Page 228 of Dirty Demands
Ari points at me and says, “Say yes.”
I cover my face for one second because apparently even my child has joined forces with this man.
When I look up again, Aleksei is watching me carefully. Not assuming. Not pressing. Just waiting.
This time, I know exactly what I feel.
“Yes,” I say.
He exhales once. “Yeah?” he asks, because apparently this terrifying man still needs confirmation.
“Yes.”
Ari claps because he has no idea what’s happening but senses approval and likes to be involved.
Aleksei takes the ring from the box with hands that are just slightly less steady than usual and slides it onto my finger.
Then he kisses me.
Slow. Warm. Certain.
When he pulls back, Ari wedges himself between us immediately and demands, “Me, too.”
So Aleksei picks him up, and the three of us stand there in the garden laughing like idiots while my ring catches the light and my son tries to bite his father’s shoulder out of excitement.
This is not the happily ever after I would have imagined when I was younger.
But it’s exactly what I needed.
The End.
