“A nod to your first daring escape attempt,” Teo explains.
I try to roll my eyes, but my heart is too busy knocking my breath out of me to be very effective. “I assume you expect me to pull it up myself?”
He winks at me, and I resign myself to the task.
It’s, in fairness, not a long rope, but it does take me a moment to detangle the box from its bindings.
It’s small and ornate, and it shivers slightly in my hands as I brace myself for what might be inside.
My fingers clumsily undo the latch and pry back the lid.
But there’s nothing inside.
He played me.
I swallow down the bitter, bitter disappointment that threatens to swallow me whole.
“Teo, this is really very mean. I wouldn’t?—”
The words catch in my throat as I turn around.
Before me, Teo is kneeling.
His devastatingly handsome face looks up at me with heartbreaking earnestness as he presents me with a ring.
Silver band. Brilliant diamond. Bigger than any I’ve ever seen.
But the sight does not hold my attention. Not when Teo begins to speak.
“Isabella Natali. You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met.” He smiles. “I don’t think there is anyone in the world that knows how to get under my skin like you do.”
“Teo.”
“You are mean, and you’re stubborn, and you know exactly what you want and how to get it. You are…a wonderful mother. A beautiful soul. And I want you to ruin me for anyone else for the rest of my life.”
“Teo.”
“I love you,belle.I will always love you. Will you marry?—”
“Yes!”
I throw myself at him. Unable to hold myself back for a moment longer.
And we kiss under the endless night sky.
