Page 62 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)

“I get a kick, learning about you,” I shared.

His sky-blue eyes warmed. “ I hope so with that too.”

“Beware, I’m intent to do more of it,” I told him.

“Consider me warned.”

“I’m crazy nervous,” I admitted, abruptly changing the conversation (yes, back to me, gah!).

“You look beautiful. Your outfit is perfect. You’ll be fantastic.”

I took in a big breath and asked what I had to ask, but didn’t want to ask, and further, didn’t want to care about the answer.

“Any news?”

Now his expression grew understanding and he gave me a squeeze.

“ No , love. Your father’s units are in a queue.

I don’t want to give your mother any ammunition to fire at us, so we’re doing this by the book, and I can’t pull any favors to jump that queue to give you quicker answers.

We won’t know for a couple of weeks if he’s committed a crime. ”

I nodded.

He placed a hand on my jaw and stroked my cheekbone with his thumb.

“There’s still time to change your mind about the content of the interview,” he said.

I shook my head. “ No , I’m determined. I think this might be the perfect bent to what Germaine calls my ‘brand within a brand.’”

“You don’t have to make your life about being abused, Laura ,” Aleksei stated firmly.

“If I do, then I might be able to make something good come of it. Right ?”

“Right,” he whispered on another stroke of his thumb.

“I was late arriving. We should go. Are you ready?” I asked. Then I teased, “ And on the way to the Palace , I want to hear about whose brilliant idea it was to make that tablet hover.”

“I’ve been wracking my brain about how to do this.”

I was confused at his words.

“Sorry?”

“It’s selfish of me to do it here, in my office, in the building I built, and I own.”

I felt my forehead crinkle. “ Aleksei? —”

“But for some reason, I need to do it here. For it to happen in a place removed from all of that. For it to happen in a part of my life that’s just mine.

The life I would have given you when I found you, even if that other part wasn’t who I am.

Do it in the life I made, that would always be ours, not the one that was given to me. ”

I remained quiet, because I wasn’t exactly following, except I knew whatever this was, he had to do it like he was doing it, say the things he was saying, and it was big deal.

He took a half step away and tucked a hand into his pocket. “ I also can’t take credit for the choice.”

He took my left hand, brought it to his lips, then held it between us as he slipped the Insouciant Riche aquamarine and diamond ring on my finger.

My heart stuttered to a stop.

“I asked Gayle and Cat to help,” he shared as I stared at it. “ They said this was the one. But I hope I get points that I would have chosen it anyway. Because it matches your eyes.”

“Thank the gods for waterproof makeup,” I mumbled stupidly, not knowing what to say, unable to find the words with all I was feeling, at the same time sniffling and staring at my beautiful engagement ring.

He’d asked Cat and Gayle (so danged Aleksei ).

But he would have picked it for me anyway.

Gods, my Aleksei .

He brought my hand to his lips again and kissed the ring. Then he pressed my palm to his chest.

“This isn’t very romantic, bissi , but I hope you understand it has meaning for me,” he said gently.

I looked into his eyes through my watery ones. “ Are you crazy? You brought me to the top of the world to give me my engagement ring. How is that not romantic?”

He smiled and didn’t hide the relief in his eyes.

Gods, my Aleksei .

“And take note, my prince, if something has meaning for you, it has meaning for me.”

That made the look in his eyes intensify.

And his silky voice was gruff when he said, “ Whatever it brings, I look forward to the life I’ll share with you.”

Seriously?

“Ugh!” I grunted. “ Males so do not get that romance is not flowers and grand gestures but meaning and feelings. And you are killing me with all the meaning and feelings you’re giving me, your highness.

My face might be waterproof, but even the Ultra Paint 5000 can’t withstand the effects of me bawling for the next thirty minutes. ”

“Is that your way of telling me to shut up?”

“Yes.”

“Can your makeup withstand me kissing you?”

If he didn’t kiss me in short order, I would just die .

So I said, “ Heck yes.”

He smiled before he pulled me in his arms, angled his head and kissed me.

When he finally broke the kiss, and considering he took a good deal of time doing it and making sure the job got done thoroughly, we were definitely running late.

“Time to share our joy and my message with the world,” I said, sounding exactly like I felt, as if that was the last thing on earth I looked forward to doing.

“Indeed,” he replied, moving as if to do that.

I stood still and he stopped.

“But first, I have to tell you, I’d say I can’t wait to share my life with you too, but since you moved me in, catnapped my cats, stole Nova’s love forever and exposed your good taste at liking chocolate crackles, I already am.

And just so you know, even with some crappy times we had no control over, so far, it’s been everything. ”

After I finished saying that, Aleksei was kissing me again.

This meant we were seriously late meeting Germaine .

She was in a tizzy.

But me?

I was walking on clouds.