Chapter 18 - The Question at Midnight
I did not open the box.
I want credit for that.
I stared at it.
Touched it.
Considered opening it.
Then closed the cabinet.
For the next four days, I became insane.
Every dinner felt suspicious.
Every time Luca reached into his jacket, my heart stopped.
Every restaurant reservation became a potential ambush.
He noticed.
“What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“You’ve checked my pockets twice.”
“I hugged you.”
“You frisked me.”
“Romantically.”
He stared.
On New Year’s Eve, Julian hosted a party on the rooftop of his building.
At eleven-forty, Luca disappeared.
My pulse went wild.
This was it.
Of course it was midnight.
Classic.
Predictable.
Terrifying.
At eleven-fifty, Julian handed me champagne.
“You look nervous.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“No idea.”
“You’re lying.”
“Family trait.”
Ten minutes remained.
Nine.
Eight.
Then Luca appeared.
Empty-handed.
I exhaled.
Disappointment followed so quickly I almost laughed at myself.
We stood together as the countdown began.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
His arm wrapped around my waist.
Seven.
Six.
I looked at him.
Five.
Four.
He smiled.
Three.
Two.
One.
The city erupted.
Fireworks.
Cheers.
Champagne.
Luca kissed me.
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.”
No proposal.
I told myself I was relieved.
Twenty minutes later, he whispered,
“Come with me.”
My heart stopped again.
He led me downstairs.
Outside.
Into a waiting car.
“Where are we going?”
“Dinner.”
“At twelve-thirty in the morning?”
“Yes.”
I knew before we arrived.
The Brooklyn diner.
Our first real date.
It was nearly empty.
Same waitress.
Same booth.
I started laughing.
“You planned this.”
“Yes.”
We ordered pancakes.
Of course.
Halfway through, Luca put down his fork.
“Emma.”
My heart hammered.
“What?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“You are trying to kill me.”
He looked confused.
Then amused.
“You found the box.”
I froze.
“How did you know?”
“You’ve been behaving like a criminal for four days.”
“I did not open it.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“The tape was intact.”
“You taped it?”
“I know you.”
I covered my face.
“You are horrible.”
He laughed.
Then reached into his coat.
The velvet box appeared.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
“Luca.”
He stood.
“No.”
“What?”
“Sit down.”
He blinked.
“I had a plan.”
“I know.”
“Emma.”
“I don’t want you kneeling in a diner.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone will stare.”
There were six people in the entire restaurant.
They were already staring.
Luca sat.
We faced each other across the same table where our real relationship began.
He placed the box between us.
“I bought this three months ago.”
My eyes widened.
“London?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ask then?”
“Because I wasn’t ready.”
That surprised me.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“What changed?”
“I stopped thinking marriage was proof.”
I went still.
“For most of my life, marriage meant contracts. Alliances. Trust clauses. Family expectations.”
He looked at the box.
“I needed to know I could ask you without needing your answer to fix anything.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Luca.”
He opened the box.
The ring was elegant.
Not enormous.
Not ridiculous.
A classic diamond with tiny rubies hidden beneath the setting.
Red.
Like the dress.
Like Christmas.
Like us.
He looked directly at me.
“Emma Bennett, nothing changes if you say no.”
My throat closed.
“You keep your career.”
Tears spilled.
“Your apartment.”
I laughed through them.
“Your independence.”
His voice became rough.
“And me, if you still want me.”
That broke me.
“But if you say yes…”
He took my hand.
“…I will choose you every day for as long as you let me.”
I was crying openly now.
The waitress behind the counter was crying too.
I pointed at Luca.
“You practiced that.”
“For weeks.”
“I knew it.”
“Emma.”
“Yes.”
He froze.
“Yes?”
“Yes.”
For once, there was no restraint.
Luca stood so quickly the table shook.
I laughed.
He pulled me from the booth and kissed me while six strangers applauded.
When we finally separated, he slipped the ring onto my finger.
Perfect fit.
Of course.
“You knew my size?”
“I have resources.”
“That answer sounds criminal.”
“Probably.”
My phone immediately rang.
Julian.
I answered.
“How did you know?”
He screamed.
Actually screamed.
“She said yes!”
Noise exploded behind him.
I pulled the phone away.
“You told everyone?”
Luca looked innocent.
“I told nobody.”
Julian shouted through the speaker.
“Grandmother had a betting pool!”
I stared at Luca.
He closed his eyes.
“Of course she did.”
“What were the odds?”
Julian answered.
“Three-to-one Emma would interrupt the proposal before he finished.”
I looked at Luca.
He looked betrayed.
I smiled.
“Your family knows me.”
He kissed my forehead.
On the drive home, snow began falling lightly.
I watched Manhattan through the window.
A year earlier, I had entered a Christmas party pretending to belong beside Luca Moretti.
Now a ring sat on my hand.
But the difference wasn’t the diamond.
It wasn’t his money.
It wasn’t his family.
It was that I no longer needed to pretend I belonged beside him.
I chose to be there.
And he chose me without asking me to become anything other than myself.
There was only one final problem.
Planning a wedding with Alessandra Moretti.
May you like
Which, as I discovered the following morning, was more dangerous than Victor Hale had ever been.
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