Chapter Eight
RONAN
Eight Years Earlier
NEW YORK CITY
If you’d told me I’d end up here, in a relationship with the most stunning woman I’d ever laid eyes on, I would’ve laughed it off.
But life had a way of surprising me, and that’s exactly what Nina was—a surprise.
She was my calm in the storm, my winter, and she became everything I didn’t know I needed.
Winter, because she had this rare way of making everything around her fall into silence, like the world paused just for her, and it did.
She was my quiet season, a soothing calm when life felt loud and unpredictable.
Winter wasn’t only cold—it was pure and unassuming, almost untouched, and that was what she felt like to me.
She didn’t realize that her being near was enough to make the cold feel less biting or to make the darkness seem gentler. When she smiled, and her eyes reflected the glisten of fresh snow, I swear, she could have stopped time.
She was my snowflake.
The snow was trickling down around us, gentle and slow, blanketing the world in soft white.
She shivered, tugging her scarf higher, her cheeks and nose bright from the cold.
She hated winter, always saying she couldn’t stand how it made her skin sting, but she’d still meet me under a starlit sky, letting me warm her hands in mine.
“Ronan, what’s going on?” she asked, pulling her knitted pink scarf tighter. “We’re going to miss the Christmas lights in Central Park.”
We were nearly there, her footsteps slowing as she took in the sight of the warehouse, dusted in fresh snow under the pale light of the streetlamp. The city sounds were barely a hum, leaving only us and the crunch of snow beneath our feet. She looked at me, a bit of concern in her eyes.
I smiled, taking her face in my hands and feeling the warmth of her cheeks beneath my thumbs. I leaned in and kissed her softly, letting my lips linger, trying to melt away any doubts she had. “Relax, tesoro,” I murmured against her lips. “I promise this is worth it.”
Her eyes searched mine, uncertainty lingering, but she followed me as I opened the door. I flipped the lights on, and her gasp echoed through the space. The runway, bathed in a golden glow, transformed the old warehouse into something new.
Her eyes widened as women in stunning dresses—dresses she’d made—stepped forward.
Each design, from complex beadwork to luxurious fabric drapes, was sewn by her hands.
She was frozen beside me, her hand covering her mouth as she looked at them, each model moving with grace, embodying the life she’d breathed into those dresses.
“Tesoro,” I said quietly, breaking her trance.
She turned to me, her eyes shimmering with tears. She swallowed, her voice a whisper. “Ronan, what...?”
“It’s always been a dream of yours to have a fashion show featuring your designs,” I said, feeling my chest tighten at the look in her eyes. “I had no idea what to do to make your holiday season better, and then I thought… why not have the Nina Moretti fashion show?”
She let out a soft, broken laugh, her hand reaching up to touch my face, her fingers barely grazing my cheek. “You didn’t.”
I nodded, brushing a stray tear from her cheek. “I wanted to give you a night where you’d see yourself the way I see you and where you’d see how incredible your work is.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me in, and I held her tightly, feeling her heartbeat against me.
She let herself fall apart a little, leaning into me, allowing the emotions to wash over her.
As we stood there, holding each other in the middle of the warehouse with her dream blooming around us, I knew this was worth every minute.
The models moved one by one down the makeshift runway, and I watched Nina’s reaction, soaking in every little shift in her expression.
She was entranced, her eyes following every line and detail as if each dress was something entirely new, a miracle she hadn’t made herself.
She barely blinked, her hand clutched in mine, her lips parted in disbelief.
When a model stepped forward in a deep emerald gown—one she’d nearly scrapped because she couldn’t get the stitching right—her hand tightened on my arm. Her eyes glistened as she took in the way the light caught the fabric, accentuating every movement, making the dress seem almost alive.
“That one,” I whispered, nodding to the model as she reached the end of the runway. “That’s my favorite.”
She turned to me, surprised. “It is?”
“You stayed up all night on that one because you weren’t sure it was correct. But, Nina, look at how perfect it is. Exactly as you made it to be.”
Her eyes shimmered as she watched the model glide under the lights, the dress flowing with every step.
Dress after dress, she looked like she was seeing her dreams unfold before her. When the show ended, she turned to me, almost dazed, her hand pressed against her heart. “I… I never thought I’d see them like this. On a real runway. It’s…”
I reached for her hand. “You should get used to this. One day, it won’t only be us here; it’ll be the whole world seeing your work. They’re going to love it as much as I do.”
“Thank you, Ro.”
We stayed until the last model finished, then I took her hand and led her into the snowy night.
She slipped her arm through mine, leaning into me.
“Nina,” I whispered, glancing down at her. “One day, you’ll attend the fashion school you dream of going to, graduate top of your class, and open the boutique you’ve always dreamed of. The Elegant Wind, right?”
She smiled, a playful light in her eyes as she looked up at me. “I’d prefer if you said it in Italian.”
I chuckled, pulling her closer. “You’re going to open your boutique and call it Il Vento Elegante.
Whether it’s five, ten, or twenty years from now, you’re going to have the biggest fashion show of your time.
It’ll happen, Nina. I’ll be there in the front row, cheering you on because I know how hard you work and believe me when I say I love you the most in this world. ”
She looked down, her voice soft, almost fragile. “You believe in me that much?”
I tilted her chin up, catching her gaze. “You’re everything worth believing in.”
Her eyes glistened, and she drew a shaky breath. “But… what if it doesn’t work out?”
“Then I’d make it happen. I’d move mountains and burn down cities if it meant you’d get to live your dream.”
A tear escaped, and she smiled through it, her voice breaking as she whispered, “Thank you for believing in me.”
I brushed my lips against her forehead. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you’re magic. And when magic like yours exists, the world doesn’t have a choice, it has to notice.”