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“Hungry?” he asks me as he takes his seat across from me.
“Famished.”
All it takes is a quick glance over his shoulder and someone steps out from the nearby farmhouse. Merrybell hurries over with a tray balanced in her hand, our meals still steaming because they’re so fresh. The scent of rosemary and garlic fills my nose, causing my stomach to grumble eagerly in response. Merrybell sets our meals down with a flourish of her hand.
“I hope you enjoy,” she says with a big grin.
I giggle. “Did he rope you into this, too?”
“Are you kidding? Ivolunteered. He was going to need all the help he could get to pull this off. Who do you think took care of Polina’s transfer?”
“I should have known.”
“Merrybell,” my husband groans.
“I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.”
“You’re not going to stay?” I ask.
“Oh, no. It’s quite alright. I’ve got a hot chocolate waiting for me inside, and I’m sure Mr. Antonov has a pressing question to ask you.”
Pyotr clears his throat. “Thank you, Merrybell.”
I glance at him. “Question? What question?”
Merrybell scurries off with a quickoops, but Pyotr doesn’t explain further. Instead, he tells me, “Please, enjoy your meal.”
I eye him suspiciously. “I’m not going to stop asking until you answer me.”
“It’s nothing, Alina.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
Pyotr huffs. “I’m not blushing.”
It’s true, he’s not. I just wanted to see if I could fluster an explanation out of him. I smirk at him. “What are you hiding?”
Finally, he sighs. “I was hoping we could enjoy dinner first, but I guess this is as good a time as any.”
“What are you talking ab—”
Before I can my sentence, Pyotr vacates his chair and gets down on his knee beside me. He reaches into the inside pocket of his suit blazer and pulls out a small, navy-blue ring box covered in soft velvet. He pries the box open to reveal—
Nothing.
To say I’m confused is an understatement. A bemused laugh bubbles past my lips. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“You’re already wearing the ring,” he points out, but then his expression suddenly turns grave. “I never got the chance to propose to you, Alina, so I wanted to do it now.”
“We’re already married, silly.”
“That’s true, but it wasn’t on our own terms. We’re about to start a family together… I want us to be able to look back one day and not have any regrets.”
I hold my breath. I understand what he means perfectly. Our choice to wed was stripped from us, but now we’re calling the shots. Yes, we’re already husband and wife, and this proposal is largely symbolic, but that’s why it’s so important to me. How can I ever begin to describe the love I have for this man? How could I have ever known that the day we got married would be the first step to the rest of my life?
“Alina,” he begins, “from the moment I laid eyes on you, I was stunned by your beauty.”
“Really?” I ask with a light laugh. “You looked half as terrified as I was.”
