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* * *
“Well, Mr. Bishop, what do you think?” I stare down at the custom diamond ring I had made at Harry Winston. The light reflects off it wildly, sending a shimmery pattern through the room.
“It’s perfect.” I hold it between my fingers, imagining it on Emery’s hand. Part of me can’t believe I’m sitting here right now about to buy an engagement ring for the woman I’ve secretly been in love with for over five years. The other part of me feels like I’ve been waiting a lifetime for this moment.
I pay for the ring and head out to my car. I need to stop by the club tonight and attend to some business before I head home, but there’s something else that’s nagging at me.
“Hey, Tony, let’s head to the club.” I nod toward him as he opens the back door on my car. I pause, my foot inside the door. I glance over my shoulder, an uneasy feeling that I’m being watched.
“Everything okay, boss?”
I look around, the flash of someone disappearing behind a far street corner catching my eye.While I haven’t heard anything more about the detective that was snooping around, something has me questioning if he really did back off the case. An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach. This whole situation with Dane almost feels too easy, like it was a trap.
I know that motherfucker is dead. I watched his brains explode out the back of his head and his life leave his eyes when I pulled the trigger.
I push the feeling away, telling myself I’m just paranoid.
“Yeah,” I say before sliding into the back seat. “Everything’s fine.”
* * *
Itry to focus on work, but I’m struggling with the uneasy feeling I felt earlier. Like someone was watching me. It isn’t the first time I’ve felt it in the last week, but it’s the first time I think I might have actually seen someone. I’m tempted to call Emery, ask her if she’s noticed anyone, but I don’t want to cause her concern. If someone is following either one of us, I’ll handle it.
“Evening, Mr. Bishop.” One of the club members nods toward me as he walks past me in the hallway.
“Evening, Tom.” I nod before slipping through the door of my office.
I reach into my jacket pocket, pulling out the ring and staring at it again. My fingers squeeze the box. I don’t care what it takes; nobody is ever going to separate me from Emery. I put the box back into my coat, turning my attention toward work for the next few hours before I head home.
By the time I get home, Emery is curled up in bed, her hair splayed across the pillow.
“Hey,” she says softly, rolling over as I walk softly through the room.
“Hey, baby. Go back to sleep.” She rolls all the way over, the sheets slipping away, revealing her naked body as she stretches her arms overhead. “On second thought.” I walk over to the bed, leaning down to kiss her while my hands roam her breasts.
“Everything okay?” Her brow furrows.
“Yes,” I reply, running my hand over her hair, “everything is okay.” I stare down at her, my hand running through her hair as her eyes flutter closed again. “Marry me.” Her eyes fly open and she stares up at me, trying to figure out if she heard me correctly.
“What?”
“Marry me, Emery.” I reach into my coat and pull out the box, opening it toward her. She sits up, clutching at the sheets as she stares at the ring, then back at me. “I know I don’t deserve you, I’ve never doubted that, but I do know that nobody will love you like I do. I also know that I’m not a good man, Emery. I can guarantee that I won’t reach heaven but you, you’re the closest thing I’ll ever get to heaven. You’re my heaven, my everything.”
Her lip quivers as she stares at me. I lean forward to kiss her and she throws her arms around my neck.
“Yes,” she says in a hushed whisper before pulling away to look at me, her hands in my hair as she peppers my lips with kisses, saying ‘yes’ over and over again.
“You’re mine, forever.” I slide the ring onto her finger, both of us looking down at the diamond as it sparkles in the moonlight that’s streaming in through the window.
“Forever,” she repeats.
“I mean it, Emery. There’s no getting out of this unless you or I die. No matter how angry we might be, we’ll fight through it because when it comes to us, to our love, there’s no escape. I will fight to the ends of the earth to keep you safe and if you ever decide to leave, I will search from the bottom of the ocean to the moon to find you. Do you understand me?”
“I understand.” She smiles, her forehead pressed against mine.
“Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours.”
