Page 40 of Murder on an Italian Island (Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries #12)
FRIDAY
My windsurfing session on Friday was as exhausting as I had expected, but I did it for Anna. Yes, on balance, I had to admit that I had enjoyed quite a lot of my week of windsurfing, but somehow, I didn’t think I was going to go out and buy myself a board any time soon.
At the end of the afternoon, after splitting a bottle of Prosecco with Tatsuo, Ingrid and Stefano, I dragged Oscar away from this apparently limitless supply of tasty titbits, and Anna and I walked back along the coastal footpath towards the hotel.
We let ourselves in through the gate in the fence and I led her to the top of the path above the private beach where we stopped to admire the view one last time.
The beach itself was empty and the only sounds were a couple of noisy seagulls in the distance.
The sea shimmered in the late-afternoon sun, a deep violet colour further out and the lightest of translucent blues by the shore.
It was an idyllic spot – in spite of what had happened.
Feeling remarkably nervous, I set down my holdall and removed the little paper bag from the side pocket before turning towards Anna. I took her good hand in one of mine and leant forward to give her a gentle kiss.
She looked pleasantly surprised. ‘What have I done to deserve that?’
‘It would take me too long to tell you. Let’s just say that you are you, and I love you for it.’ I lowered myself onto one knee – ignoring the loud creak as I did so – opened the paper bag and pulled out the little box. I opened it and held it up towards her. ‘Anna Galardo, will you marry me?’
Seeing me down at his level, Oscar wandered over to sniff the ring with interest, but I made sure I kept a good hold on it.
The last thing I needed was for him to mistake it for a snack.
I had the feeling that it might lose some of its romantic charm if it had to pass through my dog’s alimentary canal before it could be retrieved.
Anna didn’t answer at once, so I looked up hopefully.
‘The lady in the shop said that if you didn’t like it, she’d be happy to exchange it, and if you said no, she’d give me my money back. You will say yes, won’t you?’
She still didn’t reply immediately, and an awful feeling of dread began to descend on me, but finally, she reached down and caught hold of my free hand, squeezing it tightly.
At first, I was shocked to see tears glistening in her eyes, but she soon put my fears to rest, and an immense feeling of relief spread through me.
‘Of course I will. There’s nothing I’d like more. I thought you’d never ask.’
Sensing the emotion in the air, Oscar nudged me with his nose and set about licking my ear. I patted his nose and then stood back up again, stepping towards Anna.
‘You do realise that you won’t just be marrying me.’ I shot an affectionate glance down at Oscar, who was standing at my side, tail wagging slowly. ‘Love me, love my dog.’
She grinned at me. ‘I wouldn’t want it any other way.’