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“You should give private tours,” I say when we’ve finished in the last room. “Seriously, people would pay a lot of money for this. It’s so interesting.”
“This is a private tour, just for you, darling.”
He pulls me close and kisses me madly, and when he pulls back, I swear I see nervousness in his eyes.
“Kane? What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve one more thing to show you.”
He leads me around the corner and into a new space that I’ve never seen before.
“Oh, is this the new exhibit?”
“Aye.” His voice is hushed. Reverent. He stands back while I walk through the room, soaking it all in.
It’s a riot of color. Teal, pink, yellow, red, purple. The shapes are long and sinuous. If I had to describe it in one word, I’d use sexy. It’s full of passion.
Suddenly, Kane’s standing behind me, his hands on my shoulders.
“This room is different,” he begins. “At first, I wanted to stick with just one color, but the more I thought and worked, I knew I could never narrow it down to just one. My feelings were too full of emotion, too raw, and it had to be expressed through color.”
He runs his hands down my arms, then settles them once again on my shoulders. “When I began working on these pieces, I’d just discovered the full extent of my feelings for you. Realized that I was so completely in love with you, I ached with it. Just looking at you fills me with emotions the magnitude of which I’ve never felt before. Sometimes, it burns red-hot, like this.” He points to a piece. “The times when I can’t help but make love to you, claim you. And other times, it’s a soft hum, like this yellow, when simply being with you fills me with joy and happiness.”
I turn to watch him now, rather than looking at the glass.
“This exhibit is you, Anastasia. It’s my dedication, my loyalty, and my love for everything you are. I can’t imagine a day without you in it, or a time when you’re not mine.”
To my utter shock, Kane lowers to one knee and holds up a gorgeous diamond ring, the gem sparkling in the light.
“Please marry me, Anastasia Montgomery. Be mine for all time.”
I fall to my knees before him and cradle his face in my hands.
“You’re the best part of my life,” I say, ignoring the tears falling down my cheeks. “Of course, I’ll marry you.”
He slips the ring on my finger, and then I’m caught up in him, his lips firmly on mine, kissing me as though his life depends on it.
“I’m going to make love to you, right here.”
“No one can see us, right?” I giggle when his eyes narrow, and then he pulls out his phone and taps on the screen. “What did you just do?”
“Told the staff to go home, and I manually turned off the cameras.”
“That’s pretty good for someone who didn’t know how to Google just a few months ago.”
“I’m a man of many talents, darling.” He slowly lowers me to a nearby bench. “Let me remind you.”* * *Is this my life? Just a few short months ago, I was admiring Kane O’Callaghan’s work, longing to add a piece to my small art collection, and now I’m wearing his ring.
I’m engaged to Kane O’Callaghan!
And I’m running late.
I hurry into the restaurant in downtown Seattle that Amelia and I love to frequent, and glance around, looking for my sister.
She waves from a table in the back, and I hurry over, offer her a hug, and then sit across from her.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“I’m sorry we have to celebrate your birthday late,” she says. “I hope you had a good day yesterday.”
“It might have been the best day of my life.” I pick up my water glass with my left hand, hoping my sister will see—and admire—my engagement ring.
“Well, that’s awesome. How’s work going since you’ve been back at it? Are you all caught up?”
“Mostly.” I do not want to talk about work. I want her to notice my ring. What the hell is wrong with her?”
“And how’s your shoulder doing?”
“Just fine. It’s pretty much back to normal now.”
“I’m so glad.”
We place our order with the waitress, and then I can’t stand it anymore.
“Aren’t you going to notice this?” I thrust my hand across the table and watch as Amelia starts to giggle.
“Of course, I noticed it as soon as you sat down.” She takes my hand in hers and studies my rock. “Cushion cut. Probably three karats. It’s absolutely gorgeous, Stasia.”
“Thanks.” I stare at it happily for a moment. “He asked me last night.”
“And you clearly said yes.”
“Clearly. You don’t seem surprised.”
“We knew it was coming. Not only did he ask Dad if it was okay, but he assembled the rest of us, too. It was really sweet. We interrogated him, but he answered all the questions right.”
