Page 187 of Hale Damage
She giggles, and my grin widens as I take her left hand and kiss the finger that will carry this ring.Hopefully. If she says yes. Dear god, what if she turns me down?
I mentally smack myself upside the head and forge on.
“But those bumps have led us down the road to this moment right here. To this moment I ask you for your hand in marriage. I promise to do my best to make sure it’s all smooth sailing from here. And Jesus, I’m mixing my metaphors now.”
She bursts into a fit of giggles. “It’s okay. I get exactly what you’re saying.”
Her smile soothes me, and I poise the ring over the tip of her ring finger. “I love you more than my own life, and I vow to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you please be my wife?”
Holding my gaze, she pushes her hand forward until the ring slides home and says the single word that will live in my heart forever.
“Yes.”
Hours later we’re in room 418, the same one we spent our first night in. We’re naked, and my fiancée—I love saying that—is half draped over me in post-coital bliss.
She’s holding up her hand, staring at the engagement ring with a soft smile in the dim light. “I love how intricate the band is,” she says. “It’s vintage, right?”
I twine a lock of her hair around my finger. We lost the ponytail a couple hours ago, and her coppery strands are spilled across my shoulder and the bed.
“It was actually your maternal grandmother’s ring.”
Mindy looks up at me in surprise. “The one she and Aunt Lorraine argued about?”
“Yes, she told me she explained the whole story to you.”
She nods and rests her ringed hand on my chest. “Grandma always told Aunt Lorraine the ring would be hers since she was the oldest daughter, and she even wrote it into her will. But a few months before she died, Grandma told Mom she wantedherto have it. The problem was, she was suffering from dementia by that point and had forgotten she already promised Aunt Lorraine.”
“Lorraine told me the story when I went to talk to her about marrying you.”
“You really did that?”
“I did, since she’s the closest thing you have to a parent. I wasn’t asking permission or anything because I don’t believe in that antiquated shit. It was mostly a courtesy call.”
“What else did she tell you?”
“She said she thought your mother was a bit overcome with grief since she was having issues with your father as well, and that’s why she acted so badly when she found out about the will.”
Mindy nods. “I agree. Mama went through a bout of depression back then, and she was a bit difficult to be around. I finally got her to see a doctor, but even after she got herself regulated on some medicine, she still stubbornly refused to apologize for the ugly things she said to her sister.”
I kiss the top of my fiancée’s head. “If you feel like that gives the ring a negative connotation, I have another one picked out and on reserve at Tiffany. You can wear that one and keep this one as an heirloom.”
Mindy looks at the ring on her finger and then slides her cheek upmy chest until she’s looking up at me. “No, I love this one. It looks like something I’d pick out for myself, and I think it deserves a new love story.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say.
She drags her hands over the pillowcase, and her brow furrows. “I know these linens aren’t as soft as the ones you have at your place. We can leave and sleep there if you want so you’re not uncomfortable.”
Stroking my hand up and down her back, I shake my head.
“It doesn’t seem to bother me when you’re in my arms. That’s another reason I knew you were the one even after only one night. The sheets, the bedcovers, even the towels… none of it made me itchy or uncomfortable. I just felt… at peace.”
She smirks as I roll her onto her back and cover her. “Life with me is going to be anything but peaceful.”
I chuckle and nudge her legs with my knee. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, baby. Now spread your legs so I can make love to my fiancée again.”
The love of my life slaps my ass as I inch my way inside her tight heat. “Whatever you say, Your Highness.”
Jutting my hips forward, I take her deep in one thrust. “For future reference, wife, I prefer to be called Your Husband-ness.”
