Page 54 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

"I want to marry you," he tells me suddenly.

I gasp, lifting my head again and staring at him, wide-eyed. "You... you what?"

"I want to marry you," he repeats, as though he’s saying something obvious. "Before the baby is born. So we can be a real family."

I lift my hand to my mouth, hardly able to take in what I’m hearing. I suppose after everything we’ve been through, it’s not really that strange of a proposition; he knows I’m with him for good now, and nothing will change that, so marriage isn’t that much more of an ask. But despite it all, there’s a side of me that can hardly believe that this man—this handsome, rich, powerful, protective, passionate man—wants me to be his wife.

"And..." He touches my chin for a moment, as though making sure his next words come out exactly as he intends them to. "And because I love you, Rose."

There it is. The words I have longed to hear from him, without even realizing it. The words that sound like the most natural thing in the world tripping off his tongue. The words that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my entire system brighten with joy.

“I love you, too, Ilya," I whisper, and I kiss him. Because what can I do other than kiss him right now? He has asked me to marry him, told me he loves me, shown me with no shadow of a doubt that he will put me and our child above anything in his life. Of course I love him.

"And the answer is yes, by the way," I add as I draw back, offering him a playful smile.

He slips a hand to the small of my back, pulling me against him. "Thought you were going to keep me waiting," he murmurs.

He rolls on top of me again, his body already tensing with desire. As our mouths melt together once more, I wrap my arms around him, forgetting about the world outside this room.

Because right now, as far as I’m concerned, the world is right here, in my arms.

Epilogue – Rose

"Is that us for the day?”

Becky’s voice drifts through from the next room. I glance up, half-lost in the middle of flicking through a catalogue I am ordering some new stock from.

"Hmm?” I say.

"Is that us for the day?” she repeats as she emerges from the stockroom, smiling and planting her hands on her hips.

I nod. "Yeah, I think so," I reply. "Ilya should be here any minute to pick me up."

As though on cue, I hear the rumble of an engine coming to a stop outside the boutique.

Ilya steps out, lifts his hand to greet me, and I feel a little flutter at the sight of him. I’m not sure when, or if, that will ever go away, but I haven’t gotten tired of it yet.

"There you go," Becky replies, grabbing her bag and coat from the hook and heading for the door. "I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? If you haven’t popped by then."

She gestures towards my belly, and I glance down and laugh.

"It’s not that bad," I say, and she cocks an eyebrow.

"Oh, I’m not sure about that," she replies. "How many days till you go off on maternity leave?”

"I’m sticking it out till Friday."

"Yeah, I’d put money on you having the baby by then," she replies with a shrug.

I roll my eyes and laugh again. "Okay, well, I’ll owe you twenty bucks. How about that?”

"I’ll hold you to it."

She waves as she heads out the door, greeting Ilya as she heads to her car. He nods to her, and I appreciate the effort on his part. I know how hard it’s been for him to forgive her for what he saw as her part in Sergei’s attempt on our child’s life, but he knows how important she is to me and that I want her to be a part of the baby’s life.

And besides, I own this place now, and that means I get to hire anyone I want. At least, that’s what I reminded Ilya when I decided to hire Becky back at her old job. This boutique was his wedding present to me—well, one among several that he gifted to me when we got married a few months ago.

Smiling, I glance down to the gleaming diamond ring on my finger. There were actually quite a few presents during our wedding and the honeymoon we had at a nearby cabin in the woods, but I’m not sure all of them are for public consumption.