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“What the hell is the meaning of this?” he snapped.

“What do you mean? What’s the meaning? It seems clear to me,” Rian responded.

“I mean, why the hell would you have an interview with the media and announce that you’ve found someone and who she is? What’re you trying to do?” Roc asked angrily. I thought Papà would interject, but he didn’t say a word.

“I’m sharing that I found my soulmate, like it says. It was time to announce it,” Rian replied calmly.

“Like hell it was! You two barely know each other. This is ridiculous. Papà , say something. Surely you disapprove of this,” Roc snapped.

“Leave your dad out of this. It’s time you talked to me.

You and your brothers seem to have a lot to say about our relationship.

I mean, you jumped on Gianna about it on Monday.

I believe you were warned I’d have something to say about it.

This is me saying something. Gianna is with me.

Nothing you say will change that. However, if you continue to fight it, it’ll change how she relates to you.

Keep it up if you want to push your sister away and not have her in your life.

You’ll end up as the loser. As you can see, she’s been fully accepted by my family.

Your dad has embraced our joining. She’ll have more support and love than she knows what to do with. ”

I was stunned. As I sat there saying nothing, Rian’s arm was around me.

“We don’t want to lose our sister. We just want her to be safe, protected, happy, and loved,” Luc told the room.

“Then you got your wish,” Rian added.

“Why tell the media this way?” Rardo asked.

“They were already snooping and asking who she was. It was only a matter of time before they found out. If you beat them to the punch, sometimes it’s not as big of a story, and they won’t bother you as much,” Darragh informed him.

“Dar is right. It’s the unknown that drives them to be super invasive. By saying she’s his soulmate, it’ll appease the frenzy a bit,” Patrick stated.

“And while we’re here, I’ve got something else I need to do,” Rian said.

I turned my head to see him better. He was staring at me. I was opening my mouth to ask what when he lifted my hand to his lips. He kissed my knuckles tenderly. The love and desire in his eyes made me melt inside.

“Gianna Isabella DeSantis, I love and adore you. And I’m blessed that you love me in return.

I pray we have decades to learn every little nuance about each other.

And while we do, we’ll love, argue, laugh, cry, and raise a family.

I just announced to the world that you’re my soulmate, Gianna.

But it’s not enough. I need more. I need you to say you’ll marry me.

” As he said the last word, his other hand came out holding a ring box, and he slid off the couch to the floor on one knee.

There were gasps and happy murmurs from most of the room.

I did hear hisses of disbelief, and I had no problem guessing who made them, but I didn’t look.

I was entranced by Rian, who opened the box.

I gulped. Inside was a sparkling beauty of a ring.

For me, with the work I did, wearing rings that stood raised on my finger was a hazard.

This one wasn’t like that. It had a center diamond surrounded by a solid silver circle, then a halo of tiny diamonds that were surrounded by a second silver circle, and small diamonds encircled the entire band.

Rian removed it from the box and held it up.

“Gianna, you haven’t answered my question. Will you marry me?”

“Oh, oh, yes, yes, I’ll marry you,” I rushed to get out. This caused some chuckles. My hand shook as I held it out for him to put the ring on me.

“That’s what we call a bezel setting, which means it encircles the diamond and provides protection all around. It’s ideal for someone who works in a field like yours,” Cian chimed in.

“Hush,” Miranda told him.

I giggled. As the jeweler in the family, Cian would know. As Rian slid it on, I teased. “Let me guess, you got it from Cian.”

Rian grinned. “What gave it away?”

“Beats me,” I said.

As soon as it was firmly on my finger, Rian got back on the couch and dragged me into his arms so he could kiss me. There was loud clapping and hollers of congratulations. I was basking in it. The bubble burst when Rian moved away, and I heard Rocco. He was on his feet.

“You have no right to ask our sister to marry you, O’Sheeran! Not only is it ridiculous to get engaged when you hardly know each other, but the two of you have nothing in common. We don’t give our permission for you to marry her. You would’ve asked us first if you were a proper man.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.

“You’d better sit before you’re knocked on your ass, Rocco,” Siv hissed.

“I’m not afraid of your brother,” he smarted off to her.

“I wasn’t talking about Rian. I meant me.”

