Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Meanwhile, my heart was thundering now, building up the storm already raging inside me.
I couldn’t believe the things he was saying.
I couldn’t tell if he meant them, or if this was just some Oscar-worthy performance.
That confusion I felt last night quadrupled, and suddenly, I felt so lightheaded I had to grip the bar at the bow even tighter for fear I’d fall over.
“Mia, I have had the pleasure of watching you grow up,” he finally continued. “I have watched you transform from the girl who cared so much about what others thought of her to the woman who doesn’t give a damn, who inspires other girls all around the world to be exactly who they are and to love every piece of themselves.”
My eyes flooded with tears — and not because I willed them to.
He might have been faking it.
But this felt all too real to me.
“When we were younger, I told myself I was too much for you. When we were apart over the years, I told myself I wasn’t enough. But now, for reasons I will never pretend to know or understand, the universe has put us together again. It’s given me a chance I know I don’t deserve. But I can promise you this — I won’t waste it.”
I swore his hands were shaking a bit as he took mine in his, swore it wasn’t just in my head how his jaw tightened as he lowered himself down to one knee.
Fake, Mia.
Pretend.
All for show.
But those thoughts wouldn’t stick. The first tear slid down my cheek as soon as his knee hit the teak, my heart collapsing at the sight of him bent there before me the way I’d pictured in my dreams more times than I could count.
“I am an honest man,” he said, his voice deep but a bit shaky. “Even with myself. And I know I am not what you deserve. I know I fall short in so many ways. I know that I can be irrational, and loud, and broody and cold. I know I can shut the world out and do some really stupid shit. But I could never shut you out, Mia.” He swallowed. “And I could never stop loving you — no matter how hard I tried over the years.”
I blinked, two more hot tears searing my cheeks.
And my heart thundered at his words, at how believable he made them sound.
Fuck him for doing this to me.
Fuck him for saying that with his eyes locked on mine as if he actually meant it.
“I can’t promise I’ll be perfect. In fact, I know I’ll be everything but.” His hands squeezed mine before he peeled them away so he could reach into his jacket pocket. “But if you let me, I will love you with every fucked-up piece of who I am, with every shredded fiber of good I have left in me. I will protect you, and care for you. I will make you laugh. I will hold you when you cry. I will stand behind you and support you and celebrate you always.”
He paused, taking a breath as he pulled the midnight blue velvet box from the pocket of his sports coat.
“I know this is crazy,” he admitted, and then he smiled that beautiful, crooked smile that had first made my teenage heart burst into flames. “But so are we.”
He popped the box open, and I didn’t have to fake the gasp that ripped from my throat.
I covered my mouth with both hands, more tears spilling over as I stared at the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. I couldn’t even remember it from the showing with the jeweler at Aleks’s condo. Then again, that had all been an out-of-body blur. I didn’t want to pick out my own wedding ring — even if it was fake. It felt so strange, like a bad omen of some kind.
And Aleks had known it.
He’d shooed me away. He’d picked out a ring to surprise me.
He’d picked out a ring better than any I could have ever imagined for myself.
I wasn’t even sure what the stone was nestled in the delicate and intricate gold setting, but it was a mixture of green and black and gray, a swirling whirlpool of beauty in a perfectly sized gem. The brilliant band sported tiny leaves of diamonds to frame the stone — one branch spiraling up to hug the top of it while the other hugged the bottom.
It was like an entire fairytale told without a single word.
It was enchanting, and magical, and stunning.
It was perfect.
“Marry me, Mia,” Aleks whispered, like the words were strangling him. He cleared his throat and spoke louder, his dark eyes fixed on mine. “Marry me.”
Whatever I’d practiced, whatever fake show I’d planned to put on at this exact moment? It was impossible now. I was so overcome with emotion I could barely nod, could barely breathe through the tumultuous disorientation forcing more tears down my cheeks as I held out a shaking left hand.