Page 151 of Ruined
He set his beer down, his gaze cutting right through me the way it always did.
My hands fisted in the grass as I forced myself to keep going. “I love you, Dom.” My voice cracked, but I didn’t stop. “I’ve told you before, but I don’t think you gethow much.”
His eyes burned into mine.
“I love you because you didn’t run when you saw me at my worst. You stayed. Youfoughtfor me, even when I didn’t think I was worth it. You didn’t try to fix me or change me. You just… stayed.” My chest felt too small for all the words I’d held back. “You gave me a reason to see the world. A reason to believe I could be free. You made me want to be alive again, Dom.”
He stood up suddenly, and my words faltered. My stomach dropped, and then he got down on one knee.
My jaw clenched as he pulled a small black box from his pocket. The ring inside caught the last streaks of gold on the horizon.
“Dom—”
“Let me say this.” His voice was soft but firm, like the moment would shatter if he didn’t hold onto it tightly. “I love you, too. I’ve loved you since you broke into my house and tried to kill me.”
“Jesus, Dom.”
He grinned. “What? It was a memorable moment.”
A choked laugh broke from my throat.
His smile softened. “I love you because you’re still here. After everything, you’re still standing. I love the way you care, even when you act like you don’t. You’d burn the whole damn world down for the people you love. It scares the hell out of me sometimes, but I loveyou.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“I’ve been in this life a long time, Luca. I’ve seen the worst of people. The very worst. But you—you remind me there’s still good in this world. Even when it’s buried under scars and fear, you pull it out, and you keep fighting. That’s what I love about you. You’re brave enough to keep trying.”
“Why me?” I whispered.
“Because you’re it for me. The one person I can’t walk away from. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and I never will again.”
My chest felt like it might split open. “You really think you can handle my shit forever?”
Dominic chuckled. “Already have. Longer than most could. I’m not stopping now.”
I huffed a shaky laugh as he slipped the plain gold band onto my finger.
He looked up at me, his hands still holding mine. “Let me love you, Luca. For the rest of my life.”
My fist tightened in his shirt when he pulled me into his arms. I didn’t care that my hands were shaking or that my chest felt like it might burst. All I could feel was him.
When he kissed me, it wasn’t hard or frantic. Slow and tender.A promise I’d never believed I’d get. He pulled back, his hands cradling my face.
“You’re stuck with me now.”
I smiled. “Hope you’re ready.”
Dominic pulled me down beside him as the last streaks of gold gave way to the deep blue of twilight. We sat there, his arm around me, happiness filling my stomach. All I could feel was him. My reason to keep going.
THIRTY-EIGHT
DOMINIC
The house sat at the end of a quiet street.
Luca called it a “fixer-upper,” but it was a dump. The windows needed replacing and the roof leaked, but it was ours. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t pouring money into a fortress. I wanted to build something for us.
It’d been two years since Luca had walked away from the family. It hadn’t been easy, lots of therapy and school, but Luca got through it. He had another couple years before graduating with his engineering degree.