Chapter 27
IZZY
One Month Later
There are tears in my eyes as Grandma and I dance around the dining room together. Her movements are still sluggish, but just the fact that she’s dancing is a miracle. I never would’ve dreamed it just one month ago.
I also never would’ve dreamed that Aaron, my uncle, would follow us from Dom’s offices, drunk on whiskey, and try to run us off the road. As the music rises around us, and Grandma and I sway together, I relive that awful moment.
Wheezing as my seatbelt cut into my chest, looking over at Dom as his mouth filled with blood and his eyes stared, directly into my soul. He clawed for me, moaning my name weakly, before unconsciousness took him.
I remember after rushing to the hospital, thinking I was going to lose the man I love right after I rejected his proposal. Sure, he didn’t get down on one knee, but it would’ve eaten me up inside, nonetheless.
I remember the coma they induced him into, with me wondering if he was ever going to wake up.
Twenty-four hours later, he peeled his eyes open. His internal swelling had subsided. He’d broken more ribs than me—four for him, one for me—and his arm was banged up, plus the concussion, but he was alive. He was going to recover. Fate, it turns out, isn’t that cruel.
Grandma sighs and moves to the chair, sitting carefully and kneading her thighs. “Sorry, sweetheart,” she says.
I get her a glass of water, then sit beside her. “How amazing is this? Dancing together? Look at you, Grandma! You’re like a new woman.”
She smiles, looking radiant, looking remade. “I feel brand new,” she says proudly.
When the front door goes, I jump to my feet, excited as usual when Dom returns from working late.
I’m… between jobs at the moment. I don’t want to be a liability, but when Dom woke from the short coma, he took my hand and asked me bluntly, “Do you want to work in construction, or did you just fall into it?”
I told him the truth. It was just a job.
So, he insisted I take some time to figure out what I want.
I’ve been practicing with my new violin for four, sometimes five hours a day, and next week is my first official day as a private tutor.
Dom has given me my passion back, taking care of me like he takes care of everyone, and I’ve made a promise to myself to always give him that same affection in return.
He smiles when I greet him, taking off his jacket. I kiss him on the cheek, laughing as he sweeps his arms around me and pulls me in for a real kiss. I remember how fragile he looked in the hospital bed… but then how fierce he became when I gave him the news.
“Aaron died in the car crash. He ended himself trying to end us.”
“Good,” Dom growled. “One down, one to go.”
Sebastian, however, is still in the wind, despite the police searching for him in relation to the drug charges.
Grandma is in the living room. She laughs when Dom playfully skips over to her, leaning down and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He looks at me, winking, handsome and playful. But still with that dark intensity in his eyes. “Who’s this young lady?”
Grandma giggles. “The same joke, every day,” she says, clearly loving it. “Does anybody mind if I turn on the TV? It’s almost time for the news.”
“Oh yeah,” Dom says sarcastically. “I’ll be furious.”
Grandma laughs again. “Well, I’m switching it on anyway!”
Dom chuckles and sits on the couch, gesturing to me. I join him, sliding easily into his embrace. I love this spot, sliding into place, as though this little pocket of warmth was made just for me.
Grandma enjoys the evening news, going on fiery rants about this and that. I don’t even care what the issues are, honestly, only that she’s clearly happy to be able to vent and be herself again.
When the screen changes, though, I do care. Dom leans forward, gasping. I massage his shoulder and lean forward with him, staring at the screen as the news presenter explains the footage they’re showing.
It’s an old man being led to a police car by two officers. The caption reads, Business Mogul Turned Drug Kingpin: Sebastian Armitage Arrested.
“In a striking scene today,” the presenter says.
“A wealthy business mogul was arrested while trying to leave the country on a false passport. Sebastian Armitage gained worldwide notoriety last month when celebrity CEO Dominic Vale publicly accused him of holding a years-long vendetta against him and his family…”
Dom sinks back against the couch, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “It’s done,” he whispers, taking my hand and holding it tightly. “Songbird, it’s over. We’re free to… to…”
“Just be?” I offer.
He lifts my hand and kisses it. “Yeah.” He stands, pulling me to my feet.
He hugs me fiercely. I feel a tiny shiver of pain, but it’s quiet beneath the overwhelming love and pleasure.
