Page 22 of The Noisemaker

He peeked around the corner and then stepped out. Looking back at me, he extended his hand. “The coast is clear.”

Relief flooded my system.

I was not trying to be kicked out of the museum.

Intertwining our fingers, I stepped out to find Braxton, Jamila, a photographer, and a ton of other people waiting.

“She said yes,” Desmond announced proudly.

Blowing noisemakers, ringing bells, and clapping uncontrollably, everyone went wild.

I couldn’t help but laugh joyfully at the small crowd that had gathered to celebrate our good news. Even though half of them didn’t know who we were, the genuine happiness and excitement was palpable.

“I secured this space for twenty minutes for an engagement shoot,” Jamila informed us. “Use the time wisely.”

And we did.

We posed, showed off the ring, danced, and kissed for the camera. By the time we were being ushered out, I was convinced we were shooting a docu-series.

“Did you do all that?” I asked as we headed to the main party in the lobby.

His lips curled upward. “I had some help from Brax and Jamila—mostly Jamila. But yeah. I did. For you.”

“We’re engaged and we have engagement photos.” I let out a giddy squeal. “Baby… this was incredible.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Did we finish everything on your list?” he asked as we made our way to the dance floor.

A smile played on my lips. “Technically yes.”

“What didn’t—”

“Aria!” a voice called out, interrupting what I was saying. “Aria!”

I turned around to see a familiar face barreling over to me. My eyes widened and my arms flew open. “Jordyn!”

We hugged and squealed excitedly for a minute, gushing over each other’s outfits and talking over each other’s compliments.

“Wow, I haven’t seen you in years,” I pointed out. “I want you to meet someone.”

I reached over to a grinning Desmond who had taken a step back when we were jumping in a circle.

“Jordyn, this is Desmond. Desmond, this is Jordyn. We went to Hamilton University together. She was my suitemate junior and senior year.”

He stuck his hand out and shook hers. “What’s up, Jordyn? It’s nice to meet you.”

Her round face made her look young. But the ecstatic expression on her face made her look even younger. “Oh my God! Nice to meet you!” She put her hands on her cheeks. “Y’all look so good together.”

“Thank you!”

“And your boyfriend is a cutie,” she added, winking at me.

I held my hand up. “My fiancé,” I corrected.

Jordyn gasped loudly. “Fiancé?!” Grabbing my hand, she started jumping up and down again. “Oh my God! And look at this ring! It’s gorgeous!” She stopped her sudden movements and put her arms around us both. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” we said in unison.

“It just happened,” I told her.

---