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Seeing her soot-streaked face hurts. Ariana went too far. I will make sure that Ariana doesn’t get the chance to do this again. I don’t care about my own safety. Everyone dies. But she had no reason to attack Kelly. I know that the fire was laser-targeted to fuck with me.
She can’t imagine what I’m going to do next. There’s no way that she knows that she made me realize how important Kelly is to me.
The idea of Kelly dying in a fire hurts me. I know that we’ve been together for a matter of days, but I’ve known her for her entire life. She’s so different from Ariana that I know what I want now, while I have a moment of clarity. The bottom line is that Kelly is someone who means the world to me.
I let go of her hand and go outside. One of my men is sitting on a chair, taking a good look at everyone around.
“I need to go to the bank.”
“Of course, sir.”
I walk downstairs. By the time that I’m there, there’s a car waiting for me.
It might seem strange that I’ve kept my valuables in a bank, but they don’t have any paperwork. They just have some heirlooms, nothing to do with the business.
When I get there, the branch manager comes out. We don’t use the bank for anything illegal. My accounts here are related to our legal businesses.
“Hello, Mr. Genovese. What a pleasure to see you.”
He doesn’t say anything about the soot on my clothes.
“Hello, Mark. I’m here to take a look at my safety deposit box.”
“Of course,” he says smoothly. “Give me a minute to get my key. You have yours?”
“Yes.”
Mark goes to his office and pulls out a key from a drawer. I know that normally, he wouldn’t need to do this. But I’m a big customer.
He takes me into the room and unlocks my box with his key. I turn my key.
“Just put it back when you’re ready. Take your time, sir.” He walks out.
I swallow hard when I’m alone in the room with my safety deposit box. I open it.
There’s a small black box inside. I open it.
Even in the dim light of this secure room, Nonna’s ring sparkles. The diamond isn’t big. I close my eyes and think about my young childhood. I can smell my nonna’s lemony scent when I see this ring. It was always on her hand, even after my grandfather passed. In this ring, I hold hundreds of memories of sunny afternoons spent baking cookies and hearing her stories.
Taking this ring out is a big step. I hope it’s the right choice. Something inside of me says that Nonna would’ve loved Kelly.
And that decides everything. I put the ring box in my pocket, close the box, and slide it back into its place.
The ring feels heavy in my pocket. It’s a small box, but it means so much. The decision to marry Kelly is a crossroad in my life. It’s a momentous occasion. I take a moment to gather my thoughts and slow down my heart rate, then I walk out.
“Thank you,” I tell the manager who is hovering outside of the room.
“My pleasure.” Her heels click as she walks me to the door. “Have a pleasant day, now.”
“You, too.”
I haven’t decided how I’m going to propose to her yet. Public or private? Hearts and flowers or naked? So many choices.
I haven’t had sex with her yet. In my heart, I know what I was waiting for. For our first time, I wanted my ring to be on her finger.
Chapter Seventeen
Proposal
