The car slowed down as we approached a large gate made of metal. Cobblestone walls surrounded the property, and large trees could be seen on the other side. The actual estate was invisible because it was blocked by all the greenery.
The gates opened, and we drove inside.
Now I really had no idea what was going on.
The car drove down the concrete path until it approached a three-story home that looked like a mansion. Designed in classic Tuscan style, it reminded me of my parents’ home. It was surrounded by green plants and gorgeous flowers, all having survived the harsh winter.
The car stopped.
The driver came to the back and opened the door.
I took my cue and got out, inhaling the winter air straight into my lungs. I looked up at the house in the light of the sun, admiring its classic Italian features as well as its European history. There were large double doors at the front.
“Come with me.” He walked ahead of me, moving farther up the drive until we were fifty feet away from the car. “Mr. Roth wanted me to give this to you.” It was a small box, a rectangular package that could fit across both of my palms.
He walked away and left me alone with the gift Bosco wanted me to have.
I looked at the simple brown box made of leather and admired it, wondering what was inside. Was he giving this house to me? Why would he do that? I’d always told him this was where I wanted to live. Did he actually expect me to accept this gift? To live here with my husband and have my family?
I opened the box and looked inside.
It took me a second to understand what I was looking at.
There was a brown house key, beautiful in its design. It was antique-looking, like it was the original key made for the house. Beside it was something else…a diamond ring. A white gold band with an enormous single diamond in the center, it was simple, sleek…and beautiful. “Oh my god…” I stared at it without touching it, knowing once my fingers wrapped around it, I would place it on my left hand and never take it off.
There was also a note.
I set the box down and unfolded the piece of paper.
It was a handwritten note from Bosco.
* * *
Beautiful,
This isn’t a proposal.
But this is everything I want to give you, if you’ll have me.
The house has five bedrooms. One for us. One for each child you want to have.
This is the diamond ring I want you to wear until you die.
Ronan agreed to take over the casino so I can step back. I’ll be home with you every night. I’ll be away from that scene for good.
I’ll be the kind of husband you want me to be.
Losing the business I built with my bare hands is hard. But losing you is harder.
We have a long way to go. We have a lot of work to do. But I’m in this forever if you are. Come back to the penthouse if you want me. But if you don’t…then this is goodbye. Keep the ring so you’ll never forget how much I love you.
-Bosco-
* * *
My tears stained the paper and made the ink run. “Babe…”
When the elevator doors opened, he was already standing there, just feet from where the doors parted. His eyes were wide as if he couldn’t believe I was really there until he got a good look at me.
It seemed like he’d been standing there the entire time, waiting for me to turn around.
I’d cried on the drive home. I’d cried in the elevator. And now I was still crying, the brown box held tightly in my hands.
His jaw was tense, and his eyes were hard, the best expression of emotion he could muster. His entire body was tensed like he was ready for a fight, the adrenaline pumping hard in his muscles. He didn’t reach out and grab me, afraid I might be an apparition or his imagination.
I stepped out of the elevator with the box clutched tightly in my hand, containing the three things I wanted most in this world—my marriage, family, and his love. That was what I wanted from him, but it was too soon to ask for it. I’d never asked him to leave the casino because it would be wrong if I did.
We’d only been together for four months, and that wasn’t long enough to commit for a lifetime.
But with him, it felt like it might be.
He must feel the same way.
“I want all of those things,” I whispered through my tears. “You’re the only person I want them with. But…are you sure you want to do this? It’s a big sacrifice to make, and I wouldn’t blame you if—”
“Yes.” His hands moved to my arms, and he looked down into my tear-stained face, his emotions matching mine even if they weren’t visible on the surface. “I’m proud of the business I built. I’m proud I could provide for my family. I’m not ashamed of what I do, and I’ll never be ashamed of it. But things change…life changes. We can either change with it or get left behind in bitter regret. Losing you…is something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”