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He could hold on no more. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her to him and held her tightly, inhaling that sweet scent he had so missed. ‘I love you, Rosa Baranski. You have no idea how much. You are everything to me.’
She expelled a sigh and tilted her face to look at him. ‘I love you too. More than anything.’
‘I’m scared,’ he finally admitted, his chest heaving with the words.
‘Of what?’
‘Hurting you.
‘You’ve already done that and I’m still standing. And, Nico, you can’t put all the blame on your own shoulders. We’re as bad as each other at keeping things internalised.’
‘Not any more,’ he vowed, clutching her hand and pressing it against his chest.
He had always needed his physical and mental space. And yet after spending three nights sharing a bed with Rosa sleeping alone had felt...well, wrong was the only way he could describe the strangeness of it all. And who else had he ever felt compelled to confide in? Who else’s opinion did he value? No one. Just Rosa. Just his wife.
But what if he slipped back into his old, cold ways? He could not stomach the thought of causing her further pain. She had suffered enough in her life. They both had.
He’d closed his eyes when she palmed his cheek in turn. ‘Nico, look at me,’ she commanded in a tone she must have picked up from him.
When he opened them, he found her eyes full of such softness and love he feared his chest would burst from the pressure inside it.
‘I am not expecting miracles and neither should you,’ she said gently. ‘You are who you are, and I wouldn’t change anything about you—not even your bastard tendencies. Just as I am who I am, with all my insecurities. As long as we love each other, and are honest and committed to us, we can work anything out.’
His chest expanded at the faith and love reflecting from her eyes.
‘It feels as if I have spent my entire life alone,’ he said, keeping her hand tight against his chest, certain she could feel the hammering of his heart. ‘But I never felt lonely. It wasn’t until you left that I realised how empty and cold my life really was and how much I needed you. Without you, nothing is the same. Everything is wrong. You, daragaya, are everything to me.’
Her eyes didn’t waver. ‘And you are everything to me. You make me whole.’
He gripped her hand even tighter, his finger grazing the spot where her wedding ring should be. ‘Marry me.’
Her brows furrowed into a question.
‘Marry me—let’s renew our wedding vows and do it properly this time. And this time the rings we exchange will mean everything they should have done when we first did it.’
Rosa’s smile could have illuminated an entire city. ‘I can’t think of anything I want more. Yes. A hundred times yes.’
Hands snaking around each other’s necks, they pulled together into a kiss full of such love and hope the last residue of self-doubt was dislodged and their hearts became complete.
