Page 120 of Chasing Caine
“I only ask for a promise that you wait and not make any big decisions without me. That you’ll remain in Brenton until I get home. And not date other men.” My throat tightened. The last was the hardest request, the most important. After seeing her with Nathan Miller, with Thomas, and the men at the club… I shouldn’t have to put it into words, but I did anyway.
“I don’t need a ring for that. Saying it out loud is enough.”
“Your words at the club, after Umberto got away from us, at the hotel.” I took the men’s ring out and placed it in her palm. “They didn’t escape me. You still don’t think you’re enough, but you are. And this ring will show every person I meet that there’s someone in my life who’s more important to me than everyone else.”
I held out my left hand, fingers first. When she didn’t budge, I inclined my head toward her palm.
“You’re serious about this?” Her gaze remained fixed on the trinity ring in the box.
“I’ve been accused of being a hopeless romantic. Perhaps you’ve noticed?”
“That’s an understatement.”
I tapped her nose to bring her attention back to me. “Most of all, Samantha, this ring will be a reminder of you. No matter where I am, I can see it and remember us in this moment.”
“That other ring’s way too expensive. I can’t accept that.”
The diamonds sparkled as I swiveled the box. I held my smirk down as much as I could, having expected her to say this, and already having a response planned. “Consider it a loan. I promise when I tire of you, I’ll take it back.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Couldn’t get through a single serious moment without a bad joke, could you?”
“That’s usually your role, bella.”
“Fine.” She slid the ring indelicately onto my fourth finger, chuckling at me. Someday, she would replace it with a wedding band. That was my unspoken promise, one which was better not shared with her yet.
I withdrew the other ring from the box and arched an eyebrow when her hand balled into a fist around the sheets again.
“Is this what you snuck off for in Capri?”
“Sì, it is.”
“And when you were playing around in the jewelry store, having me try on all those fashion rings I swore I didn’t want?”
“The jeweler was determining your ring size.”
“So, this isn’t about the club or any of those other things.” She chewed on her bottom lip, eyes flicking down to the ring and back up to me several times. Then to the ring on my left hand. “You bought these rings before all that.”
“You don’t have to accept this if you don’t want to.”
She let go of the sheet, but her hand bypassed the ring and rested against my cheek to urge me forward. She kissed me tenderly, like our kisses on the sun beds in Capri. The kiss to show she loved me.
As we broke apart, her hand remained on my face. “I meant everything I said when I got here. I want you and only you. I want to make this work, and I’m willing to do some scary shit to make it happen. Flying here, opening up, deciding to stay in Brenton...” She released my cheek and flopped onto her back with a loud sigh.
“Bella, tell me. What’s the matter?”
She stared at the ceiling, then the balcony doors and the curtains billowing in the salty breeze. “Cass is the only one I talk to about important things. And even still, she pretty much has to lead both ends of the conversation. I’m more comfortable on my own.”
“Do you truly want to be alone?”
“No.” She squeezed her eyes shut, dragging her hands across her face. Her jaw flexed, mouth opening and closing. There were words she wanted to say and they would be significant. And I would wait for every word. “I’m still afraid you’ll wake up one day and realize you made a mistake choosing me.”
I directed her face to mine and looked her square in the eyes. “Stop pushing me away. Stop running.”
“And…” She let out a long breath. “Don’t ever lie to me again.”
It was a gut punch. Saying it out loud meant my lie about the Chagall was still closer to the front of her mind than I’d thought. This must have been where many of her doubts came from. And all I did by hiding the threat against her was remind her of it, not protect us against it.
No matter how blissful the visit had been, I had much more work to do to regain her trust. “It takes time to learn a person’s life.”