“I love you, Izzy. I love you so much. I loved you the first time we kissed, the first text we sent, even. I love you.” He laughs in delight, like he can’t stop saying it. “I love you, I love you, I—”
“I love you too,” I say, voice getting high and breathy. “I love you more than anything. I wish I’d said it sooner.”
“Hey…” He brushes the hair from my face and behind my ear, one of his favorite gestures. “Let’s not worry about what we did or didn’t do. Let’s just enjoy this. Savor it. We’re together. We’re in love. That’s more than many people will ever get.”
Grandma sniffles, dabbing her face with her handkerchief, watching us with a warm smile on her face.
Dom’s got his hand on the small of my back as we ride the elevator together. I love—yes, love, love, love!—when he holds me like this, possessively and protectively at the same time. It’s like he’s telling anybody who might catch sight of us: This woman is mine.
The doors open to show a rooftop covered in rose petals, just like on our first date.
My breath catches at the beauty of it, along with the emotional weight bearing down.
Two days ago, when we learned Sebastian had been arrested, it felt like the world had opened up. Now we can enjoy this new world.
Just me, my man, and my grandma… with my reignited passion for the violin. Can life get any better?
Dom leads me past the table, the champagne, and the candles at the edge of the rooftop. He shifts so that he’s behind me, his arms wrapped around me, his warm presence pushing against my back. He leans down and kisses my neck tenderly.
“I used to go to the roof at the office before I met you,” he says huskily, his warm breath tickling my ear and neck.
“I’d imagine what was going on in the apartment towers, all the lives being lived, and I’d hear my father’s voice in my head.
You’re better off without it, son, he’d tell me.
You’ve chosen the right path. I wasted so many years thinking like that, and yet, Songbird, I can’t resent it.
It gave us the time we needed for you to fly into my life. ”
I cough as my throat closes up with emotion, my eyes stinging.
He kisses me again.
“Before the crash, we stopped under those trees, remember?”
I shift against him, making my voice breathy, how he likes. “I remember very well.”
He chuckles and bites my ear playfully, sending hot signals shooting through my body. “The second time, beautiful,” he says.
I lean against him. “Oh yeah…”
“You remember what I was going to do and how you warned me to wait,” he says, voice thick with emotion.
“I’m done waiting, Songbird. I’m done looking at other people’s lives and thinking I can never have what they have.
I’m done thinking I’m too damaged, or cool, or interesting to experience love and joy.
I’m done being edgy and distant and strange.
I’m just… done. You’ve changed me. You—you, Izzy.
It’s not about me or what you do for me. It’s just about you.”
He clears his throat, sounding as if he could let out a sob any second. He kisses my neck, then keeps his face close, whispering close to my ear.
“You’re kind, determined, beautiful, selfless.
You’re talented. And you know how to enjoy life, how to stop and savor the little things.
You’re… everything, Songbird. You’re mine.
” He clings to me tightly, trembling as he hugs me close.
“I love you when we talk. I love you when we fuck. I love you when we’re just sitting together, not doing a damn thing. I love you when we text. I love you.”
He steps back, gently turning me so I can face him head-on. I’ve never seen so much feeling on his hard-featured face, not even when he was in the hospital. A single tear slides down his face. I reach up and gently brush it away.
He catches my hand and kisses my wrist softly. “Isabella Marlowe,” he murmurs, “the love of my life, the most perfect woman I’ve ever met…”
“I’m not perfect,” I whisper, tears sliding down my cheeks.
“To me, you’re more than perfect,” he says with feeling.
He slowly lowers himself to one knee, looking strong and handsome at the same time. Rose petals are all around him, their scent filling the air, adding to the romance.
He reaches into his pocket and takes out a ring box.
“Izzy, my songbird,” he says, opening the box. I gasp, my hands flying up to cover my mouth. The ring is a work of art, a chunky diamond set within a white-gold band, with two little carvings framing it: one is a song note, and the other is a small violin. “Will you marry me?”
I can’t catch my breath as I stare at the ring. I let too much time pass. Dom’s expression wavers tragically, as if he thinks he’s overshot. I quickly dart my hand down, offering him my hand.
“Yuh-yuh…” I can’t push the word out, the emotion is rising so wonderfully inside of me. “Yes!” I finally squeal.
He grins like a happy little boy, taking the ring and sliding it onto my finger.
Leaping to his feet, he pulls me into his arms and lifts me off my feet, spinning me around and around.