Page 167 of The One
The intensity in his gaze sends a shiver through me as he leans closer. “I didn’t just want what my parents had, I craved it. The older I got, the deeper that ache grew. And then I saw you, Mari. You’ve always been my One, even before I realized it.”
He takes a steadying breath. “The moment I looked into your eyes, everything fell into place. My world shifted, and it’s been centered around you since.”
Tears prick my eyes as he brushes his thumb over my knuckles again, his touch achingly gentle.
“You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. You make me feel things I didn’t know I was capable of. The happiness you bring me is more than I ever imagined. All I want is to give you the same, to make you feel as cherished as you’ve made me.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he places a finger over my lips, his expression tender.
“This morning,” he says, his voice dropping, “I woke up and watched you sleep. The way the sunlight danced on your skin, the way your lips curved ever so slightly even as you dreamed, and I thought,how did I survive thirty years without you by my side?But now that I have you, I’ll never let you go.”
His words tumble out like promises etched in stone. My chest tightens with the weight of his love, so vivid it leaves me breathless.
“Undoubtedly, we will argue, we will laugh, we will make mistakes. But I want it all with you. Only you.”
For the first time, his smile falters slightly, a flicker of nervousness crossing his face as he reaches into his pocket. When his hand emerges, it holds a small, navy-blue velvet box. My breath catches as he opens it, revealing a delicate vintage ring.
“This belonged to my grandmother,” he says softly. “She entrusted it to me after my grandfather passed. I kept it here, in Tuscany, because I always knew this was where I’d propose to the love of my life.”
Tears spill over as he continues, his voice weaving the future so vividly, I can almost touch it.
“This place is where I feel most myself, where I’m connected to my mother and her family’s legacy. And it’s where I want to keep returning with you, year after year. In fifty years, I want us to sit on this balcony, watching the stars, surrounded by our children and grandchildren. Though,” he adds with a faint smile, “the nights will always be ours, just you and me.”
His voice trembles a little, but it’s filled with so much hope, love, and devotion, it undoes me completely.
“Mariella, I love you more than I ever thought possible. You are my present, my future, my forever.
“Will you marry me?”
For a moment, the world fades. The sound of the crickets, the gentle breeze, everything. It’s just him and me, locked in this moment that’s both infinite and fleeting.
I look at the ring, at Teo.
This is it.
This is everything I’ve ever wanted.
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice barely audible but certain. “Yes, Teo. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He doesn’t even wait for me to finish before he’s kissing me. It’s soft at first, as if he’s afraid to break the spell, then deeply, with a passion that makes my head spin.
I pull him closer, pressing myself against him, absorbing the heat of his body, the rhythm of his heart beating in time with mine.
The world spins around us, but in this moment, it’s just us.
And it always will be.
Chapter Sixty-Four
Mateo
Today is the day. The one I’ve waited my entire adult life for.
A thrill runs through me.
“We’re getting married,” I murmur, more to myself than to Mari, as if I need the words to remind me that this is real.
I lift her hand from where it rests on my thigh, my fingers curling around hers as I bring it to my lips. The back of her hand is warm beneath my kiss, and my thumb grazes over my grandmother’s engagement ring, her ring now. It looks so right on her delicate finger, as if it was always meant to be there, waiting all these years for her.
