Nero - Page 176

“Oh, sure, because I’ve been stringing you along for years, right?”

“Yesterday would already have been too long. And now it’s been weeks.”

“You’re insane.”

“Insane about you, Little Fae. I want to see you pregnant, I want to spoil you, take care of you, and give in to all your whims.”

“I do kind of like that last part,” she says with a smile, and I brush the tips of our noses together, smiling too. I love this woman so much.

“Are you sure?” I ask. “About coming back to the island? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can stay in Pienza or go anywhere else you choose.”

“I am,” she confirms, brushing her forehead against my lips.

“Then I think we need to urgently buy a new bed.”

“There’s no bed here?” Nina asks, confused.

“There is, but we didn’t choose it together.” Her eyes narrow.

“What happened to the other one?”

“I may or may not have had it burned,” I admit, and Nina’s eyes widen.

“A bit dramatic, don’t you think?” she teases, as beautiful as ever.

I lift my hand and caress her cheek. Being able to joke about what we went through is my favorite sign that we truly left it all behind.

“I love you, Little Fae.”

“I love you too, Nero. Every part of you,” she says, rising onto her toes to seal her lips to mine.

CHAPTER 74

NINA MARCHESI

I stretch out my arm and find nothing but empty space beside me in bed. Nero is already up, and I don’t even remember him saying goodbye. Two weeks after we returned to Khione for good, my body seems to have surrendered to peace of mind and decided to enjoy it. I’ve been sleeping too much—and too deeply, too.

Between leaving the hospital and getting a few things in order, it took a month for me to finally leave Pienza behind. I will always love that city and the beautiful way it welcomed me, but waking up in Khione is simply different.

I turn over in bed and bury my nose in Nero’s pillow. I breathe in his delicious scent, loving the feeling, trying to catch the sounds of our house to figure out whether I slept long enough to miss Kael leaving for daycare. I hear nothing but silence.

I open my eyes—then blink several times just to make sure I’m seeing this right. Nero left me an envelope? Why on earth would he leave me an envelope on the bed?

I sit up and reach for the paper envelope. I feel a small object slide inside it and frown. The natural light filtering in through the raised blinds means I don’t need to turn on the lights.

I open the envelope and find a note—almost a letter, judging by its size. I pick up the paper and tip the envelope into my hand to catch the loose object inside. My heart changes rhythm when my eyes land on my engagement ring. The same one Nero gave me years ago.

I unfold the paper in a hurry.

Hi, Little Fae.

Maybe I’m taking your “I don’t want to waste any more time” a little too literally, but I thought it was worth the risk.

I already asked you to marry me once. Today, I want to go beyond the question—I want to actually marry you.

Will you marry me, Little Fae?

I’ll be waiting for you in Téssera. We have guests and a wedding all set, but contrary to what this might look like, I’m not telling you this to pressure you. Quite the opposite—I want you to feel free to make the decision your heart tells you to make.