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I moan and grind my butt against his erection. “Wrecked you perhaps?”
“Damn straight.” Ryan suddenly places a rectangular box on the wide ledge beside me, momentarily distracting me from seeking my pleasure. “Happy anniversary, Stella.”
I spin around to face him. “Oh, Ryan! I didn’t even think you’d remember. I never imagined myself having a wedding anniversary.”
“Neither did I,” he confesses, then cups my jaw and murmurs against my mouth. “Yet here we are.” He kisses me in a way that leaves me breathless with want, then lifts his head. “Well, go ahead. Take a look.” His eyes are full of mischief and something tender that makes my heart race even faster.
I take the black velvet box, my hands shaking a little. “You shouldn’t have,” I say, but we both know I don’t mean it. I turn back to the ledge, snap it open, and gasp. Inside is a necklace of tiny diamonds, ending in a large blue diamond pendant.
“My God, Ryan!” I gasp in shock. “It’s the blue diamond. Again.”
“You already have the earrings. It’d be a shame not to complete the set.”
“But Ocean Gate’s fortune was built on these very diamonds! They’re the ones found by Aaron Fairchild in South Africa two hundred years ago.”
“Someone’s been doing their homework,” Ryan teases.
“Well, I made Gina tell me when you just wouldn’t. Ryan, these diamonds must have cost a fortune.”
While not the rarest in the world, they certainly are the most expensive to acquire from the family vaults. He would have to give up a sizeable chunk of assets in exchange for them.
“Stella, you already gave me the most precious gift. You.”
“Oh, Ry,” I bite my lip as tears spring to my eyes.
He bends to my ear. “Too sweet and sappy? Shall I stop?”
“Don’t you dare.” I finger the cool stone, marveling at how it catches the morning light.
“It’s beyond beautiful.”
He takes the necklace and clasps it around me. “Not as beautiful as you,” he replies, his voice causing shivers down my spine.
I turn to face him, and words spill out. “I have a gift for you too. I was saving it for your birthday yesterday but you…ah, we got carried away.”
He chuckles. “What is it, then?”
I hesitate. “It’s not a gift per se, but it could also be, depending on how you look at it. I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily consider—”
“Stella. Spill it.”
“I’m pregnant, Ryan.”
The world seems to halt for a moment. Ryan looks at me, then at then at the tea on the ledge and back to me, as if just putting it together. He never asked why I switched to tea. A joy like I’ve never seen before spreads across his face.
“You’re serious? We’re... I’m going to be a father again?” His voice is thick with emotion.
Again. I nod, knowing it shouldn’t surprise me because it’s Ryan, but I can’t help marveling at how deeply he loves Harriet.
“Yes,” I say, tears welling up in my eyes. “You’re the most amazing dad, Ryan. I’d choose you over and over again as the father of my children.”
He pulls me into his arms, his embrace enveloping me, his strength surrounding me. “I love you, Stella. This... this is the best gift you could ever give me. A mini you. Another one like Harriet.”
“What if it’s a boy?”
“We’ll call him Ronin.”
“Not on your life!”
