightened as I was when Trevor told me she’d moved back to the cottage. I thought I’d waited too long, and I’d lost her. But her text gave me hope. She had left a tiny window open for me to find her if I wanted to. And that was the real test, I realised.
Rose wanted to know if I had the courage to reach for love. If I dared to claim her.
“I didn’t believe in love, Rosie,” I blurted before I could lose the courage. “I grew up seeing a very bad example of it in my own home. My father used to hit my mother and justify it in the name of love. And my mother held on to that failed marriage, also in the name of love. I was convinced love was a scam designed to make people suffer. And I wanted nothing to do with it. But I fell in love with you without knowing how it came about, and it taught me that love can also be kind and beautiful, and it gives you the courage to go after what you want. So for what it’s worth, I love you, Rosie Posie.”
