Chapter 13 - Under the Mistletoe
Roman led Claire out onto the enclosed heated terrace overlooking the Sound. The
sun was dipping below the horizon, painting the winter sky in brilliant shades
of violet, rose, and gold. Above their heads, a fresh sprig of green mistletoe
hung from the glass ceiling. Roman stopped, turning Claire to face him. He
opened the velvet box. Inside rested a breathtaking, custom-designed ring: a
deep, luminous blue sapphire surrounded by a halo of flawless diamonds, set in
platinum. It wasn't a standard high-society diamond. It was the color of a
winter sky at twilight—the exact moment the storm had cleared.
"Claire," Roman said, dropping to one knee on the marble floor. Claire gasped,
her hands flying to her mouth, her eyes shining with tears. "Roman... get up,
you're the boss—" "I am a man who was lost in the dark until you brought light
into this house," Roman interrupted, looking up at her with raw, unfiltered
devotion. "You survived the cold, you fought for your sister, and you saved my
soul. I don't want an alliance. I don't want a political arrangement. I want
you. For all my days, in every life, in every storm." He held out the ring.
"Claire Bennett, will you do me the greatest honor of my life and become my
wife? Will you be the Lady of DeLuca House?"
May you like
Claire looked at the ring, then looked at the powerful, fierce man kneeling
before her—a man who commanded empires, yet looked at her as if she were the
only treasure in the universe. "Yes," Claire whispered, her voice overflowing
with love. "Yes, Roman! A thousand times, yes!"
Roman surged to his feet, slid the sapphire ring onto her finger, and lifted her
into the air, spinning her around as laughter and tears mingled on her cheeks.
He set her down gently and kissed her beneath the mistletoe, sealing their
promise against the backdrop of the glowing winter sky.
