Page 40 of And Everything In Between (Love By Any Means #3)

“You sure about this? About me?” she whispered.

“I've never been more sure of anything in my life.”

She searched his face and found only certainty reflecting back at her. The same certainty she felt bone-deep.

He brought a hand to her chin, drawing her gaze back to his. “Hey, don’t do that.”

She nodded her head and drew in all the breath she could muster up.

“I'm not doing it here.” He wanted that to be clear and quick. “Not in a car or in a parking lot. But I need you to know that's where we're headed. If you want to say no now, we can turn around. No harm, no foul, baby.”

Paige let out a shaky breath. “To Vegas? Or to whatever you're planning to ask me on a rooftop somewhere?”

His smile deepened, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Both.”

She should have been surprised. Should have needed time to think.

But nothing about them had ever been traditional, from stopping traffic at a car show to dancing slowly in an empty shop to falling in love faster than either of them had planned.

Spontaneous wasn't reckless when it came to Giovanni. It was just them.

“Let’s get on the helicopter,” she said, voice calm despite the butterflies running amuck in her stomach.

He studied her face for a long moment. “You sure about this? When I make my mind up, you know-”

“I’m sure about you,” she replied cutting him off, she didn’t need to hear anymore. “Everything else is just details.”

Giovanni leaned across the car and kissed her, one hand cradling her face. When their lips parted, his eyes were now brimming with tears.

“Let’s go then.”

The next hour passed in a blur. The helicopter ride was both terrifying and exhilarating, Giovanni's hand wrapped around hers, calm and certain as they soared above the city lights.

As they approached Vegas, the pilot announced they had one more stop before landing. The helicopter banked toward one of the tallest buildings on the strip, a luxury hotel with a rooftop helipad illuminated against the night sky.

The rooftop was transformed. String lights cast a warm glow over the space, and a small table with champagne stood near the edge, overlooking the neon landscape of the Vegas strip.

The breeze was cool against Paige's skin as Giovanni guided her, his hand warm at the curve of her waist. They stood in silence for a moment.

He was more nervous about this than he was the premiere.

“You know,” Giovanni said finally, close to her ear, “the first time I saw you at that car show, everything went quiet. Like the world stepped back to let me see you clearly.”

Paige turned to face him, her back to the railing. “I remember. You stopped traffic.”

“Worth it.”

He took both her hands in his and kissed them both but letting the last kiss linger. She could feel the slight tremor in his fingers. Her man was nervous. That made her love him more.

For a moment, they stood at the edge of the rooftop, the world going on about its business.

It wasn't worried about them, and they weren't worried about it.

Their world was right here on this rooftop, swirling and rotating around them.

The city hummed with noise below, but up here, there was only the quiet certainty between them.

“I didn't plan this,” he admitted. “Not like this. But watching you this weekend, seeing you with my people, in my world... I realized I don't want to wait anymore.”

He took a breath.

“I love you, Paige Bishop. I love the way you carry yourself. I love how you take care of your people. I love how you take care of me. I love how you let me love you. Because then I get reminded that I deserve that shit too.”

She tightened her grip on his hand, letting the gesture acknowledge what words couldn’t.

Her eyes were glossy but anchored. She wasn’t the type to cry, and neither was he.

But the tears in his eyes stole her breath and nearly tipped her over.

This was a moment so big it deserved tears of joy. She understood and felt the same way.

And the silence stretched. He was praying he hadn’t read her wrong. The thought that the universe might say she wasn’t his to have and to hold made his stomach turn. The wind kicked up, but she didn’t flinch. Her fingers stayed laced within his.

“I love you. And I need you just like you need me,” she affirmed.

That did it for him. It always did. In one fluid motion, Giovanni dropped to one knee.

“You are everything to me. Beautiful, kind, funny. You have such a good heart, and the way you love people should be offered as a college course. We could all stand to learn something from you and the way you embody love from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.

“I’m not even gonna hit you with that lame-ass ‘you deserve the world’ line.

That’s too passive. Too soft for how I’m coming behind you.

You will have everything your heart desires.

Everything you deserve , and then some. You won’t ever have to ask, beg, or wonder if I got you. I do . That’s a promise.”

He paused, eyes locked on hers.