“I’d love to see you try, sweetheart,” he smirked at her.

Siv was getting up when her dad stopped her. This was out of control. I had to put a stop to it before someone got hurt.

“Rocco, you talk of being a proper man. Is it proper for you to make a scene like this? Or disrespect not only me, your sister, and everyone else here, but also your father. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it tradition to ask the father if he’ll allow you to marry his daughter? Not her brothers?” Rian asked calmly.

“I-It doesn’t matter which it is. Our answer is no,” Rocco sputtered.

“That’s where you’re wrong, figli . You can speak for yourself. However, as Gianna’s father, I’m the one to grant or withhold approval. As it happened, Rian spoke to me about this and what he wanted to do. I gave him my blessing to do it. I just didn’t know it was happening today,” Papà said.

I was stunned to hear this. I examined my brothers’ expressions. I thought I read quiet acceptance on Luc and Rardo’s faces. Roc’s face showed utter disbelief.

“ Papà , you can’t be serious. Tell me this is a joke. I know we want to work with them, but that’s not a reason to allow one of them to toy with and hurt Gia,” Rocco protested.

“It’s no joke,” our papà told him.

“I’m not toying either. I love Gianna,” Rian reiterated.

“Why can’t you be happy for me?” I asked. My voice came out strained. I was trying not to cry.

“Because I don’t trust that you won’t be left hurt.

Look at Aurora. She was with Fitch for years, but he ended up leaving her.

And before you say, look at Rian’s oldest brother and cousins, Darragh and his wife have only been together two years.

There’s no guarantee those marriages will last,” Rocco explained.

“I think we’ve heard enough. I apologize for coming into your home and disrespecting your hospitality.

I believe the best thing to do is to leave.

It’ll allow Rian and Gianna to celebrate this the way they should.

I’ll take my sons home. We have much to talk about.

Bambina , come hug me,” Papà said abruptly as he rose.

I went to him. As he hugged me, I fought not to cry.

“I love you, and I am happy for you. You have a great man. I’m sorry I was so resistant at first. As for your brothers, I’ll make them see how they’re hurting you,” he said softly.

“I love you, too, and thank you. You have no idea how happy you made me by granting your approval when Rian asked. I hope you can make them see reason. Be careful.”

“He impressed me. And they’ll see reason one way or another.”

I received an extra squeeze, and then Papà let go and went to Rian, hugging him.

I saw him talking in his ear, and Rian nodded, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

When they were done, Rian insisted he’d walk them out but asked me to stay inside.

I watched from a window to ensure no fighting, even though Darragh, Rory, and Declan went with him.

I giggled when Siv trailed out behind them. She kept a close eye on Rocco.

When they returned, Rian and the rest of his family worked to get me back in a good mood. It was slow to start, but when the topic turned to a wedding, and Rian said he wanted us to get married as soon as possible, I was stunned. That was what got my mind off my family.

???

It was very uncomfortable when I walked into work this morning.

I knew by the looks on Maria, Massimo, and Claudia’s faces that they knew what had happened yesterday.

Massimo scowled. When he left the room, I was taken to Maria’s office, and behind closed doors, they told me they’d been informed of it by my brothers.

I was told the three of them were here in their shared office.

I had a private office since I needed my computer and other equipment to do research.

A second conference room had been converted to their combined office.

Papà had his own . Maria and Claudia each had one. Massimo didn’t require one.

When it was time for our morning meeting, I was filled with dread.

I went into the conference room, but my brothers weren’t there.

I was informed they had been called out while I was in my office to investigate a double bounty case.

Part of me was relieved, but the other was upset that I didn’t get to go.

After we had reviewed everything, I went back to work. Since my brothers were handling the double bounty, and there were no others at the moment, I concentrated on sifting through information on Clay and the mysterious Kelvin.

I’d been at it for almost two hours when my breath caught.

I re-read it to be sure I hadn’t imagined it.

Nope, the info was still there. Filled with excitement, I gathered the printouts and shoved them in my bag, along with my tablet.

It was almost lunchtime. I’d run over to Kin of éireann headquarters and tell Rian in person what I discovered.

I popped into Papà’s office.

“What’s up, bambina ?” he asked.