A ring.
I pulled it out, my hand beginning to shake. No. It couldn’t be.
But as I lifted the simple gold engagement ring, its diamond understated but beautiful and delicate, I tried to stay calm. And hardly registered the fact that Cos had left his seat and was now standing behind me, taking the ring from my shaking hands.
“It’s my grandmother’s ring,” he said. “It might not be appropriate for my girlfriend to work for me,” he said, “but I’m pretty sure it would be fine if you were my wife.”
I could no sooner stop the tears from streaming down my face than I could register fully what was happening right now. Cosimo was asking me to marry him.
“I love you, Brooke, more than anything in the world. There is no fucking way I could work here with you and not be with you. And before you ask,” he interrupted before I could form a sound, “I’m not doing this for that reason alone. I want you to be my wife. To be a part of the Grado family, for real. I want us to run this place together, like my parents did. And for you to let me love you. That is if you’ll forgive me for taking so long to ask.”
“So long,” I said, knowing my answer but feeling like I should say this anyway. “It hasn’t even been three months that we’ve known each other. But,” I rushed to add, “it’s long enough for me. Cos, I love you so much. Yes!” I held out my hand. “A thousand times yes, I will marry you. Yes,” I said again, just in case he didn’t hear me the first time.
Through my tears, I could tell the ring wasn’t going to fit, so he put it on my pinkie. Cosimo lifted me into the air and spun me around, kissing me to applause and cheers from the deck above us.
When we finally did break apart, his lips on mine feeling as if I’d come home from a years-long trip, I looked up to the deck. There was his family, the movement I’d seen earlier obviously one of them. Marco, Neo, who was holding up a phone, hopefully recording the proposal. Thayle was next to them, the only non-Grado of the group.
“I can’t believe this,” I said, looking down at my hand. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I’ll get that fixed for you, obviously,” he said of the ring. Then, yelling up to his siblings, “Get out the champagne,” he said. “It’s a yes,” as if they couldn’t already tell. I laughed and looked down at my ring again, remembering.
“Um,” I said as Cos grabbed my hand, about to lead me up to his family. “There’s just one thing I have to tell you first.”
I was sorry he looked worried and quickly tried to reassure him. “It’s nothing terrible. Just. Well. I took a job as the wine club manager at Three Sisters Winery today.”
His jaw dropped. “The hell you did.”
“That’s why I took the day off. I saw the listing and then, after I talked to Marco—”
Cos’s eyes narrowed.
“Never mind that. I just knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be without you. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but they were nice enough. And I figured I’d take it and keep looking for something else.”
He was already shaking his head. “We’ll call them tomorrow and give them the bad news. That they’ll need to keep looking for a new wine club manager.”
I nodded. “Agreed. I feel so bad.”
Cos stopped walking, the celebration above us already in full swing, it seemed. “You were going to take a job there, as a wine club manager, for me?”
“No,” I said, “for us. Although I’ll admit to being glad I don’t have to leave. I really do love it here, at Grado Valley.”
“And we love you,” he said, kissing me again to Marco yelling “get a room” down to us.
“I love you too,” I said, the words coming so naturally, it was hard to believe I’d never said them before. “So very much.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
cosimo
“There’sa group of women out there,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Asking for you.”
“They’re here?” Brooke shot up from her desk. “I told them to text me when they were close.” She looked down at her phone. “Oh crap, they did and I didn’t even hear it buzz.”
My fiancée tried to stand up, but I guided her shoulders back down into the seat. “Not so fast,” I said, wheeling her chair around so that it rested on the desk behind her. For this to work, Brooke couldn’t be moving around on me.
“Cos, what are you doing? They’ll be waiting for me.”
“Three things,” I said, first leaning down and drawing Brooke into a slow, lingering kiss and then kneeling in front of her. “First, Marco’s with them.”