Page 66 of His Untouchable Heart

I nodded.

It wasn’t a grand gesture. It was a quiet one. Thoughtful. Real. She turned to look at me, and in that moment, I didn’t need to say a word. She understood everything.

But there was still one more room. I reached for her hand, threading my fingers through hers, and brought her into the grand room.

Light poured in through the tall windows, painting the floors in gold. The fireplace towered above us—white stone with clean lines and subtle detailing. And there, centered above the mantle, framed in black and brushed gold, hungA Lady and Gentleman in Black.

Gabrielle gasped.

Her hand flew to her chest.

“How did you?—?”

I turned to her and reached into my pocket, my thumb brushing the velvet ring box hidden inside.

“You stood by me,” I said quietly, “when you had every reason not to. When I gave you half-truths and disappeared on planes and left you in the dark.”

She blinked rapidly, eyes glistening.

“I know I don’t deserve how fiercely you love,” I said. “But I want to spend every day trying to earn it.”

I dropped to one knee and opened the box.

“Let me give you something that will never ask you to leave. Let me give you this home. This family. A forever. Marry me, Gabrielle.”

She didn’t wait.

Didn’t hesitate.

“Yes,” she breathed, voice breaking around the word. Then again, louder: “Yes.”

She launched herself into my arms, and the world shrank down to her breath in my ear, her arms around my neck, and the sound of her heart pounding against mine.

I held her tighter and whispered, “Welcome home.”

Gabrielle hadn’t stopped smiling since she said yes.

She wandered the house again, barefoot this time, like she needed to feel it under her skin to believe it was real. Her laugh echoed off the marble floors as she passed through the kitchen again and stood in front of the fireplace, taking it all in from a new angle.

Then she pulled out her phone.

“Oh, Juliette is going to lose her mind,” she said, already angling the camera and flipping to selfie mode. “There’s no way I’m not documenting every inch of this for her.”

I leaned against the counter, watching her narrate the tour like a host on a reality show.

“This,” she said, sweeping her arm wide, “is the future home of me, Anthony, and one very spoiled baby. That right there—” she turned to capture the fireplace “—is a real painting you may have heard of, and through that hallway—yes, keep watching—is the nursery that made me cry.”

She panned the camera one more time, then turned it back to her face.

“And yes, I said yes.”

Before she could stop me, I stepped in and gently took the phone from her hand.

“Jules,” I said, looking straight into the lens, “might want to check your student loan balance.” I handed the phone back to Gabrielle as she blinked at me.

“You didn’t.”

I just raised a brow.

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