Page 149 of Toxic Salvation
This is everything.
“I could stare at him forever,” Vesper whispers, tracing Vitalii’s cheek with one finger. He lies between us on the bed, swaddled in the blue cashmere blanket I had custom-made weeks ago.
“I was thinking the same thing about you.”
She blushes and focuses on the baby to avoid my gaze. “It’s been an hour. We should call everyone. Luka’s probably going crazy waiting.”
“A few more minutes, please,” I whisper. “I want to enjoy just us.”
“A few more minutes sounds perfect.”
Vitalii looks content against his mother’s chest, eyes closed, breathing steady. Watching him, feeling the weight of what we’ve created, makes me brave enough to say what I should have said months ago.
“I love you, you know.”
Vesper smiles. “He loves you, too.”
“I meantyou.”
Her smile falters. “You’ve never said that before.”
“I’ve felt it for months. Today’s the first time I was brave enough to say it. I figured, if you could push a person out of your body, I could tell you how I feel.”
“I love you, too,” she answers.
“Does that mean you’ll marry me?”
She freezes. “Are you asking?”
I get off the bed and pull out the black velvet box I’ve been carrying for months now. The six-carat champagne diamond catches the hospital room light when I open it.
“You have a ring?!”
“Of course I have a ring. Wasn’t going to propose empty-handed, was I?”
“But I thought this was spontaneous.”
I shake my head. “I’ve had this ring since you came back into my life. I was always sure about you, Vesper. Everything else I had to figure out. But I’ve known I want you forever.”
She cups my face. “We already have a life together.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She nods, laughing through happy tears. I slide the ring onto her finger and kiss her over our sleeping son.
Perfect.
50
VESPER
It’s not fair. It’s really not.
It’s not enough that he’s six-foot-something of gorgeous muscle. It’s not enough that he’s a dangerous mob boss with excellent taste in jewelry. It’s not enough that he can cook like he studied under celebrity chefs.
The man cansing, too.
Kovan has Vitalii cradled in his arms, and he’s been singing sweet Russian lullabies for the last fifteen minutes. His deep voice melts around foreign words I don’t understand, but the melody is hauntingly beautiful. Soothing. Perfect for our tiny son who blinks sleepily up at his father.
