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“This is so cute.”
“I thought it was a neat touch,” Gray says from the staircase. “The stairs would be a deterrent for me though, I’d worry about rolling down them and cracking my skull.”
“Yeah, if I get any bigger, they’d be an issue.” I rest one hand on my stomach and hold tight to the railing as I descend. “Wow, look at the rest of the bedroom though. My whole apartment could’ve fit in here.”
Under the spiral stairs, there’s a large walk-in closet. “This is nice. I always wanted a walk-in closet.”
“Don’t get attached. That’s supposed to be the ‘husband closet.’”
“Like, the husband lives in there or stores his clothes in there?” I tease.
“Maybe both.”
A king bed takes up most of one wall and on the other side another door opens to an even larger walk-in closet. “I think I found the ‘wife closet’! Holy crap!” The racks where clothes would normally hang are empty, but rows of shoes line an entire wall. “A woman after my heart,” I sigh.
Gray chuckles. “Thought you’d like that.”
The closet is so long, there’s a door on the other end. I pop out near the spiral staircase. “I’d never make it out of the bedroom to the rest of the house.”
“Come see the bathroom.”
“There’s another one?” I hurry to his side.
A long vanity counter with mirrors and drawers takes up the space outside of the bathroom. “I’d be in heaven there. Look at all those perfectly placed outlets.”
“It has a steam shower, whatever that is,” Gray calls from the bathroom.
I follow his voice, stepping into the cool, white tile floors. The entire bathroom is shiny white tile with pops of gray accents. Silver fixtures. A large soaking tub and walk-in shower. Another vanity counter and sinks. “Are the owners some sort of celebrities?” I ask.
“I don’t think so.” Gray shrugs. “Do you like it?”
“I never knew I had such strong opinions on bathrooms before. But I love it.”
“Good.” He takes my hand again. “Let’s go outside.”
“Gray.” I stop in my tracks, tugging on his hand. “What are we doing here.”
“Let’s go outside and I’ll tell you.”
Confused, anxious and a tiny bit hopeful, I trot down the stairs after him. In the kitchen, he slides one of the doors open and flicks a switch. Lights burst over the stone patio.
“Someone’s serious about their security lights,” I mutter. “Emily would love this.”
“Yeah, I liked that too.”
Now that we’re outside, I notice the covered pool in the center of the patio. An iron fence surrounds the immediate pool area, then leads to the backyard. “They even have a pool, oh, and a pool house! How cute.”
“I think it was a kid’s playhouse.” Gray nods to the short front door of the little house. “Not quite grown-up size.”
“Oh, yeah. How adorable.” I lean over to peer in the window. It’s too dark to make out much, though.
To our right, the patio widens into a hidden space with a canopy and bench. “They called this the love nook,” Gray says.
“Cute.” Tired from our tour, I plop down on the bench and admire the little lights over the canopy. I sense Gray ease into the seat next to me.
“Serena.” Gray’s serious tone snaps my attention away from the lights.
He slides his hand over mine. “Serena, you’ve given me hope when I had despair. You’ve brought light into my world that I thought would be forever dark. I wasn’t truly free until the day we met. You’re the key that unlocked my heart. Whatever years I have left, I want to spend loving, protecting, and cherishing you. I want to raise a family with you. I’d rather go back to prison tomorrow than be free for the next fifty years, if you’re not my wife.”
Shivers race over my skin.
“Will you marry me?” He slides a white and gold box open.
Through the twinkling lights and tears suddenly clouding my vision, I can’t see what he takes out of the box. But it doesn’t matter. I already know the answer to the question.
“Yes!” A torrent of tears burst out of me, along with the happiest laughter to ever pass my lips. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His warm hand curls around mine. He gently guides a ring down my finger. The cool metal slides against my skin and rests firmly in place. I blink to clear the tears and stare at my hand. “Oh my God! It’s pink! And rose gold. How did you know? It’s so beautiful.” The most perfect peachy-pink, cushion-cut stone twinkles on my finger. A halo of tiny diamonds sparkle around the stone and over the band. “It’s huge.”
“Well, when I realized you wanted a sapphire instead of a diamond, I thought bigger would be better.”
I can’t stop staring at it. It’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever worn.
“If you don’t like it, we can get something else.” He lets out a dry laugh. “The jeweler and I are close buds now.”
