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Luca pulled a little box out of his pocket, sinking to one knee. My heart cranked into gear, and tears sprang immediately to my eyes so I couldn’t even see what the ring looked like.
“Luna.” He swallowed hard. “From the first moment I saw you, I could only dream about being so lucky that you would look my way. From the first moment you kissed me, I didn’t want to be with another soul. A little over a year ago, you told me you weren’t quite ready to plan a wedding, but you promised to try. I don’t know if I’ve waited long enough, but I want to give you my promise too.”
I sniffled dangerously, trying to suck back the tide of emotions.
“I promise to love you until my last breath, to continue building a life with you that brings us both peace, and to be there for you every step of the way. Every day I wake up and think it’s not possible to love you more than I already do and then you prove me wrong every time I see you. I want to love you forever and I hope you want that for me, too. Luna Sophia Barlow, will you marry me?”
I couldn’t answer through the full-on sobs that hit me. This absolute gem of a human wanted to be my forever and I really wanted him to be mine.
“Luca Antony Marino! Yes,” I choked out.
I pulled him toward me, wrapping every limb around him.
“You should tell me a little louder,” he whispered in my ear. “I need to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating your answer.”
“Yes! I’ll marry you. You’re the only one who ever could’ve gotten a yes to that question.” I started laughing, the sobs giving way to giggles. “I love you so much.”
He kissed me until I couldn’t breathe and then pressed our foreheads together. “That’s what I like to hear. Do you want to try on your ring?”
“Yes, please.” I wiped my eyes using my shirt and took some deep breaths, pretty sure I was going to start crying once I saw it again.
I was right.
Luca slipped the band over my finger and I blinked rapidly so I could appreciate the view. The light was dim, but I could tell the stone was blue and the band had a four-strand braid weaving gold and platinum.
“I thought this way it would match the promise ring and then if you wanted to do gold for the wedding band, they would all go together. The stone is aquamarine. I found one the exact shade of your eyes, and I personally think they’re cooler than diamonds. The jeweler said they’re made of stardust and I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for you.”
That had me losing control all over again, and I climbed into his arms until I had collected myself.
“I didn’t do my nails to take pictures with it,” I lamented. It was a silly thing to be upset over, but now that the ring was on my finger, I wanted to show people.
“I know exactly which box has the nail polish. Do you want me to paint yours?”
“Would you?”
“Of course. Be right back.”
Luca made quick work of my nails under the pendulum lights in the kitchen, giving me some sparkly clear coat so that the ring was the star but it still looked like I had put in a bit of effort. I set my palm on his chest, snapped a photo, and immediately sent it to Allie, Auggie, Mama Marino, both my sisters, and Nicky to alert them of the good news.
A whole litany of congratulations immediately followed, but I set my phone aside and looped my arms around Luca.
We ate our pizza plastered to one another while Creamsicle tried to steal bites, and I chugged down water to compensate for the tears. The ring kept catching the light and I would get overwhelmed all over again, dragging Luca closer so I could ground myself with his kiss.
“Part of me wondered if we would ever get here,” Luca said quietly.
“I always did say you were husband material,” I joked.
Luca laughed, tucking my head beneath his chin. “I only care about being husband material if I get to be your husband.”
“I don’t even care how cheesy that line is because it’s cute as fuck. I’m really excited for you to be my husband. I never thought I would trust anyone to let them be that close.”
His touch on my hair was soft, and his crackly purr filled the silence we both lapsed into.
I snuggled in tighter. “Thank you for waiting for me to figure out my shit.”
“You were worth the wait,” he said simply. It was a rock-solid truth for him, and I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was that he had put his faith in me.
“I’m going to be the best wife,” I promised.
“You don’t need to be the best. You just need to be mine.”
I looked into the sweet brown eyes of my husband-to-be. “I can do that.”
