She was silent for a minute. He pressed his hand to his chest. Bog, this relationship shit was fraught with land mines. He’d given her honesty and had no idea if what he wanted from her would drive her away. Was it too soon? Why hadn’t he studied romance the way he’d studied kill tactics? He should have at least read a few books. He knew if he voiced his thoughts, she’d laugh, and it would hurt, so he remained silent.

“I do want to move in with you, Andrii, but I have to finish school first. That’s important to me. I’m in my last semester, so close to getting my degree.” She made a little face. “This has probably set me back. It isn’t like every professor I have is the understanding type.”

“They’ll understand.” He kept his tone very mild. Velvet soft. He didn’t fool her for a minute.

Her gaze jumped to his, and she narrowed her eyes. “I know you aren’t thinking of talking with my teachers.”

“I had Absinthe meet with each of them separately and explain your situation. They were very understanding and sympathetic.”

“Who is Absinthe?”

“He’s one of the brothers and our lawyer. Very soft-spoken, but he can be persuasive.”

“I suppose I should question you more about this, but I’m too tired and sore. And I think you’re rather wonderful to remember how important my classes are to me. Thank you for letting the school know I was attacked.”

Maestro decided he may as well go all in. So far, she was with him every step of the way. She seemed to believe she loved him. It was there in the way she looked at him, her lack of condemnation for his actions. Her protectiveness. She hadn’t even considered giving him up to the Billows brothers to spare herself pain.

He pulled the little jewelry box from his pocket and crouched down beside the bed.

Her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

“Marry me, Azelie. Be with me forever. Grow old with me. Take your last breath with me. Have our children. I love you more than life. I sometimes can’t breathe without you. Just say yes.”

Her gaze moved over his face, feature by feature, and then dropped to the open jewelry box. She gasped. “Andrii.”

“Ice is a jeweler, and he made it for you. I picked out the design and stones. The blue reminds me of your eyes. Such a gorgeous color.”

He loved the vintage look of it, and it was reminiscent of the things he loved about Russia. The main stone was a rare blue Russian diamond with extraordinary color and clarity. The stone was set in white gold. Going up both sides of the ring was scrollwork made of very small blue diamonds. Three blue diamonds representing suns were set on either side of the ring just below the larger diamond. The ring was dainty looking, even loaded with all the tiny blue stones.

“Marry me.”

“I might have to just for that ring. It’s amazing. And perfect.”

“Say it.”

“Yes.”

He actually choked up. To cover his idiocy, he pushed the ring onto her finger. “Looks like it was made for you, which it was. One of a kind, a rare beauty just like you.”

“Take a picture with my cell phone. I want to send it to the widows.”

“They’ll be here shortly.”

“I know. I love it and want to share. They’ll go crazy and scream in the car and make Doug and Carlton crazy.”

He took the picture with her cell phone. “They might put those women out on the side of the road. You’re an instigator.”

She giggled and hastily tried to stop. “I know. I shouldn’t encourage them, but I can’t help myself.”

She sent the photograph of her hand with the ring prominent. It looked perfect on her if he did say so himself.

“If I forget anything important to you, let me know. I like taking care of you, Solnyshkuh. With what you give to me, it’s very little in return.” That was Maestro being honest.

There was a knock on the outside frame of the master bedroom door, and Lana stuck her head in. “You feeling up for a visit? I know the widows are coming, so I promise to make it short.”

Maestro assessed Azelie’s features. She was tired, but he could see she wanted to visit with Lana. She touched the stitches on her lip with her fingertip.

“I look a little like Frankenstein, but if you don’t care, I don’t either.”

Lana flashed her high-wattage smile. “You look great to me. I saw you several times in the early days, and your face is looking more like you and less like a shattered pumpkin.”

Azelie laughed, gasped and covered her mouth.

Maestro scowled at Lana. “Don’t make her laugh. It hurts.”

“That’s going to be difficult, especially when the widows get here. Azelie laughs at everything. She makes life fun.”

“The widows make life fun,” Azelie corrected. “I just sit in the coffee shop and laugh. Most of the customers come there to eavesdrop on their conversation as much as for the coffee.”

“That could be true,” Maestro said. “They’re a little addicting.”

“A lot addicting,” Azelie corrected.

“She’s waving her hand under your nose, Lana. You’re supposed to be very observant,” Maestro said.

Lana caught Azelie’s hand and stared at the ring. “It’s beautiful and unique. I’d recognize Ice’s work any day. I absolutely love the scrollwork.” She let go of Azelie’s hand. “Are you certain you want to tie yourself to Mr. Bossy Pants?”

Azelie burst out laughing, this time interrupting the beautiful sound with a gasping cry.

“I told you not to make her laugh.” Maestro glared at Lana.

“Sheesh. You see what I’m saying, Azelie?”

She didn’t seem in the least fazed by Maestro’s stern look.

“Alena is cooking dinner for your guests,” Lana said. “She’ll have it here around five or six, whichever you prefer. She said to let her know.” Lana sat on the edge of the bed. “Wait until you meet Alena. She’s supersweet and the best chef I know. Well, I don’t know a lot of chefs, but I’ve eaten a lot of food, and hers is spectacular. She owns Crow 287 in Caspar. People come from all over to eat there, and she’s never advertised.”

“That’s so nice that she’d bring dinner for my friends,” Azelie said.

“Those women are a hoot,” Lana said. “Have you seen the video of them?”

“Not yet. Andrii said he’d play it for me. More than likely, they’ll want to see it too. If for no other reason than to have Doug and Carlton lose their minds.”

“They should have a reality show,” Lana said.

“Don’t give them any ideas,” Maestro said. “They’d do it just to tweak Doug and Carlton. Those men have enough on their plates trying to watch over those three firecrackers. And we’re not introducing them to the Red Hat ladies.” He pressed his palm to his forehead, horrified at the thought. “Those women are out of control as well. Lana, we need to get a handle on our senior citizens.”

“I’m going to be just like them when I get older,” Azelie warned.