Page 113 of Cruel Secrets

I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but this feels right.

I leave the room and head downstairs, met by an overwhelming number of red and white heart decorations thrown around my living room.

When I told Summer and Jade to decorate the house for Valentine’s Day, I didn’t think they would go this overboard. I’m going to spend the next three weeks picking up heart-shaped confetti. I can see it now.

My family mills around the living room, Aiden bouncing Bianca on his knee while Ellie and Sean sit by the fire, their feet up on the coffee table as the pair of them lean together and whisper to each other.

Gia dances in the kitchen with Jade to some old love song as they pull a tray of cookies out of the oven, setting it to the side to decorate later with the rows of icing laid out on the kitchen island.

The longer I look at my family crammed into my penthouse, the Manhattan lights shining bright outside, the more I like what I see. With the Rinaldo family lying low, it’s easy to picture this as normal life without the worry of Gia having to see her family destroyed.

I don’t want that for her. Not tonight at least. I want her to focus on the good that has been put in our lives over the last several months.

Gia smiles, making her way over to me, her white dress swishing around her ankles, the low back showing off the tattoo of flowers and Bianca’s birthday that she had inked there only two weeks ago.

She loops her arms around my waist, standing on her toes for a kiss. “I was beginning to think you were going to keep us waiting.”

I kiss her again, grinning down at her while my heart takes off like a runaway train. “I’ll never keep you waiting again.”

The corner of her mouth twitches. “You’ve always been worth waiting for.”

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, and yet, as I toy with the ring in my pocket, everything I wanted to say gets lost. The speech I rehearsed for the last month dies on my lips as I look down at her.

Gia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Something wrong?”

“Not even a little bit.” I weave my way out of her arms as the eyes in the room turn to me.

Aiden holds Bianca still, even as she whines to get down. He whispers something in her ear, and she beams up at him.

Gia’s eyebrows pull together as she looks over at them before looking back at me.

I get down on one knee in front of her, pulling out the gold band set with an oval diamond, holding it out. “I didn’t know when the right time to do this was. I found the ring a month ago and I figured you would want something special, surrounded by the people who love us.”

Her eyes shine with tears as her hands fly up to cover her mouth. “Royce.”

“I’m not good at speeches. I’m not going to tell you how much I love you for an hour. That’s not us. You know I fucking adore you, and I’m going to love you until we’re both dead and gone.”

Gia laughs, her hands dropping and her smile spreading. “What happened to not rushing things?”

“I’m not sprinting down the aisle with you right now.” I take a deep breath. “Gia Esposito, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” She laughs, her hand shaking as she holds it out for me to slip the ring on. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

I stand and pull her into a tight hug, kissing her until my family starts to hoot and holler. Gia blushes and buries her face in my chest, but her shoulders shake with laughter. As I hold her tighter, I know I’m never going to let her go.

She pulls back to look up at me, a teasing smile curving her full lips. “I was wondering what was taking you so long.”

“Oh, so you’re just giving me hell about the rushing into things, are you?” I ask, tone teasing as I drift my fingers along the curve of her waist where she’s the most ticklish.

“I have to have my fun somehow.”

The family swarms her to offer their congratulations, pushing me to the side as they envelop her. I’m more than happy to snag a cookie off the tray and watch them love on my future wife. She deserves to be adored by everyone in her life and my family are more than happy to do just that.

Even Aiden.

It took him less time than I thought it would to come around to her, but after spending more time with both Gia and Bianca, he melted for them.

Gia finally weaves her way out of Skyla’s hug a few minutes later and comes to steal another cookie with me. “You know, they can be overwhelming at times. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that loved. I mean, I know Zoe and Mom love me, but they’re quiet about it.”

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