Page 125 of Under Your Scars

Safe isn’t a place.

It’s the people that love you.

CHAPTER 36

THE ANGEL

I wake up to the subtle sound of pans clanking together downstairs in the kitchen, the smell of bacon, and warmth at my side. I lift my head, finding Christian staring down at me. I rest my chin on his chest.

“Good morning,” I whisper.

“Morning.” His voice sounds cold. Distant. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine.” I sit up, propping myself up on my elbows. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” His eyes trace over my face and then he gives me a sign of humanity. A smile. “You look beautiful, angel.”

Sensing his teasing tone, I run my hand through my hair to find it sticking out in every direction, knotted and messy. “Bleh. I think you mean I look like a biblically accurate angel.”

I sit up completely, the comforter pooling around my waist. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and pause, crinkling my forehead when I notice my left hand feels heavy. I stare at my hand in shock when a ring is wrapped around my finger. Not just any ring, but the engagement ring Christian showed me that night on the rooftop of Reeves Enterprises. I turn to face him.

“Okay, I know I was a little tipsy last night after one too many glasses of wine, but I wasn’t drunk enough to agree to a marriage proposal and not remember.”

Christian grins. “I didn’t propose. I just wanted you to have it.”

“You wanted me to have my engagement ring before we’re engaged?” I raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

“Yes.”

“If I know anything about you, it’s that you don’t do anything without some ulterior motive, so spill.”

“I just wanted you to have a symbol that you’re mine. Figured an eleven-carat purple diamond delivers the message sufficiently.”

I snicker. “Yeah, if you intended to break my wrist. Next time we go to Mykonos I better wear a life jacket. If I fall off the deck of the yacht I’m going to sink straight to the bottom of the ocean.”

His jaw tightens as he looks at me, still lounging on the bed with his hands folded behind his head. “We could do it, you know. Get married.”

I sigh, cocking my head to the side. “You are positively the most insane man I’ve ever met.”

He raises an eyebrow. “That wasn’t a rejection.”

“No, Mr. Reeves,” I tease with a small laugh.

He sits up abruptly, his face so close to mine that the tips of our noses are touching. “New rule. You’re not allowed to call me Mr. Reeves until I can call you Mrs. Reeves.”

“Rules are made to be broken,” I say on an exhale, and then hold my breath. “How about a deal?”

He chuckles in amusement. “I’m listening. Intently.”

“Give me time. I’m not going anywhere. Let our love be simple and let it be complicated too. Let me see all of you, the parts of you that you keep hidden under your scars. Make me fall even more deeply in love with all the dark parts of you. The parts you think are unlovable. Then one day, ask me properly, and I’ll say yes.” I gently tug the ring off my finger and hold it up for him to take.

With a twinge of sadness in his eyes, he takes the ring back and nods. “Okay.”

I softly grin. “What’s your rush to get married? I’ve known you since September, Christian.”

“I can’t live without you, Elena. My heart will never belong to anyone else. I’m not religious and I don’t believe in an afterlife, but if there’s even a slight chance that I get to spend an eternity with you, I want to do it properly. For whatever amount of time we have to spend together, I want to be yours. Fully. In your heart and on paper.”

I let out a teasing, frustrated growl. “You always know the exact thing to say to make me putty in your hands.”