Page 109 of Blood Vows

She smiled. “I’m working on him.”

“Not successfully,” he said.

Elena stood, and her eyes were wet, but she wasn’t crying—not like before. The grief was still there, and probably always would be, but it no longer owned her. She touched the top of the headstone. “I miss you.” Dante’s chest tightened. Then she whispered, “But I’m okay.” That nearly broke him. She stepped back, and Dante held out his hand. Elena took it.

They started toward the car, and halfway there, she stopped. “What?”

She looked at him. “You never asked.”

“Asked what?” he said.

“What happens next,” she breathed.

Dante frowned. “With what?”

“With us.” His heart thudded in his chest as he thought about it. Elena had spent her entire life with other people deciding her future. Dante refused to become another man who did that to her.

“I figured you’d tell me what happens next,” he said.

Her expression softened. “How very evolved of you.”

“Don’t spread it around,” he said. “I still have a reputation to keep.”

“I won't.” They started walking again. “I want to stay.”

Dante stopped, and she did too. “With me?” he asked.

“No. With Marco,” she joked. He glared at her, and she laughed. “Yes, with you.”

“For how long?” he asked.

Elena’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of question is that?”

“A specific one,” he said.

She stepped closer. “How about forever?” Dante forgot how to breathe, and Elena smiled. For once, he had nothing to say. No sarcastic answer, no smart comment—nothing. “Dante?”

He reached into his coat, and her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she breathed as he pulled out the small velvet box he had been carrying for nine days.

“You already had a ring?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said.

“You were waiting to give it to me?” she asked.

“I was waiting for the right time,” he countered.

“You are unbelievable.” He opened the box, and Elena stared at the diamond.

Dante stared at her. “I had a speech planned.”

“What happened to it?” she asked.

“You ruined it by beating me to the punch line,” he said.

Her eyes filled with tears. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”