Chapter 10 - The Sovereign and the Queen
The estate gardens were blooming with early spring crocuses and daffodils.
The limestone terrace was bathed in the warm, golden light of a late Sunday afternoon. On the manicured lawn below, Buster—a massive, goofy golden retriever with an unruly tail—was joyfully chasing a tennis ball thrown by Nico, who looked utterly ridiculous attempting to maintain his stern security posture while an eighty-pound dog leaned affectionately against his tailored trousers.
Paige sat at the wrought-iron patio table, sipping iced tea, a sketchpad resting on her lap. She was drawing Buster’s joyful sprint, her pencil moving across the paper with fluid, practiced mastery.
A pair of strong, familiar arms slid around her shoulders from behind.
Gabriel rested his chin against the top of her head, his hands covering hers on the sketchpad.
"You captured his ears," Gabriel noted, a smile in his voice. "He looks completely unhinged."
"He’s happy," Paige replied, leaning back against Gabriel’s solid chest. "He hasn't had a yard this big since we left my parents' farm."
"This is his home now," Gabriel said, stepping around the chair and crouching beside her. He took the pencil from her fingers, set it on the table, and took both of her hands in his.
His gray eyes were soft, steady, and filled with a peace that the dangerous boy from six months ago could never have imagined.
"The wedding invitations arrived from the engravers this morning," Gabriel said softly. "The mayor and the district attorney both RSVP’d within an hour."
"And the families from New Jersey?" Paige asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The families know who holds the crown," Gabriel replied with a quiet, undisputed pride. "They sent their blessings and an antique silver tea set that Nico has already checked for listening devices."
Paige laughed—a clear, ringing sound that carried across the gardens. "Always vigilant."
"Always," Gabriel agreed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box.
Paige’s breath hitched. "Gabriel... you already gave me a ring."
"That was the engagement ring," Gabriel said. He opened the box. Inside was a delicate platinum chain supporting a small, exquisitely engraved gold medallion. On its face was a single honeybee, surrounded by a laurel wreath of tiny emeralds.
Paige touched the pendant with trembling fingers. "A bee?"
Gabriel looked up into her eyes, his thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone with infinite gentleness.
"Six months ago, a terrified girl stood in my bullpen and called me a name no one had ever dared to whisper in my presence," Gabriel said, his voice thick with raw emotion. "She thought she was handing me a shipping folder. In reality, she handed me my humanity. You saw through the blood, through the armor, and through the monster, Paige. You called me yours before I even had the courage to claim you."
He lifted the necklace from the box, reached behind her neck, and fastened the clasp. The golden bee rested perfectly against the hollow of her throat, warm against her skin.
"You are my queen, Paige Winslow," Gabriel whispered, leaning in until their foreheads touched. "And this entire empire belongs to you."
Paige smiled through her tears, reaching up to frame the sculpted, handsome face of the man who had torn down a criminal empire just to build a sanctuary for her heart.
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"Here you go, honey," she whispered softly.
Gabriel chuckled—a deep, joyful, unrestrained sound—and pulled her into an embrace that sealed their past, their present, and their forever. Below on the lawn, Buster barked happily, Nico surrendered his dignity to scratch a golden ear, and the sun set over an empire reborn in love.
