“Point made,” Kamal says dryly.
“Point always made,” I reply.
After dinner, dessert, and more toasting than any group of people should reasonably do, the party finally winds down. Jessa and Jaxon disappear first, not subtle about why. Connor and Meesha follow soon after, and Kamal heads to the bar to charm the bartender.
“Walk with me?” I ask Jasmine.
“I’m pretty tired, Antonio. It’s been a long night.”
“Just a short one. There’s something I want to show you.”
She hesitates, looking toward the direction of our villa.
“Please,” I add. “You won’t regret it.”
Something in my voice must reach her, because she nods. “Okay. Five minutes.”
I help her up, and she takes my hand. She’s bigger now, and I find myself watching her feet as we walk, ready to catch her if she stumbles.
The beach is empty. Moonlight silvers the sand and the water.
I sense the tension radiating from her as we walk. Whatever has been building these past two weeks is right there.
“Jasmine,” I say quietly, stopping. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t. Something’s been off with you for weeks, and I need to know what it is to fix it. Did I do something? Say something?”
She pulls her hand from mine, wrapping her arms around herself despite the warm night. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing if it’s putting this distance between us.” I step closer. “Talk to me. Please.”
“I heard you on the phone with Carmen.”
“Okay, and?”
She takes a breath. “You said you wouldn’t marry me. I get it. We never talked about marriage. This was always about the baby, and you’re here because you’re a good man who takes responsibility. I knew that from the beginning.”
“You think I’m only here because of our daughter?”
“Aren’t you?” Her voice breaks. “Everything we have is because...”
“Stop.” I take her face in my hands, making her look at me. “My mother has been calling me every day for weeks, asking when I’m going to propose. Telling me it’s improper and disrespectful for you to be having my baby without a ring.” I brush my thumb across her cheekbone. “I told her I wouldn’t propose because I wanted her to stop pressuring me. Because when I asked you to marry me, it needed to be because we were ready. Not because she thought we should.”
“Antonio...”
“I love you,” I say.
Jasmine freezes. “What?”
“I love you.” I take both her hands in mine. “I’ve been trying to find the perfect way to say it, but there isn’t one. So I’m just saying it. I love you, Jasmine.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“A billion percent.” I brush my thumb across her knuckles. “I love your strength. How you say more in five words than I do in fifty. That dry humor only I get to see. There is no other woman better suited for me.”
I used to wonder if I’d repeat my father’s mistakes. If the pattern was too deep in my blood to break. But standing here with her hand over my heart, I know that fear was never about destiny. It was about choice. And I’ve made mine.
