Page 107 of Born into Darkness

The huge smile he gives me makes my heart feel too big for my chest. God, that man’s smiles are enough to do me in. Knowing exactly what he’s doing to me, he gives me a wink and then throws the ball again for a patiently waiting Wallace.

It takes a while, but eventually Wallace plops down in the grass, rolling onto his back and wiggling around before falling still and taking a short rest. I know it won’t last long. Border collie’s have an insane amount of energy.

Max takes the chair beside me and reaches out to grab my hand. He’s sitting so he’s facing me, and I smile when he brings my hand up to kiss it.

“Do you think he’ll be happy here?” he asks.

I look back over at Wallace and grin. “Yeah, I think he’ll be very happy here.”

He kisses my hand again. “And do you think you’ll be happy here?”

“I know I will be,” I say, not even having to think about it.

My eyes run over his gorgeous face, noticing the way the sun brings out the blue in his eyes and the way it makes the scar on his eyebrow more noticeable. Dark stubble covers his face, but it does nothing to hide that killer jawline of his, and when I can’t tear my eyes away from his full, sexy mouth, the smirk that appears lets me know he’s fully aware of the effect he has on me.

“You don’t need to gloat,” I say, making him laugh.

“I’m not gloating, baby. I love that you’re as hungry for me as I am for you. It makes me feel good, but I would never gloat. I’m too busy being stunned by it.”

I run my eyes over the gorgeous man in front of me. “I’m too busy being stunned by it, too.”

His eyes soften as he kisses my hand again. When he lifts his face to mine again, I swear he looks a little nervous, but before I can wonder about it, he leaves his chair so he can get down on one knee. I straighten up, eyes going wide as I try to come up with a reason for him to be in this position other than the obvious one. Nothing comes to mind, though, and when he pulls a black, velvet box from his pocket, it’s clear that what I’m hoping is about to happen is actually about to happen.

“You’ll have to forgive me, sweetheart, but I couldn’t do what you wanted,” he says, opening the box and revealing the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen.

“Max,” I whisper, unable to take my eyes off the ring he’s offering me.

“I would’ve asked you sooner, but I wanted to design your ring myself, and it took a little longer.”

“You designed this?” I ask, so surprised I look up to meet his eyes.

“I did. I wanted something that felt like you, something that was unique to us.” He gives me a small smile. “Apparently there’s a thing called a sunburst cut diamond.” We both look down at the ring in his hand while he says, “And since you said you wanted small diamonds, I had them add in several yellow ones.”

I laugh because thesmallyellow diamonds aren’t very small at all, and they encircle the huge white diamond in the center. Every time his hand moves, the facets reflect the sun, making it sparkle like it’s lit up from the inside.

“It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen,” I whisper, still staring at it.

He lifts it out of the box to show me the band. I lean in close, seeing the small musical notes that are etched into the platinum band.

“What is that?” I ask, reaching out to touch it.

“Part of the song I composed for you,” he says, and my eyes start to tear up. He smiles up at me, and the love in his eyes has those tears spilling over to run down my cheeks.

“Svetik moy,” he whispers, keeping my hand in his. “You saved me in that basement over and over again. You made me want to keep going. You made me want to live.” He kisses my hand again but keeps his eyes on mine. “I wanted to survive because I wanted more time with you. I wanted days and years and decades—a lifetime of you and me.”

The yes I’m about to say is already on the tip of my tongue, but before I can say it, he says, “I’ve already spoken with your family. I want to marry you, but I refuse to tear you away from those that you love, so we’ve come to an agreement that I hope you’ll like. I can’t leave my family and what I do for them, but for half the year, I’ll also be working for your family.”

“Max,” I start to say, but he shakes his head and squeezes my hand.

“It’s already decided. They can visit here whenever they want, and we can visit them whenever you want, but we’ll be living there for six months of the year. I won’t take you from them, sweetheart. That wouldn’t be fair, and you and I both know your parents would be devastated to only see their grandkids a few times a year.”

He’s right, and the thought of being able to see my family, of our kids growing up around my parents and brothers and running on the beach that I love so much is enough to have me crying even harder.

“Yes,” I whisper, nearly choking on the word.

He laughs, showing me his brilliant smile before he says, “I haven’t asked you yet, baby, but that does take the pressure off.”

I let out a sound that’s half-laugh, half-sob and wait for him to ask me.

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