“But I still know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” My hand came to rest on her stomach. “Besides, you’re carrying my daughter.”
Staring up at the twinkling lights, Mia gave a sad sigh. “I don’t want to get married just because of Isabella. That’s what happened with my parents. I never want you to resent me or come to view me as ‘the chick who trapped you with a kid’.”
I shook my head furiously from side to side. “I could never think of you like that. Hell Mia, if anything, I’m the one that’s trapping you. I chased your stubborn ass down until you finally decided to give us a real chance.”
“You say that now, but who knows what might happen in the future?”
“Don’t you want to marry me?” My voice had taken on a wounded tone.
Mia turned to bring her hands to my face, cupping my cheeks. “That’s not it at all. Any woman would be honored to marry you. This is about me and all my hang-ups. All this seems too good to be true—you seem too good to be true. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop where I wake up to realize this isn’t real.”
I couldn’t fight the anger building within me at her response. “Dammit Mia, how many times do I have to prove that punishing me for your past isn’t fair?”
With a wince, she replied, “I don’t know…And I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“You know the four months I spent apart from you were miserable. Before you, I thought I’d been in love with other women before. When they left me, I was desolate. But it was nothing compared to what I experienced after you left. I was fucking obliterated.”
“So was I,” she admitted.
I threw up my hands. “Then what the fuck else is there to say? We’re miserable when we’re apart and happy when we’re together.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and I shook my head. “No more bullshit about how I’m too good to put up with all your hang-ups and blah, blah, blah. Just marry me. You can’t worry about the future—we’re not even promised tomorrow. Just here and now. When I see Bray and Lily together and Jake and Abby, I’m envious of what they have. I want that with you and only you.”
Tears spilled over Mia’s cheeks, but she didn’t bother wiping them away. “Oh AJ,” she murmured.
I pulled her into my arms before taking her face in my hands. “It’s been a whirlwind, but I know that I love you. I think I loved you from the moment you tied me up in the limo. I’d never had a woman challenge me like you did.”
“You really want to marry me?”
“I sure as hell do.”
She laughed and swiped the tears from her cheeks. “Then where’s the ring?”
“I’m so glad you finally asked.” Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small, velvet box. When I cracked it open, a sob choked off in Mia’s throat. The tears flowed so freely she had to blink several times.
“That’s Mama Sophia’s ring,” she whispered.
I nodded. “The base is. I had them reset it in platinum, and then I added the other diamonds.”
“But how did you—”
“Your dad sent it to me.” I smiled. “Along with his permission to marry you.”
Mia staggered back, and I had to grab her shoulders to steady her. “When? How?”
“I had Duke give the ring to Rhys to bring when he flew down today. And then I asked him everything when we skyped a day or two after we got here.” I winked at her while my mind went back to the day I’d called Duke to ask him if I could marry Mia. I’d been such a nervous * I had been shaking when I did it. I mean, the man had every right to take my balls for knocking up his daughter. That in itself was scary enough, but this motherfucker was a former NFL football player with friendly ties to people associated with the mob. I was ready to shit my pants or go into Witness Protection by the time he answered the phone. But he’d surprised the hell out of me, though, by breaking down and crying like a pansy himself.