Page 244 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

She closed her eyes on a groundswell of emotion. ‘I thought you must have just grabbed the first thing you saw.’

He shook his head. ‘Even then, I knew it meant something. That it was important. Though this,’ he nodded towards the necklace, ‘I bought to irritate you.’

‘To irritate me?’ she repeated.

‘I thought you would hate it, and I quite liked the idea of that. And then, when I saw how much you loved your ring, I lost my taste for the joke.’ He cleared his throat. ‘And now, I wonder if you might love the necklace, as you loved the ring. I wonder if you would keep it and think of this day—the start of our daughter’s life, the start of our time as a family...’

‘Dante, I love it. I truly do. I love it because you bought it for me. I love it because you gave it to me. I love it because it’s stunning,’ she said on a small laugh. ‘Thank you for this. And everything.’

He leaned down, brushing his lips over hers. ‘All the thanks are mine,’ he retorted. ‘You have fundamentally changed me, Charlotte. I cannot imagine what my life would be like, had we not met.’

She shuddered a little. ‘Let’s not think about that.’

‘No, let’s never think about it. We did meet. We did marry.’

‘And we made all our dreams come true.’ She added, just as their baby woke and made a soft little sound that brought a tear to Charlotte’s eyes.

‘That is, indeed, the truth.’