Page 56 of Cheshire

“Eliza,” I said, and I knew there was no going back. “I’ve got something to ask you.”

The weight burned a hole in my pocket. My fingers fumbled, wrapping around the small box that held every damn hope I had. Eliza’s back was to me, as she hummed some tune I couldn’t place, and stirred something that smelled like heaven. Either she hadn’t heard me, or… No, it had to be that she hadn’t heard me. I didn’t think she’d ignore me.

“Cheshire?” Jo’s voice sounded sharp. “You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”

I shot her a glare, telling her with my gaze to can it. I couldn’t have her spooking Eliza. Not now.

“Nothing,” I ground out. “Just thinking.”

“Uh-huh.” Jo wasn’t buying it, but she stepped away, giving me room. Room to breathe. Room to dive into whatever the hell this could be.

My knees felt weak, which pissed me off because weakness hadn’t been my style. But for Eliza? Hell, I would have crawled through broken glass.

“Eliza,” I said, drawing her attention again.

She turned, all warmth and questions.

“Cheshire, what’s --” Eliza started, but her words cut off when my knee hit the floor. Hard.

“Jesus, Cheshire!” Jo gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and I knew she’d figured it out.

My hand shook as I fished out the ring. I should have practiced this part. It was too late now. Eliza’s gaze zeroed in on me. There was no backing out now, not with the way she was looking at me.

“Cheshire…” Eliza whispered.

“Eliza, you’re so damn beautiful, it hurts to look at you sometimes.”

The box’s creak was loud in the silence. Jo’s eyes were locked on it, one hand still muffling her gasp. The club might as well have been a church right then for all the reverence hanging in the air.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, thumbing the lid open wider.

Inside, the ring caught the dim light. It was real, a band of white gold with a diamond that wasn’t too flashy but was far from small.

“Damn, Cheshire…” Jo mumbled.

“Keep it down,” I shot back, but there was no heat in it. My focus was all on Eliza, on the ring, on the jump my heart gave when our eyes met again. Her face lit up, like I just handed her the sun, moon, and stars.

“Want to try it on?” I asked.

She nodded and I took the ring from the box, sliding it onto her finger. My throat felt tight as I stared at it.

“Look at that,” I said, more to myself than anyone else. “Fits you.”

“Cheshire, it’s…” She trailed off, but I saw it in her eyes. “Beautiful.”

“Eliza, I’m not good with fancy speeches, and God knows I’ve been on the wrong side of many tracks.” Her gaze locked onto mine, steady and expectant. The kitchen, with its bubbling pots and scents of garlic and oil, faded away until there was just her, just us. “Will you marry me?”

The words came out all twisted, raw around the edges. But they were honest. They were me, laid bare.

She didn’t move for a heartbeat, two. Time was a damn traitor, stretching seconds into lifetimes. Then, those beautiful eyes of hers started to glisten, wet and bright. Her lips parted, no sound coming out yet, but everything was written there, clear as day.

“Charlie…” Her voice caught on my real name.

“Say yes, Eliza.” It was half-plea, half-demand. The rest of my life was dangling right there in her answer.

And then she nodded, quick and sure, a single tear tracking down her cheek. “Yes, Charlie. Yes.”

Relief punched through me. I rose up, the weight of the world sliding off my shoulders. She’d said yes. To me, to this, to a forever that would be wild but so worth it.

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