Matteo turns nonchalant. “Unless you’d rather not. I know you’re not that keen about matrimony.” He pauses. “It’s pretty nice, though. Big.”
His lips press together as he watches my expression. He’s trying not to laugh, the bastard.
Oh, it’s on.
I compose myself, thoughtfully pursing my lips as I fiddle with his lapel. “How big?”
“Massive.” He pretends to be thoughtful. “Now that I think about it, it’s completely gaudy. You wouldn’t want to wear it anyway. Diamonds that large only attract the wrong kind of attention. People will think you’re showing off.”
He sighs, looking away. “You’d probably be a target for muggers. You wouldn’t be able to wear it in public, that’s for sure. Just around the house. No, maybe not even there—the servants would talk, someone would plan a theft. I suppose you’d have to keep the thing locked up in a safe where the light of all those flawless carats can shine without the threat of being stolen. Hey, should we dance?”
“Where is this horrible, gaudy ring?” I shout, breaking. I take him by his lapels and shake him. “Show it to me now or I’ll kill you!”
He starts to laugh, loudly, grabbing me and pulling me against his chest so hard I lose my breath.
“It’s in my pocket, bella.”
I start to laugh, too. “And here I thought all this time you were just happy to see me.” I shove my hand into the left pocket of his trousers and come up with a small black velvet box. I stare at it, my hands shaking, my lungs constricting, all the blood draining from my head.
Matteo gently takes it from me and cracks it open.
He has to catch me before I fall.
“Jesus,” I say, clinging to him as he laughs. “That is gaudy. Tell me it’s cubic zirconia, I don’t want to think you had to put the castle in hock to buy that awful thing.”
“I love you,” he says, sliding the ring onto my finger. “Will you marry me?”
It is very, very hard to breathe. “I can hardly say no after you bought me the world’s biggest diamond.”
“My plan exactly,” he says, nodding. “But that wasn’t officially a yes.”
I gaze up into his eyes, blinking a few times to clear my vision from tears. Everything I’ve ever needed is gazing back at me. “Yes,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “Officially, yes. I love you with all my heart.”
“It’s the hair, isn’t it?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
“God, you’re bossy.”
“No, I’m just really good at digging in my heels.”
We share a grin. Then he kisses me to the sound of applause and champagne corks popping as Beans sinks her teeth into the hem of my dress.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, huge thanks are owed to my developmental editor, Melody Guy, who is incredibly good at her job and has the patience of a saint. You always make my books so much better, and I appreciate your talent and hard work.
Thank you to my team at Montlake Romance, specifically my editor, Maria Gomez, and the copywriting and proof-editing teams who put in such hard work to make the manuscript shine.
Thanks to all the bloggers who share and support my work, and to my readers, without whom I wouldn’t have a career.
Thanks to Jay for everything, always.
I created original pen and watercolor fashion sketches of Kimber’s collection for this book, which you can see on my Pinterest page: www.pinterest.com/jtgeissinger.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J.T. Geissinger writes unique, passionate love stories for readers who need more than cookie-cutter romance. Ranging from funny, feisty rom-coms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold more than one million copies and been translated into several languages. She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book and the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy and is a two-time finalist for the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. She has also been a finalist in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.
Join her Facebook readers’ group—Geissinger’s Gang—to take part in weekly Wine Wednesday live chats and giveaways, find out more information about works in progress, gain access to exclusive excerpts and contests, and get advance reader copies of her upcoming releases. You can also check out her website, www.jtgeissinger.com, or follow her on Instagram @JTGeissingerauthor and on Twitter @JTGeissinger.
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