Anna’s hand clenched over her belly as she realized just where her man was—partying with scantily clad women instead of helping her cart her bags upstairs. She looked infuriated for a moment, then a pleasant smile passed over her features. Hand outstretched, she turned to Matt. “Would you mind if I borrowed that?”
Laughing, Matt handed the milk balloon to her. “Be my guest.”
Still sweetly smiling, Anna stalked out to the deck. Matt and Evan waited five seconds, then hurried after her. Kellan shook his head and looked down at me. “Want to see our room, or watch Griffin be assaulted?”
I bit my lip. “Wow, that’s actually a really hard choice.”
Kellan chuckled and grabbed my hand. Leading me to the first door along the wall, he murmured, “Well, I’ve had enough of Griffin lately and not nearly enough of you.”
He opened the door wide and I gasped as I stepped inside. It was more like a studio apartment than a guest bedroom; it was about three times the size of our room back in Seattle. The walls were painted a surprisingly warm shade of gray, with furniture in a deep, contrasting dark cherry. The bedspread was black with intricate silver designs. The sheets and pillows were crisp white, with designs that matched the comforter, but in black. Silver and black lamps adorned the nightstands, and gray lounge chairs created a quiet space in the corner, perfect for reading or writing. A giant flat-screen TV was fixed to the wall opposite the bed.
All in all, it was a very manly room, but it did have some feminine touches. A crystal chandelier was hanging in the middle of the room. Deep purple throw pillows were artfully arranged on the bed, and a plush purple rug was lying at the foot of it. Tall pillar candles were positioned in clumps of three throughout the room, and a vase overflowing with white lilies highlighted an ornate lowboy dresser.
The room was stunning, but that wasn’t what made me gasp. Kellan had taken bright red rose petals and scattered them over the floor and on top of the bed. The red seemed even deeper in color against the black bedspread. Over the top of the red petals, Kellan had carefully placed a layer of white petals. Those petals formed a heart, and on the inside of the heart was a box. A small, velvet box. My heart was surging as I stared at it.
Closing the door behind us, Kellan murmured in my ear, “Do you like it?”
I couldn’t answer him. I could only nod as I laser-focused on the gift waiting for me. Kellan pulled me forward, and the smell of fresh flowers tickled my nose in a wonderful way. I slipped off my sandals as we walked so I could feel the silky petals under my toes. When we got to the edge of the bed, Kellan stopped and stared at the box with me. After another moment, he pulled it off of the bed, careful to not disrupt the artful white heart. My eyes followed his fingers. Without a word, Kellan dropped to a knee. Even though he’d done this before, even though we were already married in our hearts, the sight of him on bended knee made my eyes water.
Smiling up at me, he whispered, “Kiera Michelle Allen, will you be my wife?”
The tears in my eyes dropped to my cheeks as he opened the box. I was already nodding as I stared at the diamonds sparkling in the sunlight streaming through the window. The center diamond was a large round beauty that gleamed with life as it refracted the light. A “halo” of smaller diamonds circled it, amplifying its glow, while a similar strand of diamonds lined either side of the silver band. It was quite easily the most incredible ring I’d ever seen.
Kellan was calm and relaxed as he pulled the ring out of the box. My fingers were shaking as he slipped the new ring on my left hand, above the promise ring that I’d been wearing as a wedding ring. The two rings complemented each other perfectly, and I couldn’t stop staring at them. Kellan was chuckling as he stood back up.
When I felt more composed, I looked up at him and said the first thing that popped into my head. “You didn’t need to do that. My old ring was fine.” I cringed at telling him that right out of the gate, but this ring looked pricey, and he didn’t need to spend that kind of money on me. He didn’t need to win me over—I was already won.
Kellan smiled and looped his arms around my waist. “Yes, I did.”
I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, this is . . . unbelievable . . . but I was content with the old band. You didn’t have to do this.”
Kellan’s smile didn’t change. “Yes, I did.”
“Kellan—”
He cut me off with his lips on mine. “Yes, I did, Kiera,” he murmured against my skin.