“Fast Five.”
“That’s a good one. Acceptable. Hm… What do you do for fun?”
“Torture and kill child predators. That was actually a big reason why I opened Crossroads. Everyone talks to the bartender.”
Her mouth fell open. “People openly talk about stuff like that with strangers?”
I nodded. “There are a lot of sick fucks out there. And I really like killing them. Slowly, painfully, sometimes over days.”
“Do you have any non-killing related hobbies?”
“Well, a little while ago I ran into this girl and she really likes to read, so I decided to pick up one of her favourite books to impress her and reading ended up becoming something I really enjoy.”
“Okay, fine.”
“What?”
“Okay, fine. You win. Hypothetically, one needn’t wait.”
I laughed, grinning. “So you’d say yes? Hypothetically.”
She nodded.
“Stay right here, don’t move.”
“Where—”
I was out the bedroom door and down the hall before she could finish her sentence. I dug into the left pocket of my leather jacket and pulled out a light blue velvet box.
After Violet officially went back to work, I had a lot of free time during the day. I’d gone back to my apartment last week for one thing and one thing only. My grandmother’s ring.
When I was nineteen, a lawyer showed up at my door with a letter and a box. The letter was from my mom’s mom. It was long-winded, basically apologizing for not being there during my life. My father had taken me away after Mom died and refused her access. She’d learned too late what he’d been doing to me and by the time she found out, I was safely with Eva’s family; she didn’t want to take me away from that. She’d left me everything she had but wanted to make sure this box specifically made itto me. It was her mother’s ring and it was supposed to be my mother’s ring, but she’d never taken it. My grandmother wanted me to have it. She’d said when the time came, she wanted me to have something with a history of love.
She’d included the love stories of her parents and herself. I never thought I would have what they did, but I found Violet—or more accurately she found me—and I wouldn’t want to give her anything else.
This week while she was working, I’d had a jeweller change it up a bit. The stone was perfect—a pear shaped, deep sea-blue sapphire—but the band was old and didn’t fit V’s style so I had it updated. The gemstone now sat snug in a braided band of black palladium. I knew she would love it, but I was way more nervous than I thought I would be as I stalked back down the hall. Violet was sitting cross-legged on the bed right where I left her.
“What—”
I sat on the bed and opened the box. “Marry me.”
Her breath hitched. “Austin this is beautiful. Where— How?—”
“Yes or no, baby?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “In every language, yes.”
I took the ring out of the box.
“No backing out now, Nightshade,” I said, sliding it onto her finger.
She stared at it for a solid minute before she looked at me, eyes watering, giant smile on her face.
“I love you.”
“I love you.”
I kissed her. My wife to be. My life. My future.
