Chapter 12 - THE PROMISE
Adrian pulled his hand out of his pocket and set something on the red checkered tablecloth.
It wasn't a ring box.
It was a piece of folded paper.
I looked at it, then at him. “What is this?”
“Open it.”
I picked up the paper. My hands trembled slightly as I unfolded it.
It was a crayon drawing.
But it wasn't the drawing of the lake house Marcus had slipped into my pocket.
It was a new drawing.
Drawn by Leo.
It showed a big house with lots of windows.
But underneath the house, in Adrian’s sharp, elegant handwriting, were the words:
Hannah,
I don't just want you to live in my house.
I want you to build a home with me.
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.
I looked up.
Adrian was no longer sitting across from me.
He had moved around the table and was kneeling on the worn linoleum floor of the little Italian restaurant.
In his hand, he held a platinum band set with a single, flawless, radiant-cut diamond.
“Hannah Reed,” Adrian said, his voice vibrating with absolute certainty. “You walked into the darkest room of my life and turned on the lights. You saved my brother. You saved my nephew. But more than that, you saved me.”
A tear slipped down my cheek.
“I don't know how to do things normally,” he continued, looking up at me with fierce, undeniable love. “But I know that I don't want to spend a single day of the rest of my life without you by my side. Marry me.”
I didn't even have to think.
I didn't care about the syndicate. I didn't care about the danger. I only cared about the man kneeling in front of me.
“Yes,” I sobbed, throwing my arms around his neck and practically knocking him backward. “Yes. Always yes.”
Adrian caught me, laughing out loud as he held me tight against his chest.
He pulled back just enough to slide the cold platinum ring onto my finger.
It fit perfectly.
He kissed me, a promise sealed in the quiet, dim light of my childhood favorite restaurant.
Six months later.
The garden of the Romano estate was in full bloom.
White roses climbed the stone trellises. String lights hung from the ancient oak trees.
The wedding wasn't a massive affair with hundreds of terrified guests like Camille had planned.
It was small. Intimate. Only the people who mattered.
I stood at the top of the aisle, wearing a simple, elegant silk gown.
My mother sat in the front row, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief, Marcus holding her other hand.
Leo was standing at the altar in a tiny tuxedo, proudly holding the rings on a velvet pillow.
And waiting for me, standing tall and devastatingly handsome under the floral arch, was Adrian.
The music swelled.
I walked down the aisle, the afternoon sun warming my skin.
I didn't look at the ground in embarrassment anymore.
I didn't look at the doors in fear.
I kept my head held high, looking straight ahead at the man who had given me the world.
When I reached him, Adrian took my hands.
His thumb brushed over my knuckles.
“You look beautiful, Mrs. Romano,” he whispered.
I smiled, stepping closer to him, feeling the absolute certainty of my future in his grip.
“I love you,” I whispered back.
Adrian leaned in, his lips brushing mine before the vows even started.
“Forever,” he promised.
May you like
And as he kissed me, surrounded by our family, under the bright New York sun, I knew for the first time in my life...
I was exactly where I belonged.
