"I don't want you to settle just for what I can give you, Elio. You can have whatever you want of me. You already have it," I pointed out, turning to press my lips to the palm of his hand.

Staying there for a long moment, my lips against his skin, I let my eyes close, stilling the last of my disquiet and uncertainty. I stood abruptly and disappeared into the bedroom. A few moments later, I returned, a ring box in hand.

"I hope I'm not denying you a grand, romantic gesture," I said, sliding to my knees in front of him. It was a ring I'd bought for him over a year ago, with the intention that I might give it to him as a Hanukkah gift, only to realize that wasn't what it was for. It was a delicate platinum band, one I'd briefly worried might be too feminine, with small, inset diamonds set at random, almost like stars. It would sit perfectly alongside another band— a wedding band.