Page 36 of A Wulver for the Week

CRAIG IS ACTING FUNNY, and my eyes are acting funny, too. I guess the closer we get to Pine Ridge (which is apparently a haven for magical and mythical types), the more non-humans I should expect to see. I swear I just saw the Pine Ridge lumberjacks getting off their team bus, and one of them is green. Another one looks like the abominable snowman! “I guess they’re flying out for a game. How do thousands of people who watch them in the stadiums around the country not see them for what they are?” I demand, helping Craig load our bags into the car.

“I’m sure the odd one does, but what will they say about it? ‘Mummy, Mummy, the hockey player is a big green Orc!’ Mum will roll her eyes and say, ‘What an imagination you have, precious.’”

“I guess you’re right. I guess— Oh, God! Craig?”

Craig is down. I slam the rear passenger door after throwing my garment bags inside and run to the trunk (which he calls the boot). “Are you lightheaded? Does your chest hurt?” I demand, racing to the man I love, the man who is on his knees, clutching at his midriff. I’m fumbling for my phone while I fall beside him, nurse’s training kicking in while panic tries to push its way to the front.

Pulmonary embolism after flying.

Vomiting and loss of balance from eustachian tube dysfunction?

Or... sneak attack?

Craig is fine. Well, not fine, but he’s not sick. His face is tense, and his hands uncurl from his middle to reveal a black satin box.

A ring box.

“Surprise?” he whispers.

“Oh, Craig,” I breathe out, hands covering my mouth.

“You don’t have to say yes, but I want to ask right now.” His voice is shaky, and his accent is the thickest I’ve ever heard it. He pulls the box open on its hinge, and I can see his fingers trembling as he reveals two bands, one with a single diamond and a smaller one set with sparkling blue stones.

“I want to say yes right now!” I screech.

“You do?”

“I do!”

“You will?”

“I will!” I hold out my hand, flapping it at him. He pulls me up and pushes the engagement ring on, laughing this startled, happy laugh that infuses the air with pure joy. “I will!” I repeat.

“To be clear, I mean, you will marry me?”

“Yes!!” I crow, leaping into his arms as we both get to our feet. “Oh, sweetie, we can get married in Caithness with your family next March! We could—”

“Get married much sooner and take that cruise from New York to Florida as our honeymoon,” he interrupts. “I vote for sooner because I cannot wait to spend eternity with you.” Craig plucks the sapphire band from the box and holds it up. “This is an eternity band. Usually, people wait a year or two to give them to their brides, but I don’t want to wait. I want forever with you, and I want to promise it to you, starting today, starting with these little circles—little loops that never end.”

I know it’s one of the most romantic things I’ve ever heard, and I know Craig means it. I know that this is how he talks because this is how he feels. For someone who looks like he stepped out of a fantasy book, he is the most genuine person I know.

His words are true. Our love is real. “I love you,” I burst out. Those are the only words that make sense.

“I love you!”

A kiss. A squeal. People stare at us as we act like idiots, hopping up and down in front of a car with its door hanging open.

“This wasn’t the most romantic spot to ask you.” Craig suddenly seems to realize, looking around as engines rev and car radios blare to life after weeks and days of silence.

“I think it was perfect. You surprised me, and you made me realize you love me in the real world, not just on vacation. Okay, let’s get in the car. I have to call my parents, and youdohave to let me pay for parking now.”

“What? I do not!”

“You do so! You gave me these gorgeous rings, and they must cost—”

“Hush, pet!”

“I will not!”

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