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I can barely breathe. This beautiful, quiet, gentle giant of a man loved me when I had nothing to give him. Never asked me to forget, to choose, to hurry. He bought a ring when I was hundreds of miles away, without knowing if I would ever come back, and kept it in a drawer.
He wasn’t waiting for me to stop loving Damiano or for my grief to disappear. Just for me to choose him.
Jude takes the ring from the box, his eyes finding mine.
“Marry me?”
I laugh through my tears. “Yes.”
His shoulders drop like he was actually worried.
“Yes! One thousand times yes!”
He slides the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly. Of course it does. I stare down at it, turning my hand as the yellow diamond catches the morning light.
Then something occurs to me.
“Wait.”
His eyebrows pull together.
“You already had the ring.”
“Yeah.”
“For months.”
“Yeah.”
“And you never said anything. Never even hinted at it.”
“No.”
I stare at him. “Were you ever going to propose?”
His eyes hold mine. “When you were ready.”
My throat closes. “But what if I never was?”
A small shrug. “Then I would’ve kept the ring.”
Just like that. He would’ve kept loving me without asking me for a promise I couldn’t make.
“You’re crazy,” I whisper, tears starting all over again.
“Probably.”
“I love you so much, Grumpy.”
“Know.”
“Arrogant asshole.”
He smiles, and I throw my arms around his neck. He catches me, laughing as I nearly knock him backward.
“I love you,” I say again against his mouth.
His arms tighten around me. “Love you too, baby.”
