More Than This by Dominique Wolf

CHAPTER 66:

Isabella

“S

o, you're really not going to tell me at all where we're going?” I asked.

“That would ruin the surprise.”

I rolled my eyes and zipped up the zip on my boots before standing up, ready to go. Autumn was rolling around again and there was a cold breeze in the air this afternoon. I had no idea where we were going or what we were doing, but Giovanni assured me that the way I was dressed was perfectly fine. I had decided on a pair of black pants and a tight long sleeve sheer bodysuit that I had gotten a couple months back. Since moving out of Reyna's apartment, I wasn't able to borrow her clothes as frequently as I used to so I had started to fill my own closet up with some pieces similar to what I used to use of hers. He handed me my black jacket as he came to stand by me at the bottom of the stairs.

I placed it over my arm. “You know I hate surprises.”

“Can you just trust me?” He laughed and grabbed my hand. “Your boyfriend just wants to take you out.”

“My boyfriend has given me no indication of where we're going.”

“Because your boyfriend knows it would ruin the surprise.”

He pulled me closer to him and leaned down, his lips touching mine. I sunk into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. He had just sprayed some of that cologne I loved. I would agree to anything he asked whenever he had that on - it was hypnotising.

I pulled away from him. “Well, I must say that you look really good today.”

He playfully pulled away and spun around, displaying his entire outfit. I threw my head back and laughed at his dramatic theatrics. He was wearing a pair of black jeans that cuffed around his ankles and paired them with a pair of his dark brown boots. He had recently gotten a sexy new leather jacket that I had come to love and he paired that with a white shirt underneath. Our aesthetics were matching and I smiled - what a couple thing to do.

“Shall we?” he asked.

***

He turned into an open parking spot along the street and I suddenly recognized the area. “Wait a minute. Isn't this where the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc is?”

He turned the engine off. “I was so close to surprising you, but you just had to go and guess it correctly.”

I chuckled. 'Why didn't you just tell me?”

“I was attempting romance here, Isabella,” he said playfully. “But the cat’s out of the bag now.”

“I'm sorry I ruined your surprise but surely you knew that I would have recognized this place when we arrived?”

There was no way I would have ever forgotten coming here with Giovanni. That day with him at the fountain was one of my favourite memories with him and it will be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life. I was already in love with him that day. I was pretty sure I had been in love with him long before that, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. It felt like a lifetime ago.

He stepped outside and I followed his lead. I shut my door and went around to his side as he locked the car.

“I just wanted to recreate our date,” he admitted sheepishly.

A huge smile spread across my face as I looked up at him, his deep brown eyes full of love. Still to this day, he made me nervous when he looked at me. The butterflies were something I still experienced around him and how could I not? Especially when he was going out of his way to do romantic things like this.

“It was one of my favourite dates,” I said.

“Mine too.” he reached for my hand and led me down the same road. “You didn't know this at the time though, but I was already in love with you then.”

I couldn't help the heat that spread across my cheeks and the warmth that appeared inside my heart at his words. I squeezed his hand and smiled. There were no words to describe the way he made me feel. All I could settle on was how much I loved him. We turned the corner as the fountain came into view. The sun was already setting behind it and it was a sight to behold. I remembered walking up here with him, so happy that I was getting to spend the day with him.

“I didn't know that, but I was in love with you too,” I admitted. “I tried to deny it though because I was just too scared to tell you.”

“Why were you scared?”

“What if you didn't love me back? I couldn't have handled that kind of rejection.”

He chuckled. “Did you really think I didn't love you?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I didn't want to read too much into anything. You were the guy with commitment issues that everyone told me to stay away from remember? How could I have believed you would have loved me?”

“I think the question is how could I have not loved you?” He brought my hand up to his lips. “You are the only person I have ever wanted more with and I think it's safe to say that I am well over those commitment issues.”

“Yeah, I'd say the whole living together thing really got rid of those.”

We walked hand-in-hand up to the same spot we sat at before with the perfect view of the fountains. When he brought me here that day, I remembered thinking how romantic he actually was. It was difficult to believe that he was the same bad-boy everyone warned me against. Everything he did was just proving that we both cared for each other. We had come a long way since then and I had never been happier. We stopped at the spot and I brought myself up onto the wall, allowing my legs to hang over either side. I noticed that there were a couple of other people scattered around us in the distance.

I turned back to him as he had his hands in his pockets and shifted nervously in front of me. “What are you doing?”

“Huh? What?” he asked.

I had clearly interrupted a deep thought.

He looked so nervous. I had never seen him like this and it was confusing me. We were just casually going to sit here and watch the fountain. Why was he acting so weird?

“I asked what you’re doing?” I repeated.

He shook his head and stepped closer, positioning himself between my legs. “Sorry. Nothing, just daydreaming.”

I wasn't convinced by his answer, but I let it go. I turned to face the fountains as we watched the sun continue to disappear behind The Palau Nacional. The show was only starting at night as they loved to take advantage of the lights they used with the fountain. I watched as groups of people started to form on the stairs in front of the fountain, all of them probably here just for the show.