“I want this life—with you . Only you. I want you to be my wife. It’s that simple.”

“It’s simple, huh?” she asked, voice cracking with emotion.

“Yeah,” he nodded, stepping closer. “So, what do you say? Will you trust me... just one more time? And marry me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, then louder, “Yes, of course. I’ll marry you.”

“Tonight?” Giovanni asked, already on his feet, his hands cradling hers again.

She pulled her head back, blinking like she needed to be sure he meant it.

He did.

“Tonight,” she said, smiling through the shock.

Giovanni laughed, lifting her off her feet in a tight embrace. “I fucking love you, Paige Bishop.”

“Uhm, Paige Dowlen,” she corrected, grinning against his mouth.

“Damn, that sounds good.” He lowered her gently to her feet, mouth still close. “You still gon have my babies?”

“Yes, but not five. I was coerced into saying that when you had my legs pinned by my ears baby.”

He laughed through his tears, emotion thick in his throat. They stayed locked in that moment, suspended under the Vegas sky, until reality tugged at them both. The helicopter pilot gave a discreet nod toward the elevator.

Hand in hand, they rushed back downstairs to the waiting limo, still floating on the decision they’d made. When the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Giovanni guided her through with his hand resting on her hip, protective and proud all at once.

As they slid into the limo, laughing about how crazy they were for doing this, Paige suddenly froze. Her laughter died in her throat as tears sprang to her eyes.

“Oh my God.”

Blake and Emon sat waiting, Blake already dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, Emon with a bottle of champagne and four glasses balanced on his knee.

“Y’all...” Paige’s voice broke. “Thank you for being here.”

“Stop,” Blake said, reaching for her hand. “Family sticks together. We’re here for y’all in any capacity we can be.”

Giovanni caught Emon’s eye in a silent exchange of brotherhood. Then his thoughts turned to Spirit, he’d need to give his sister a raise. She deserved it. None of this would’ve been possible without her pulling these strings behind the scenes.

The Little White Chapel wasn’t what either of them had imagined for their wedding day.

Not that Paige had spent much time dreaming about white dresses and flower arrangements, she was too practical for that.

And Giovanni had been too focused on building his empire to think about who he’d share it with or if he would ever share it.

Yet here they were. Paige in a cream dress that Blake picked out when they parted.

Giovanni was still in his premier suit, standing before an officiant who looked like he’d seen everything Vegas had to offer twice over and remained unimpressed.

No flowers. No fuss. No extended family or childhood friends.

Just them and Blake and Emon as witnesses.

When the officiant asked for their vows, Giovanni took her hands in his thumbs brushing over her knuckles.

“Paige...” He breathed her name knowing the weight it held.

Like it was the only thing keeping him standing.

“I spent years building everything I thought would make me whole. The shop, the name, and even the show. But none of it.” He paused, jaw tightening, voice threatening to crack, “None of it ever made me feel like this. Like you do. Nothing I’ve ever created matters as much as what we're building together. I promise to acknowledge your dreams, honor your independence, and see you, not just as my wife, but as the complete woman you are, every single day for the rest of our lives.”

He swallowed; eyes fixed on hers. “You came into my life soft and loud at the same time. I knew from that moment that I’d be willing to do whatever to make it to today.”

She reached out and touched his face. Her big teddy bear was a mess. He leaned into her hand, placing a kiss to the inside of her palm.

“I haven’t always had the words. Still don’t sometimes. Because how the hell we get here?” He laughed. “But what I know is that I’m better with you. Calmer. Louder in the right way. And I promise, on everything, I won’t let this love sit idle.”

“I promise to honor your quiet days, hype your wild ones, and hold you through the in-between. I’ll be your safe, your steady, your soft spot to land, even when it’s hard . Especially when it’s hard.”

He exhaled slowly, tears finally pushing past his control.

He was a mess behind Paige, and he wasn’t ashamed to let the world know that.

“You are... the best thing I’ve ever been part of building, Paige.

The only thing I got right without a blueprint or a backup plan.

And let me be clear you never needed that from me. It was always in you.”

He blinked through the tears. He never wanted to take away from who she was before, what she had accomplished, and experienced. “I’d do it all again. From scratch. Just to end up here, with you. ”