He grinned. “I am a selfish man. I wanted my wife to myself for this.”
“What is it?” Her blood had begun to pound in her veins, as it always did when Alex and she were alone together. She wondered, distractedly, if that would ever change. If one day, she might even begin to take his gloriousness for granted.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewellery box. She recognised it. “My ring?”
He shook his head. “Try again.”
Sophie took the box curiously and flipped the lid. Inside was the most perfect ring she’d ever seen. Dainty and elegant, a single circlet of yellow and white diamonds formed one band. It was sunny and it was pretty without being outrageously ostentatious.
“It suits you far better.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes. “I’ll say.” He slipped it onto her finger and admired the effect.
“I beg you, Sophie, to be my wife. For the rest of our lives. Please know that I love you and will do anything you ever ask of me. Except leave you,” he tacked on with a self-mocking smile. “Do not ask it of me, for I can’t do it.”
She laughed shakily. “Not much chance of that.” She stared at the ring, her smile beaming. “Oh, Alex. It’s so perfect. I truly love it.” Her enormous blue eyes lifted to his face. “But … what about my old ring? It’s too gorgeous not to wear.”
“Ah. I thought of that.” He reached onto Eric’s desk and lifted another velvet box. It was the same colour, but a slightly different size. Alex flipped the top and extended it to Sophie.
The solitaire was there, but it had been reset, and a chain attached, so that it formed a stunning pendant. “For special occasions,” he said thickly.
“Perfect,” she whispered once more.
“It is you who is perfect, Mrs Petrides. I just have to find a way to deserve you.”
“Well,” she pretended to consider that. “You do have a lifetime.”
“And I intend to enjoy it.”
He kissed her then with all the tenderness and love that he felt for her. Life was so much better than he’d ever hoped it could be, and it was all because he had this beautiful woman to share it with.
EPILOGUE
“I can’t eat another thing!” Sophie groaned, pushing aside the bowl of pudding.
“But you haven’t finished your third serve of pudding,” Helena remarked with mock surprise.
“Don’t laugh. I’m known for my ability to eat almost an entire one on my own. I live for pudding.”
“If you love it so much, why not make it all year ‘round, Soph?” Eric asked with a confused expression.
Sophie lifted her hands and clutched them to her chest in a gesture of mock pain. “You can’t be serious. There’s something very wrong with that idea. Pudding is wonderful, but it’s just for Christmas time.”
“And so you eat a whole year’s worth in one sitting, just to avoid being preposterous?” Helena chimed
in, her smile natural and beautiful on her elegant face.
“Yep. That’s pretty much it.”
Alex appeared in the door frame, a strange look on his face. “Agape mou, your sister is on the phone.”
“She is? Which sister? Which phone?”
“Ava. In the kitchen.”
Sophie smiled apologetically at Helena and Eric and moved swiftly through the townhouse.
“Hey! Merry Christmas!” She called down the phone line, and then froze when silence greeted her.