I looked back at Giovanni who was already looking at me. “What?”

“I'm just looking at you.”

I couldn't help the blush that started to spread across my cheeks. “You make me nervous when you do that.”

I shied away from him and glanced down at my hands. His hand came up to cup my cheek and lifted so that I could meet his eyes. “Don't look away, Isabella. You're so beautiful.”

“Gio-”.

He continued. “I'm serious. There are so many things that make you the most beautiful person I've ever met. It's not just the fact that you are ridiculously beautiful on the outside, but I've never met anyone with a more beautiful heart.”

His compliments were so unexpected and my heart was bursting with emotion. He was looking at me with so much love that it made my stomach flip. I couldn't believe that this was my life. I couldn't believe he was all mine.

“I never believed I would find anyone,” he murmured. “There were so many reasons for me to avoid relationships. It just wasn't worth it for me, but when you came into my life I couldn't believe how everything changed. For the first time ever, I wanted more.”

He reached down and grabbed my hands. “And every day I wake up next to you, I want more. I want more of you, I want more of our life together. I want to give you more. I want to take care of you and make sure that you are happy because that's what matters to me.”

Tears started to pool in my eyes. I couldn't control it. I didn’t know why he was saying all of this but I was experiencing a happiness that was way beyond anything I had come to know. I always believed I was the happiest I could be but then Giovanni came along every day and showed me a new reason to be happy.

“Your happiness is all that matters to me,” I said softly.

He leaned his forehead against mine. “You're all I need to be happy, mi hermosa. I will always owe Reyna for bringing you to Mala Mía that night. I didn't know it at the time but that was the night I met my future wife.”

Before I could react to his words, he pulled away from me and took a step back as he got onto one knee.

Oh my God.

He reached for his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box.

He was proposing to me.

He popped open the box and revealed a diamond ring staring back at me. My jaw dropped and the tears escaped my eyes. My hand went over my mouth as I stared down at the beautiful man I loved so much on one knee.

“I have never loved anyone the way I've loved you and I know I'm never going to,” he said. “You are everything to me and I promise to spend the rest of my life making you happy. No matter what life throws our way, you are the only one I want by my side through it all.”

I was shaking at this point as I looked into his deep brown eyes that were filled with love and emotion. The image of him in front of me on one knee will be one that I will keep with me until my last breath.

“Isabella Avery. Will you marry me?”

I let out a little cry and pushed myself off the ledge, throwing my arms around him. He stood up and picked me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.

He pulled away to face me. “Is that a yes?”

“Of course!” I cried. “Of course, I'll marry you, Giovanni.”

He pulled me closer to him again and I buried my head in his shoulder, the tears of happiness streaming down my face. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe the amount of happiness I was feeling inside right now. He slowly put me down on the ledge again and brought his lips to mine as he cupped my face in his hands. My heart was bursting and I didn't know how to handle all this emotion at once.

He pulled away from me, but still kept his hands against my cheeks. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, Giovanni.”

He kissed me one last time before he brought his hands back down and reached for the ring out of the box. He closed the box and placed it next to me as he reached for my left hand. I was still shaking as he held my left finger, sliding the ring into its new permanent residence. I stared down at the large princess cut diamond around a single thin silver band staring back at me. He had done a great job of picking out an engagement ring. Hell, I would have worn a plastic ring if that was all he was able to give me. I would marry Giovanni in a heartbeat. I reached for him and pulled him back to meet my lips. We were consumed by our emotions and I let it all in. My love for him grew exponentially in that moment and I never wanted it to end.

“You've made me the happiest man in the world,” he said between his kisses.

I couldn't help but giggle as I wiped my eyes. I was so overcome with emotion. I wanted to cry my eyes out from the happiness I was feeling. I couldn't believe that he had chosen me. I was his and he was mine. After all the shit we had gone through, we had finally made it to this point. We were together and there was nothing that was going to get in the way of that. I had never been a girl that believed in happy endings but with Giovanni, he made me feel like I was living a fairytale.

He pulled himself up onto the ledge and positioned himself behind me with his legs on either side of mine. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around mine, reaching for my hand and lifting it to admire his work.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“Oh my God, Giovanni, I love it,” I gaped. “It's so beautiful.”

He leaned closer and kissed my cheek as he pulled me towards him. “I'm so glad.”

As the last of the sun disappeared, the sky was consumed by darkness. It may have seemed scary to watch the light disappear, but there was something beautiful about it. Even through all the darkness, there was always light. The one cannot exist without the other. For the longest time, I believed I was living in darkness. There was no end in sight to it until Giovanni came into my life and lit up my world in a way I had never experienced before. He made everything brighter and brought out the best in me. He always pushed me to be the best version of myself and allowed me to live unapologetically.

“I hope you're ready for our life together, mi hermosa,” he whispered and left a kiss against my hair.

“It's all I've ever wanted.”

And for the first time in my life, I was content and I didn't need more than this.

THE END