Page 80 of Thorns of Desire

“They’re all meant for you. I hadSignoraFiore make arrangements when we left the clinic last night.” He chuckled, his arm hooked casually around my shoulder, guiding me inside yet another store. “Buon giorno, Signore Gioiello.”

The salesman rushed over to us, a charming man with graying hair. He took Manuel’s free hand and shook itenthusiastically, smiling widely while a string of rushed Italian left his mouth. Manuel responded in Italian, but I caught only one word.Inglese.

The salesman turned to me with wide eyes.

“Ahhh,inglese,” he said, studying me with open interest. “Of course, we speakinglese. What can we do for you?”

“Athena, this isSignoreGioiello, the store owner.”

I smiled, extending my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

The store owner took my hand, shaking it just as enthusiastically. “So happy you chose our store today.”

Manuel pulled me toward a glass display filled with jewelry. One ring caught my eye straightaway—a green emerald set on a platinum gold band, surrounded by black diamonds that reminded me of onyx eyes. For a single moment, I let myself imagine what it’d look like on my finger, how Manuel might look as he slid it on.

“Why are we buying jewelry?” I whispered under my breath, my eyes darting between him, the glass case, andSignoreGioiello.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned against the counter.

“We’re getting wedding rings.”

My mouth dropped open. “W-wedding rings?”

He smiled proudly, like he just scored the jackpot.

I blinked, trying to clear my head from the rush of blood in my ears. He turned his attention to the glass display. “I like this one.” I followed his gaze to the beautiful emerald wedding band. It felt like a moment suspended in time. Out of all the rings on display, he’d homed in on the very one I’d been admiring. “Of course, you can have anything you want.”

“Ha! Sure,” I huffed. “Why don’t you just tell him to bag it all up?”

Without missing a beat, he turned to the store manager. “You heard my fiancée. We’re buying it all.”

“Manuel,” I hissed. Then, looking at the clerk, I stuttered, “N-no.Scusi. I was joking.He’sjoking.” I arched a brow at Manuel.

“Ship it to the house.”

I brought a palm to my face and heaved a long sigh. “Jesus Christ.”

SignoreGioiello’s head followed our exchange with wide eyes. “Bag it, Gioiello.”

He moved around the counter, opened the glass cabinet, and started setting thousands—millionsprobably—of dollars’ worth of jewelry into their delicate boxes while I stared in shock.

“Stop, please just stop,” I said in an exasperated tone. This would have been funny, even somewhat romantic, if it were happening in the pages of my books. But this was real life. “I never even agreed to marry you. As a matter of fact, you just decided we’d get married but haven’t even asked.”

The words rushed out of me, my eyes burning with emotion. It was only earlier today that I admitted to him I didn’t want to have a baby out of wedlock. It wasn’t exactly asking him to marry me, but what if he felt… trapped?

“I think we’re beyond grand gestures,amore mio.” His voice was rough, the vehemence of it touching my skin. “But you’re right; I haven’t made myself clear.” His eyes softened. “I want you to chooseus. For our baby.”

“I never imagined this was how my proposal would go.”

His eyes flashed with darkness and he reached for the ring I’d been eyeing, then lowered down on one knee.

“Athena Kosta.” He took my cold hand between his warm fingers. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

My heart stopped. “Why?”

“Why?” he repeated, his jaw clenching.

“Yes, why?”