Page 63 of The Kiss Countdown

Mrs. Rogers ignores her.

“Momma, do you want to try my carrot cake?” Brianna says. “I bet it’s better than your cheesecake.”

Mrs. Rogers shakes her head.

And so it goes. Everyone around the table tries to lighten the mood and draw Mrs. Rogers out, but she won’t be placated.

“Are you holding up okay?” I ask Vincent quietly.

The resigned, sorrowful look he gives me is a knife straight through my heart before he redirects his focus to the wall.

I need to do something to fix this. To build a bridge over the ever-widening gulf between Vincent and his mom. It’s why I’m here.

Quietly, so only Vincent can hear, I hiss out a breath.

Now I’ve got his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s my ankle. I think my shoes are too tight and cutting off the circulation. Can you loosen them up, please?”

As I predicted, Vincent slides his chair back and gets to his knee so he can reach my shoe.

I gasp and cover my mouth with both hands. “Are you serious?” I shriek.

Vincent’s head shoots up and he looks at me with eyes wide in confusion.

The whole table has turned to us as Vincent looks from side to side. “Uh...”

“Of course I’ll marry you!” I bend down and wrap my arms around Vincent’s neck.

When I pull back, not only is Vincent’s family clapping, so are the surrounding tables.

“Give her the ring,” Mrs. Rogers insists, wiping her tears away, a huge smile spreading across her face.

Vincent blinks until the shock seems to wear off. He pats his pockets, then scratches the back of his neck. “No one’s going to believe this, but I forgot it at the cabin. I was so excited to ask her to marry me, it must have slipped my mind. I’ll give it to you when we get back, okay?”

“Sure.”

Vincent picks himself up and sits back in his seat. All eyes are still on us, and all I can think to do is interlock our fingers and hold our joined hands up. More applause.

“Don’t forget the kiss!” Brianna encourages.

Thanks, Brianna.

My pulse races and blood rushes to my ears, but I turn to Vincent. He lifts an eyebrow, which I take to mean,What have you gotten me into this time?before pressing his lips to mine in a kiss that lacks any of the same finesse of what we shared at the New Year’s Eve party. I’m shaking. The hand Vincent has braced against my back trembles. If anyone looks close enough, I’m sure they’ll see we’re both a mess and realize something about this situation is off.

Or maybe our act is just that good. The restaurant erupts into more applause as we part, and all I can do is wonder,What in the world have I just done?

Chapter Twenty

I’m not going to open my eyes today. Once I do, reality will be right there, staring me in the face.

The reality that I got engaged last night.

I flip over in bed and sigh. Then I frown and pat the other side of the bed and my hand hits cold sheets. Sitting up, I look around the room and toward the bathroom, noting the lights are off.

Where is Vincent?

I look around again, this time seeing a note on his pillow. He went into town and will be back with breakfast. I sink back into the pillows and let out a breath. Good, one less thing to face right away.

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