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I fought with not smiling as I did my best to keep my voice calm and casual. “Oh. Is that right?”
She sucked her teeth. “You better not fucking gloat, Dante.”
“I'm not gloating.” I held up my hands. “I'm just listening. Go ahead. Share with me. How did poor Alonzo take it?”
Sighing, she lowered the heat for the steak. “I explained that your return. . .it brought up. . .”
I raised my eyebrows.
“It brought up a lot of feelings. Things I thought I had moved past. Therefore, I didn't think it would be fair for him to continue our dating, until I figured out what is going on with you and me.”
Her words hung in the air.
Zuri shifted her attention to the potatoes.
I checked them out.
She'd diced the potatoes just like I loved it, and now they were golden-brown and perfectly crisped.
I left the counter and moved closer. “I never wanted to complicate things for you.”
“Bullshit, Dante.”
“I didn't.”
She turned off the heat for the potatoes and stared at me. “Look. Even though I did that with Alonzo, that doesn't mean we are back together.”
“Okay.”
“It just means that I don't want Alonzo further complicating this very insane situation. . .and I also would like you to not hurt him.”
My heart beat rapidly as my gaze met hers. My hands twitched with the urge to reach for her. “Do me a favor, Zuri.”
She placed the spatula on the plate next to the stove. “What?”
I took a step closer. “In the past five years, I fucked up. But if there's one truth that stands unshaken, it's my love for you. Do you believe me?”
Her bottom lip quivered. “Yes.”
“Then, do something for me.”
“What?”
“Pull out the ring.”
Silence enveloped us, broken only by the quiet hum of the refrigerator.
Then, slowly she raised her hand, and her fingers slipped the necklace out the top of her lace dress.
I closed the distance, our bodies almost touching, the emotional space between us narrowing with each breath.
“This ring. . .” I gazed down at it. “To me, this is more than just precious metal and a valuable stone.”
Her fingers shook as they touched it.
“That night, I gave you this ring because I wanted to spend my life with you, Zuri, to build a future where our love is the foundation.”
Her eyes watered.
“That also hasn't changed.” I trembled, scared out of my mind. “So. . .”
A tear escaped her eye, tracing a path down her cheek. “What are you doing, Dante?”
“I love you, Zuri.” I lowered to my knees and looked up at her. “And I'm asking you again, will you marry me?”
“Dante. . .you just got back.”
“For you, I've returned.” I touched my chest. “For me, you never left my heart.”
She parted her lips.
“If you need time to think about it, then do so in this year that you're planning our huge wedding.”
“Oh my God.” She continued to touch the ring. “Get up.”
“I'm back, and I don't want to wait anymore to live.” I rose from the floor. “I want it all now. You off your feet and relaxing in whatever beautiful house you desire. You've been doing parenting all by yourself. I'm back. That ends now. You don't have to take Carmen to school, cook, or even work—”
“I like my job with Rowe Street Mob—”
“They're dangerous—”
“You're dangerous.”
I frowned.
She twisted the ring in her hand. “I'm not going to quit working.”
I gave up on that battle. “At least, they protect you.”
“They do.”
I gritted my teeth. “But, I'm fucking watching them.”
“They know you are.”
I looked at the ring. “Will you marry me, Zuri?”
“I want a long engagement to make sure you are still my Dante.”
I grinned. “How long?”
“Several years.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Two years.”
“Two years, and then we start planning the wedding.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then, you're saying three years?”
“That's what I'm saying.”
I considered it. “Fine, but we move in together immediately. I'll stay here until I get us a place.”
“No. My condo is my sacred space, and we are relearning each other. While you can spend the night this time, you are not moving in, until I decide.”
I scowled at her. “Is that right?”
She shrugged. “I'm not changing and uprooting my and Carmen's way of life just because you're back—”
“I want to wake up to you both every morning.”
“Then, I will give you a picture of us to place by your bed.”
I sneered and then calmed myself.
Relax. She hasn't said no. Focus on that.
I sighed. “We move in after three months.”
“We discuss moving in after a year.”
Goddamn it.
In that moment, I saw not just the woman I loved but also the new strength and power she possessed. She was cutthroat in her negotiations, unyielding in her terms, and it only made me admire her more.
I smirked. “Do you know something, Zuri?”
“What?”
“You've been spending too much time around gangsters.”
Her lips curved into a beautiful smile. “I try to get away from gangsters, but they just keep coming back.”
