Chapter 303: Changing Tactics

Isobel rolled her eyes.

Yet, despite her suspicion, she couldn’t quite suppress her smile.

Thankfully, after the birthday greetings, no other words appeared in the sky.

The fireworks burst into colorful peony-shaped blooms, their spherical sparks expanding before fading into the darkness. Silver waterfalls cascaded across the sky, followed by brilliant red stars that exploded overhead.

Isobel finally relaxed.

Kristoff did not do something outrageous like earlier.

She returned her attention to the display, unaware that the man beside her had been waiting for the perfect moment.

Not to propose.

Not to make some grand declaration before an audience.

This time, he wanted something simpler.

Something that belonged only to them.

...

As the fireworks began to wind down, Kristoff reached for her hand.

The movement was gentle enough that Isobel barely noticed until his fingers slipped between hers.

She glanced down at their joined hands, then at him.

Before she could demand an explanation, he drew a small object from his pocket.

A ring.

Isobel’s eyes widened.

"Kristoff!"

"Relax. It’s not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

He took her hand and gently turned it over, his thumb brushing across her knuckles.

For once, the teasing smile on his face softened into something more earnest.

"This isn’t an engagement ring," he said. "And I’m not asking you to make any promises you’re not ready to make."

His gaze lifted to hers.

"I just want something that reminds you that we’re together. Something that tells the world you’re my girlfriend, and that I’m yours."

The words were simple, but the sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.

Isobel stared at him.

She had expected another outrageous stunt, another shameless attempt to get what he wanted. She hadn’t expected him to look almost nervous over something as small as a ring.

Almost.

Because this was still Kristoff Dalton, after all.

"Your girlfriend?" she repeated.

"That’s the plan."

"And who said I agreed?"

His expression fell into exaggerated disappointment.

"You’re breaking my heart, Isobel."

"Your heart seems perfectly healthy to me."

"Then perhaps you should check it yourself."

She gave him a disbelieving look.

He smiled, then gently slid the ring onto her middle finger.

It was a delicate platinum band, understated but elegant, with a small diamond that caught the fireworks’ fading light.

It wasn’t the engagement ring he had shown her earlier. This one was simpler, more personal, as though he had chosen it specifically for the woman she was rather than for the impression it might make on others.

Isobel turned her hand slightly, watching the diamond glimmer.

"It’s beautiful," she admitted.

"I know."

She shot him a look.

Then Kristoff raised his own right hand.

A matching platinum band encircled his middle finger.

"I have one too," he said. "Now we’re even."

Isobel stared at the two rings, then at him.

"You bought matching rings?"

"Yes."

"Without asking me?"

"If I’d asked, you would’ve refused."

"That’s not the point!"

"Then what’s the point?"

She opened her mouth, only to realize she didn’t have a convincing answer.

Kristoff leaned closer, his voice lowering.

"Isobel, I know we’re not at the stage where I can ask you for forever. I’m not going to pressure you into that. But I want to be with you, properly. Not just during events or business gatherings. I want to be the man you can reach for when you’re happy, when you’re angry, or when the world becomes too much for you."

His thumb brushed over the ring on her finger.

"And I want you to know that I’m not treating this as some passing affair."

For a moment, Isobel couldn’t speak.

She had spent so much of her life learning not to expect too much from other people. Promises were easy to make, and even easier to break.

She had learned to depend on herself because depending on others often meant giving them the power to disappoint her.

Yet Kristoff stood before her, asking for something as ordinary as a girlfriend’s place in his life, and somehow that ordinary request felt more intimate than any grand declaration.

He wasn’t asking her to surrender her independence.

He was asking her to let him stay.

Her gaze drifted back to the ring.

"You’re really serious about this?"

The teasing disappeared from his face.

"I’ve never been more serious about anything, Isobel. I was hasty earlier. That was my fault."

He lifted their joined hands and placed them side by side over his thigh, the matching rings resting together beneath the soft glow of the gondola lights.

Then he took out his phone.

Click.

Isobel blinked.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a picture."

"Of what?"

He showed her the screen.

Their hands filled the photograph, her fingers resting beside his, the two platinum rings gleaming like a quiet promise.

Isobel stared at the picture, momentarily dumbfounded.

Was this really Kristoff Dalton?

The same man who could negotiate million-dollar deals without blinking, who carried himself with an air of unshakable confidence, and who could silence an entire room with nothing more than a glance?

He was acting like a college boy who had just asked his first girlfriend to make their relationship official.

And the ridiculous thing was that she found it endearing.

Shouldn’t I be the one taking pictures?

She had always thought Kristoff was the sort of man who preferred grand gestures and expensive gifts. Yet here he was, taking a photograph of their hands as though it were the most precious thing he owned.

He’s really happy about this, isn’t he?

The realization warmed something deep inside her.

Before she could dwell on it, Kristoff slipped his phone away and turned toward her.

"Isobel."

"Hmm?"

"Look at me."

She did.

His expression had changed again. The playful glint remained in his eyes, but beneath it lay an intensity that made her breath catch.

"What now?" she whispered.

"Can I kiss you?"

The question surprised her more than the ring had.

Kristoff had always been assertive and always took the initiative without asking her. And to think that their previous relationship had already crossed boundaries, that made such a question seem almost unnecessary.

Yet he was waiting for her answer.

Not assuming.

Not taking.

Just Waiting.

Isobel’s heart gave a small, traitorous flutter.

She could have teased him. She could have told him he was asking too many questions tonight.

Instead, she gave the slightest nod.

That was all the encouragement he needed.

Kristoff lifted both hands to her face, cupping her cheeks with a tenderness that made her teasing words dissolve before they could leave her lips. His thumbs brushed lightly along her cheekbones as he leaned closer, giving her enough time to change her mind.

She didn’t.

Their lips met.