I glance at Ankor again, amused. “The carriages?”
“It was so much fun the first time we went.” He glances sideways at me. “Mostly watching your reactions.”
I can’t help it. Horses are my kryptonite. They’re so adorable. Especially these, all dressed up for rides through the park. We reach the row of them, and I hold out my hand to the nearest horse, a tall handsome black stallion, letting him sniff my palm.
Ankor pays for a whole hour and helps me into the back of the carriage. I lean into his side, nestling closer as we prance into the park, the carriage wheels rattling, the horse’s hooves clopping on the pavement. The driver flashes us both a broad smile and faces forward, giving us privacy.
Ankor runs a hand through my hair as we ride, holding me close. “I’ve loved having you here with me, these past few months.”
“I’ve loved being here,” I murmur. “I never in a million years would’ve guessed I’d end up in New York City of all places. And with someone like you.” I tilt my head back to watch him in the glow of the street lamps.
“Someone who makes you have to hide in your penthouse half the time for fear of paparazzi attacks?” he responds with a wry grin.
I nudge him with my elbow, grinning. “Someone who makes me feel strong. Not just safe and protected, but like I’m strong enough to protect myself, too.” I eye him. “Not to mention, someone who knows how to turn me on every single day, in the most inappropriate places…”
“You’re the one who barged into my office,” he reminds me with a smirk. “I was only making sure you got what you wanted.”
“Uh huh.” I grin.
He kisses the corner of my lips. Then shifts, kissing along my jawline lightly, until he reaches my ear. He nips the edge of my earlobe, before he whispers, “I’ve always wanted to fuck you in that office. Every day at work, you’re all that’s on my mind.”
A shiver runs through me, and I lean closer to him. “Was it everything you imagined?”
“So much better.” His mouth finds mine, then, and I sink into him, savoring his taste, the feeling of his warm, strong body pressed against him, his arms wrapped around me to shield me from the faint chill that’s crept into the evening air. When we break apart again, he’s watching me, eyes steady and serious. “You are so much better, than anyone I’ve ever dreamt of meeting, Sinclair. Before you, I had no idea what real love felt like.”
My heart skips a beat, thudding almost painfully in my chest. “Ankor…”
He pulls away from me, just a little, and it makes me shiver, where the cold air hits. “I was planning to do this at dinner tonight,” he says, with a faint smile. “At some fancy rooftop place. But this feels better. This feels more us.” He gestures at the dark park around us that we’re riding through, the carriage swaying ever so slightly as we roll past couples embracing, people out walking their dogs, and the swans in the lake we’re passing.
I know what he means. Unlike the upscale restaurants where we’re normally on display—even if the waiters have been carefully trained to pretend they don’t know who we are and let us think we’re anonymous—here, it’s just us, alone in the night air. Just like when we were on Maui all those months ago.
“This is nice,” I agree.
“The perfect place to do this,” he says. And then he slides off the bench beside me to get down on one knee on the carriage floor.
My hands fly to my mouth, my eyes going wide. “Ankor, what—”
“Sinclair.” He catches my hand and pulls it to his chest. My left hand.
Oh my god.
“From the moment I first met you, I knew I had to have you. You made me want to break all of my rules, private and public.” He reaches into his pocket and draws out a small box. My heart races in my chest. I can’t believe this is happening.
But at the same time, part of me knew. Part of me has always known, from the first moment I laid eyes on him in that pool, that it would be him. He makes me feel the way nobody else has. He makes me take chances, do things I never thought I was capable of doing.
“Sinclair, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I whisper, barely able to get the word out past the sudden tightness in my throat. Tears spring to the corners of my eyes, and I laugh through them. “Yes, of course, Ankor.” I barely even notice the ring he slides onto my finger—although from the corner of my eye I can tell there are sapphires, and I love that. How non-traditional it is. Just like us. Just like our whole story.