Off the Record (With Me in Seattle Mafia 3)
“I’m glad. It’s a relief. Because I have news, too.” She grabs Archer’s hand again with her free one. “We’re going to have a baby. And it’s going to be born into peace. And love.”
“Ah, little one.” Pop gathers Elena close and kisses the top of her head. “This might be the most loved baby to ever be conceived. I can’t wait to meet him or her.”
“Can they call you Papa?” Elena asks. “You’re the only father I’ve ever known.”
For the first time in my life, I see my father’s eyes fill with tears. “It would be my honor.”
* * *
“Do you hear that?” Annika asks, making me stop on the path that runs through my grandmother’s estate.
I stop and listen. “No. What?”
“Quiet.” She smiles and tips her face up to the sunshine. “It’s so quiet. And the air is light, like a huge weight has been lifted.”
“Because it has.” I kiss her hand, and we begin walking again, headed toward the pond where I spent summers splashing and swimming. Making mischief.
It’s here, in this special place, that I want to do what I’m about to do.
I’m not even nervous.
Okay, I’m a little nervous.
When we reach the bench by the water and Annika sits down, I lower myself to one knee and smile up at the most beautiful woman in the world.
Every time I look at her, my breath catches.
“Rafe.”
“Annika.” I grin and reach into my pocket for the ring. No box, just a ring. When I take her hand in mine, I’m surprised to find it shaking. “I’m supposed to be the nervous one.”
She just laughs and swipes at a tear on her cheek.
“I feel like this is millennia in the making. It seems like I’ve wanted to ask you this question for all of my adult life. And I know that there were reasons before why it wasn’t possible for us to be together.
“Those reasons are gone now. And I know that if I don’t ask you to be mine, as soon as humanly possible, I’ll regret it. I don’t want to waste any more time, Annika. You’re my soul mate. I need to be with you the way I need air. And I know what you’re going to say.”
She just laughs and swipes at more tears.
“You’re going to say that we’re together. And we are. It’s awesome. But I want more. I want everything. I want to make it legal. I want to give you my name. I want the whole package.”
“You want a lot.”
I sigh and lean in to kiss her cheek. “Yeah. I want a lot. But I’ll give you back just as much, if not more.”
“I know you will.”
“Is that a yes?”
“You didn’t actually ask me anything yet.”
“Oh. Right.” I clear my throat. “Will you marry me?”
“Of course.” She flings her arms around my shoulders and buries that sweet face in my neck. “Of course, I will, Rafe. There’s nothing in the world that I want more.”
“Thank God.” I ease back so I can slip the ring onto her finger.
“Oh, this is stunning. And so unique.”
“Yeah.” I kiss the ring on her finger and then slide up onto the bench with her. “The big diamond in the middle was my gram’s. Not from her wedding ring. My mom has that. But it was from a ring that my grandfather gave her on their twenty-fifth anniversary. She loved it very much. The green stone is from my mom.”
Her blue eyes fly to mine in surprise.
“Yeah, I asked her for help on this because I didn’t want to screw it up. Anyway, the emerald is from a necklace my father gave her for a birthday gift. The ruby is from your mom.”
“The ring my father gave her when she had me,” Annika says softly. “I’ve always admired that ring.”
“That’s what she said. The sapphires are from your Aunt Katya. They were earrings gifted to her by Igor.”
“Rafe, this is amazing.”
“One more thing,” I reply. “The gold is from Ivie. It was her mother’s wedding band.”
Annika gasps and starts to cry again. “Rafe.”
“The ring is all of us, Annika. Because family is important, and they’re all a part of us. They support us. They love us. And it’s with huge relief that I say I asked your father and Igor if I could ask for your hand, and they both gave me their blessing.”
She laughs as she turns her face up to me. “Well, I would have been surprised if they’d said no.”
“Still, I was nervous as hell.”
She sighs and settles in next to me on the bench as we quietly watch the water for a long moment. Ducks splash, but the leaves have long fallen, and winter is on the way.
“I have something else to discuss with you,” I say.
“You’re full of news today.”
I shrug and tighten the arm I have slung around her shoulders.