Page 32 of Little Last Words
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was complicated.”
“Was it complicated, or was it your father?”
“When we met, my father had already arranged for me to marry Valentina. Our parents were determined to unite our families, and they decided the marriage was the best way to do it. Looking back now, I wish things were different. I would have fought him on it. I didn’t love her, and she didn’t love me.”
“Is that the reason you never shared your feelings back then?”
“Part of it. You were also hard to read.”
He was right. I’d been standoffish. At the time, I worried more about how I’d feel if he didn’t reciprocate my feelings, so I didn’t share them.
“We were close back then,” I said. “You were at our place almost every day. We cooked together, played games together. We even fell asleep next to each other a few times.”
He smiled. “I remember.”
“I never told you how I felt because I was convinced if you didn’t feel the same way, it would hurt our friendship. And yet, we ended up parting ways anyway, neither of us telling the other how we felt. Seems silly when I think about it now.”
“We were young.”
“And stupid,” I added.
“I thought about contacting you so many times.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I heard you’d met someone, got married. Every time I pictured you and the life you were living, I told myself you were happy. When my uncle called a few years back and told me you were trying to make contact, I decided if you were single, and if we still had a spark, I’d tell you all the things I never said before.”
“The night we met for dinner, catching up with each other after so many years had passed … it was the best night I’d had in a long time.”
He squeezed my hand. “Every night since then has been the best night because I have been given a second chance to spend my life with you. You’re my one true love, Georgiana. You’ve always been.”
He released my hand and stood, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a shiny black box. He cracked the box open and bent down in front of me, displaying a shiny, round, art-deco style, antique diamond ring.
“Georgiana Germaine, these last few years together have breathed a kind of air into my life that I haven’t felt for a long time, a life I cannot imagine ever living without you. Everything I am now and everything I could ever be is better because of you. It is my hope that you will agree to continue this journey with me, together, as my best friend and my wife.”
I stared at the ring, and then at him. He’d never been an emotional man, and yet now, in this moment, as he swallowed back tears, I didn’t see him as the man he was now. I saw the boy I’d met those many years ago, the vulnerable, kind boy who’d stolen my heart on day one.
I wrapped my hands around his, leaning in for a kiss, and a simple word that in this moment seemed anything but—yes.
CHAPTER13
Over the next few days, we explored New York City by day and spent time with Giovanni’s family by night, giving me the opportunity to get to know them. His family seemed nice, and they welcomed me, treating me like I was one of their own.
I returned to Cambria over the weekend, feeling relaxed and refreshed, and it wasn’t long before my thoughts turned to Sadie. I wondered how she was doing and how the case was going. I decided to pay the county coroner a visit.
I found Silas in his office, humming along to Red Hot Chili Peppers’Under the Bridge, which was blaring through the speakers on the wall.
“Hey, hey,” he said. “Been wondering when you’d show up. When did you get back?”
“This morning.”
“Figures.” He tipped his head toward my hand and bellowed out a long whistle. “Looks like someone had a nice birthday. Get on over here and let me get a good look at that ring.”
I bent down, flattening my hand over some papers on his desk. “It was the best birthday I’ve ever had. The ring was a complete surprise.”
“Guessing he proposed, then. You’re wearing the ring on your wedding finger.”