Page 86 of And Everything In Between

The rooftop was transformed. String lights cast a warm glow over the space, and a small table with champagne stood near the edge, overlooking the neon landscape of the Vegas strip. The breeze was cool against Paige's skin as Giovanni guided her, his hand warm at the curve of her waist. They stood in silence for a moment. He was more nervous about this than he was the premiere.

“You know,” Giovanni said finally, close to her ear, “the first time I saw you at that car show, everything went quiet. Like the world stepped back to let me see you clearly.”

Paige turned to face him, her back to the railing. “I remember. You stopped traffic.”

“Worth it.”

He took both her hands in his and kissed them both but letting the last kiss linger. She could feel the slight tremor in his fingers. Her man was nervous. That made her love him more.

For a moment, they stood at the edge of the rooftop, the world going on about its business. It wasn't worried about them, and they weren't worried about it. Their world was right here on this rooftop, swirling and rotating around them. The city hummed with noise below, but up here, there was only the quiet certainty between them.

“I didn't plan this,” he admitted. “Not like this. But watching you this weekend, seeing you with my people, in my world... I realized I don't want to wait anymore.”

He took a breath.

“I love you, Paige Bishop. I love the way you carry yourself. I love how you take care of your people. I love how you take care of me. I love how you let me love you. Because then I get reminded that I deserve that shit too.”

She tightened her grip on his hand, letting the gesture acknowledge what words couldn’t. Her eyes were glossy but anchored. She wasn’t the type to cry, and neither was he. But thetears in his eyes stole her breath and nearly tipped her over. This was a moment so big it deserved tears of joy. She understood and felt the same way.

And the silence stretched. He was praying he hadn’t read her wrong. The thought that the universe might say she wasn’t his to have and to hold made his stomach turn. The wind kicked up, but she didn’t flinch. Her fingers stayed laced within his.

“I love you. And I need you just like you need me,” she affirmed.

That did it for him. It always did. In one fluid motion, Giovanni dropped to one knee.

“You are everything to me. Beautiful, kind, funny. You have such a good heart, and the way you love people should be offered as a college course. We could all stand to learn something from you and the way you embody love from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.

“I’m not even gonna hit you with that lame-ass ‘you deserve the world’ line. That’s too passive. Too soft for how I’m coming behind you. Youwillhave everything your heart desires. Everything youdeserve, and then some. You won’t ever have to ask, beg, or wonder if I got you. Ido. That’s a promise.”

He paused, eyes locked on hers.

“I want this life—withyou. Only you. I want you to be my wife. It’s that simple.”

“It’s simple, huh?” she asked, voice cracking with emotion.

“Yeah,” he nodded, stepping closer. “So, what do you say? Will you trust me... just one more time? And marry me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, then louder, “Yes, of course. I’ll marry you.”

“Tonight?” Giovanni asked, already on his feet, his hands cradling hers again.

She pulled her head back, blinking like she needed to be sure he meant it.

He did.

“Tonight,” she said, smiling through the shock.

Giovanni laughed, lifting her off her feet in a tight embrace. “I fucking love you, Paige Bishop.”

“Uhm, Paige Dowlen,” she corrected, grinning against his mouth.

“Damn, that sounds good.” He lowered her gently to her feet, mouth still close. “You still gon have my babies?”

“Yes, but not five. I was coerced into saying that when you had my legs pinned by my ears baby.”

He laughed through his tears, emotion thick in his throat. They stayed locked in that moment, suspended under the Vegas sky, until reality tugged at them both. The helicopter pilot gave a discreet nod toward the elevator.

Hand in hand, they rushed back downstairs to the waiting limo, still floating on the decision they’d made. When the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Giovanni guided her through with his hand resting on her hip, protective and proud all at once.

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