Page 85 of Cocky Pucking Orc
“Was this okay? Did you have fun?” she asked as she helped me load the bags into the trunk.
“Yes, I had fun,” I said. Then, softer, I added, “It was more than okay.”
“What was your favorite part?” she asked.
I didn’t need to think. “Any time you laughed.”
Her smile grew warm. “Just that?”
“And the cheesy potatoes,” I added thoughtfully.
She laughed again, bright and full and I held that sound in my chest like a precious thing.
As we climbed into the car I pulled a box out from under the passenger seat. “This is for you.”
Her eyes widened. “A gift?”
“The first of many,” I told her.
Willa gently shook the box. “Doesn’t sound like a small pie, but the box is that shape. Hmm, a commemorative plate? A picture of you in a frame? What could it be?”
“Open it,” I urged, getting more nervous by the moment.
She popped the lid off the box and stared down at the contents, speechless.
“I had it brought over from home.” I shifted in my seat feeling even more claustrophobic in the small car. “My parents didn’t want to send it until they had met you, but I insisted. I know it is your culture to present a ring, but I thought you might want to go with me to pick that out. This, this is the tradition for a prince in my kingdom, but if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it.”
Willa lifted the crown from the soft silk that lined the box. It was a thin band of gold and silver braided together with different colored gems representing each of the kingdom’s orc clans around the top. With a ragged breath, she lifted the crown and put it on her head.
“You look beautiful,” I told her. “My princess. MyWillowyn.Mymiskal-temek.Willyou be my bride?”
Tears sparkled in her eyes as she turned to me. “Yes. I love you Eng. I want to spend my life with you. Yes, I will marry you.”
Our kiss was awkward in the small car with the gear shift poking me in the ribs and the center console separating us, but I’d make up for it later. When we separated, Willa sighed, touching her crown and giving me a huge smile.
“I love this. Love it. I don’t think I’m ever going to take it off. So get used to seeing Princess Willa with her regalia on when she’s in the gym, the shower, or even taking out the garbage.”
“I’m happy you like it.” I reached forward to wipe the steam off the inside of the windshield.
Willa started the vehicle. “Can I wear the crown when we have sex?”
I laughed. “Yes, you can. Now let’s go home before your family wonders what we are doing out here in this car.”
