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He held his hands up in front of him, chuckling when she shoved at his broad shoulder before walking on stage.
Alex waited for her with a smile, looking extraordinarily handsome in his formal suit. Their relationship had healed and was now forging into new territory—working together. She admired Alex’s business acumen, his sharp intelligence and innovative ideas. Fortunately, Alex and Matteo worked well together, though Matt had been distracted lately, what with Lucia’s mysterious illness. No one knew what was wrong with his wife, but thankfully, Alex stepped in where he could.
Slowly but surely, she was forging a bond between both of her families.
She nervously clutched her hands together while Alex introduced her and her jewelry line. Smiled when he said such kind things about her designs, blushed when he took it even more personal and said what a blessing it was to have her in his life. How fortunate he and his brothers were to call her their sister.
If he’d kept talking, she might have cried. Thank goodness, he stopped.
Sniffling discreetly, Stasia took the mic from him and once the crowd stopped applauding, she began to talk.
“I want to thank you all for coming here tonight and celebrating the launch of my new jewelry line with me. I wish my brothers were with me this evening, but Rafael and Vincenzo are in Italy at the moment, and Matteo had a family emergency which prevented him from attending. They are truly missed.
“I want to thank my new brothers Alex, Hunter and Rhett, for their encouraging support.” She smiled when she heard Rhett give a shout of approval. “And I want to thank the women in their lives. Tessa, Gracie and Gabriella, for being such wonderful friends and loving sisters of my heart.”
Pausing, she gazed out at the crowd, saw everyone watching her with smiles on their faces. She was in a room full of support, of love and acceptance and her heart felt incredibly full. She glanced down, saw Gavin standing front and center, his eyes sparkling, his expression full of pride. Love flowed through her, warm and pure, and she suddenly knew what she had to do.
“But most of all, I want to thank Gavin for picking me up when I was down, for encouraging me no matter what and for loving me through the good times and the bad.” His gaze met hers and she choked back the tears that threatened. “You are my everything. I love you so much and I want you to be in my life forever.”
Gavin tilted his head, a little furrow forming between his brows. “Stasia?” he mouthed.
She nodded, a single tear winding a damp path down her cheek. “Will you marry me, Gavin?”
The entire crowd erupted in applause and laughter, more than a few people yelling for an answer, including Rhett, who hollered at the top of his lungs. She stood on the stage, still alone, feeling incredibly vulnerable, waiting for a reaction from Gavin.
Her man appeared more than a little stunned.
“Gavin.” She waved her hand at him, handing the mic to an equally shocked Alex who stood nearby. “Don’t leave me up here alone.”
Snapping out of it, he grinned and ran up to join her on stage, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You stole my thunder, baby,” he murmured. “Shouldn’t I be the one who asks you to marry me?”
She laughed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You were botching it up pretty bad earlier.”
“It was my first go-around. You have to give a guy a break.” Slowly, he pulled her in closer, until she was in his arms, his hand cupping the back of her head as he tilted his face to hers. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“You need to give me an answer.” She pointed at the crowd, who were still clapping and yelling their encouragement. “Don’t embarrass me in front of everyone.”
“Never.” He kissed her. Another one of those bone-melting, brain cell stealing kisses and she wrapped her hands around his neck, held on for dear life until finally he lifted his head and smiled at the crowd. Alex offered the mic, which Gavin took. “My answer is yes.”
The shouts started anew, white and gold balloons falling from a net attached to the ceiling. Stasia laughed and shook her head, clinging to Gavin as if she would never let him go. “Where did the balloons come from?” she asked Alex.
Alex shrugged. “Tessa wanted to do it. Now I’m glad she did.” He turned to the crowd. “This moment calls for champagne.”
The waiters scurried madly, the guests crowded the front of the stage but Stasia didn’t care. She could only stare into the eyes of the man she loved.
“You surprise me on a daily basis,” Gavin whispered close to her ear, then kissed her neck, his lips hot.
She shivered and smiled, nestled her face close to his. “That’s a good thing right?”
Pulling away, he studied her, his mouth curved in that sexy smile she adored, his green eyes glowing. “It’s definitely a good thing.”
About the Author
Karen Erickson has always loved the written word. From being one of the best readers in her kindergarten class to penning romantic stories that never ended about her favorite band members (Duran Duran) in high school, she always wanted to write. It just took her a while to seriously pursue it.
With the birth of her third child came a realization—it’s one thing to talk about writing a book, another thing entirely to actually do it. She’s been published since 2006.
Karen’s a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite with her husband, three children, one dog and too many cats.
