“Does it?” She blinked, more taken aback than ever. “I don’t mean it that way. Dragos, we’ve only been together for a few years, and in that time we’ve gone through a lot of change. A lot. This move is more change, and it’s a whopper. We’re not wrong for deciding to go to Rhyacia, and we shouldn’t back out of the decision, but I also get to feel my feelings over it.” She looked around and felt her face crumple. “I love this house. This is our home, the one we built together. It doesn’t mean I won’t love our new home that we’re also building together. But I don’t love the new one yet.”

Understanding eased his expression. He pulled her into his arms. She rested her cheek against his chest and slid her arms around his waist. He murmured into her hair, “Are we moving too fast? Do you want to take a couple more weeks before we cross over? Or even another month or two?”

Relishing the hard muscle underneath the cotton of his shirt, she shook her head. “No, but thank you for suggesting it. I think I’ll feel better when we’re over there and having our adventure, instead of being here and constantly saying goodbye to everything. At this point, I think it’s just time for us to go.” Then, because she wanted to be scrupulous, she added carefully, “That may not be quite everything I want to say, but it’s the essence of what I’m working on. Since a lot of this was my suggestion, I feel like I should be handling things better than I am. When I figure out anything else that I need to talk about, I’ll tell you. Okay?”

“Fair enough.” His arms tightened before he let her go and stood back. “Come here. I have something for you.”

“You do?” Wiping her face, she followed him into his office, looking around. While Dragos had never been anything less than welcoming and she certainly stepped inside whenever she felt like it, this room was definitely his domain. His personality was stamped all over the elegant, masculine furnishings.

A carved box sat on his desk. Even as her curious gaze fell on it, he scooped it up with one hand and presented it to her.

She gave him a sidelong smile then focused her attention on the box itself. Designed in an art nouveau style, the craftmanship was beautiful. Peacocks and butterflies adorned the top and sides, inlaid with amethyst, blue calcite, labradorite, citrine, and other stones she was unfamiliar with. She held it closer to absorb the details of the intricate, delicate carving. “This is remarkable.”

“It’s a commissioned piece.” A hint of satisfaction entered his deep voice. “Nobody else has anything like this. The designs were created specifically for you. Open it.”