Page 34 of Must Love Alligators

“But I cannotwearthat.”She pointed to the ring as if it was a pile of turtle crap.

Chase now stared ather.“What?”

“There is no way I can wear that thing down on the bayou!”She actually balled her hands into fists and tucked them against her stomach as if he was possibly going to try to force it on her hand.“Can you imagine if that slipped off?Oh my God!We would never find it!”She looked up at him.“I work in the mud, Chase!I handle alligators and turtles and—”

“I know,” he interrupted.

“I can’t wear a big old expensive fancy diamond ring down there!”she exclaimed.“Even if it doesn’t fall off, I’ll probably gouge someone’s eye out with that!Maybe my own!”

“I just…” He trailed off, looking down at the diamond.

“I mean, look at that thing!I could probably cut fishing lines with that!”

“I…” But finally Chase shook his head.Then started laughing.

Her mouth fell open.“Whatis funny?”

“What was I thinking?”he asked.He laughed harder.“Why in the hell would I buy you—the most unusual, amazing, out-of-my-league, nothing-like-any-other-woman-I-know woman a typical, big, shiny, fancy engagement ring that any other woman would love?”

He’d never bought an engagement ring before and had, stupidly, gone for huge and shiny and expensive—the way he’d gone for most things in his life before ending up in Autre, Louisiana—rather than thinking about the woman it was for specifically.He was still learning.

Bailey looked puzzled for a second, as if trying to figure out if he was serious or upset or just crazy.

“Honestly.”He curled his fingers around the ring, tucking it into his palm.“Bailey, that ring is not you.You’re totally right.”

She scooted to the edge of the suitcase she was still sitting on and took his face between her hands.“But Iwillmarry you, Chase.Definitely.Absolutely.”

He nodded.“That’s all that matters.We’ll get a different ring.Or one of those trendy new bands that people wear who work with their hands.Hell, girl, I’ll put a bread sack tie around your finger.As long as you are mine, I don’t care what you wear.”

“Really?”she asked, her eyes sparkling a little with what might be tears.

“Really.”An idea occurred and he reached up to the back of her head.He pulled the ponytail elastic from her hair and held it up.“This doesn’t ever seem to do a ton of good in your hair.How about we use this right now?”He reached for her hand and pulled it toward him.

She extended her fingers with a smile and he looped the elastic around the ring finger on her left hand.

She held it out, admiring it, wiggling her fingers.

“That will work,” he decided with a nod.“For now.”

Bailey nodded, too.“You realize, of course, knowing us, that it will probably cut the circulation off in my finger and we’ll have to cut it off later.”

His eyes widened and he grabbed for her hand.“Holy shit, Bailey.”

“The elastic band!We’ll have to cut the elastic off!Not my finger!”She pulled her hand out of his reach.“And I’m just kidding.Mostly,” she added.“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

“Yeah, let me know when your finger turns purple,” he said dryly.

She giggled, then launched herself at him again.He caught her as her arms went around his neck and her mouth met his.He was just sinking into the kiss when he heard the softpingas he felt the ring slip from his palm.

“Shit.”He pulled back from the kiss.

She frowned.“What?”

“I dropped the ring.”

Bailey twisted to look.“What?Oh no!”

She popped up and Chase pitched back before catching himself.He got to his feet too, scanning the floor.He saw the glint of the diamond at the same time Bailey did.It had bounced about a foot away.They both stepped toward it, but they were still in a busy area and a man with his eyes glued to his cell phone got to it first.Kind of.His toe of his shoe did anyway.He kicked it and the ring went skidding over the tile.Not that the man noticed.His attention was firmly on his screen.

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