Page 82 of My Ghost

“I’ll carry you,” he insists.Before I can protest, we are in the small bathroom that feels even smaller with his bulk cramped inside.He puts me down and holds my hands to steady me.

It turns out I can perfectly stand on my own.“I’m good, you can go.”

“No,” he all but growls.

“Matteo, I want to use the bathroom, I can’t do it with you inside!”

“We’re getting married, there’s nothing you can hide from me.”

“I’m not hiding,” I cry out in frustration.“I want privacy when I go to the bathroom!”He merely scowls down at me and I feel the need to aggravate him.“And about that proposal, it’s the worst proposal ever.I’m not even sure it’s morally acceptable, since I was confused because of the concussion.”

His eyes are on me, hard and unblinking.“In that case, I’ll ask you again and again, every damn day until my last breath, as long as your reply stays the same.As for the validity, you heard the doc, you seem to suffer from no memory loss or from confusion, so your point is moot.”He gently pulls me to him.“Looks like you are mine, irrevocably and eternally mine, little ghost.”

I laugh, although my heart is beating like a drum in my chest.“Fine, whatever, big guy.But now get out, I need privacy.”I push him out and this time he doesn’t resist.

* * * *

The next day, I am discharged and, unsurprisingly, Matteo carries me up to his penthouse and into the shower where he washes me with heartbreaking tenderness.I wince when I see my face in the mirror.My lower lip is split and my cheeks are bruised.My right eye still looks a bit swollen, but it’s not hurting.Beyond that and the slight ache on the back of my head, I guess I’m fine.

Matteo wraps me in one of his shirts and throws on a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt.Then he gently sets me down on the couch when I assure him that I’m good and I don’t need to sleep.He brings me a glass of water, covers me in a throw blanket and suddenly, everything else fades.

I feel the mood shift.

“Matteo,” I start.“I wanted to tell you about…the message.”

“I’ve found your folder, little ghost.”He is kneeling on the rug in front of me, caging me in with a hand on either side of my thighs.

“Oh…okay.”I let out a shaky breath.“Then you saw where it came from.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I…” I nervously lick my lips, unnerved by his closeness.“I wanted to, a million times.I swear.But…I don’t know,” I admit, looking into his eyes.“I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t trust me enough.”His voice is raw.

“I’m sorry I didn’t, but I trust you now.”

He looks at me and the intensity is undoing me.“You could have been seriously hurt, or worse,” he grits out.“Because you.Didn’t.Trust.Me.”His gravelly voice is laced with agony.

I lift a hand to his face to appease him.“Matteo, I’m okay, you came to get me.You saved me…us.”

He lifts his hand to gently hold the back of my neck and he puts his forehead against mine.“I nearly lost you.I thought I had…” His voice falters.“And by God,amore, I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.I was drowning when you disappeared and I couldn’t find you.”He closes his eyes and lets out a shuddering breath.“I can’t fucking breathe when I’m not near you.I need you, little ghost.You own me.”

He opens his eyes again and cups my jaw to lift my face to his, making sure that I see the unconcealed yearning in them.My heart is pounding wildly in my chest.

“Erin, I love you.I’ve loved you the moment my eyes fell on you at that club.I’ve loved you even harder when you kicked me in the shin, so unafraid and infuriating.”

I huff out a laugh and he chuckles.But then he is serious again.

“You’ve been haunting me from the day I laid eyes on you.But I was a bastard.I pushed you away because I wanted to keep you out of the darkness I live in.But I’m done pretending.”

His hand dips into his pocket and my heart stops.

“I had this made before you ever came back to me.I thought we’d never see each other again, and still, I couldn’t let go of the memory of you.This way I had a little part of you—of us—always with me,” he murmurs, pulling out a small, black velvet box.When he opens it, I see a dark platinum band shaped like twisted vines, cradling a single black diamond in the center.Around it are smaller violet diamonds.My heart stutters.It’s so…us.It’s perfect.

“You are my world, the air I breathe.Be mine forever, marry me.”

My breath hitches and his words loop in my head.He…loves me.