Page 40 of That Kind of Guy

That bastard. A tiny, minuscule fraction of me was impressed. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The guy was always strategizing, always scheming. The deal we had cooked up? It came to him so naturally. He had everything figured out before I even said yes. Of course he had this timed to the minute.

“Most of you know me,” Emmett was saying to the restaurant. “I was born and raised here in Queen’s Cove, and you know my parents, Elizabeth and Sam.” He tipped his glass to them and smiled. “This town means more to me than most of you will ever know. I’ve traveled all over, but I’ve never met a finer group of people.”

Wow, he was really laying it on thick, I noticed, even as my pulse began to pick up. Maybe this was just a toast to his campaign. I didn’t think it was, unfortunately.

“I love this town, and I love the people who live here, that’s why I’m running for mayor. The people of Queen’s Cove are important, and I’m going to do everything I can to protect them, including upgrading the electrical grid so those power outages are a thing of the past.”

People started clapping, and he waited for them to finish. I rolled my eyes. In Emmett’s head, he was Jesus Christ himself, here to save our sad little town. Annoying.

Emmett nodded. “You know me as the Queen’s Cove boy who caused trouble with my brothers, you know me as the upcoming mayor, but there’s a side of me that you don’t know.”

Emmett, the showman that he was, let this last sentence settle in the room. There was a ripple of curiosity throughout the restaurant. My stomach was in knots, twisting and churning, and adrenaline dripped into my bloodstream from the anticipation. His family exchanged curious looks. Not a soul made a noise.

“I’m also a man in love.”

Every woman in the room except me swooned. My face tingled, and I couldn’t tell whether it was from exasperation, nerves, or nausea. Several diners looked over to me with big smiles. They must have seen Miri’s photo of us online.

Emmett gave them all a bashful look. “That’s right. I’ve fallen head over heels for the last person I expected.” He set his wine glass on the table and reached into his pocket.

I closed my eyes. Why,whydid I agree to do this? This was mortifying. No one was going to believe it. They’d take one look at my face and know it was a complete load of crap.

Emmett pulled out a small, navy-blue velvet box, and a chorus of gasps rose up around the room. He looked straight at me, and Max’s grasp on my shoulders tightened in response. I swallowed thickly. Even though Emmett was inflicting this mortification on me, I couldn’t look away from him. He was like an anchor. He was the only person who knew the truth, and we were in this together.

He gave me a soft smile and started walking slowly across the restaurant to me. The thump of his boots on the hardwood echoed in the silent restaurant as everyone held their breath.

Max shoved me forward so I was in the center of the restaurant. Everyone could see me.

“Avery,” Emmett said, and behind him, Elizabeth clutched her hands to her mouth in elation. “I know you’re scared, and that you wanted to keep us a secret.” He reached out and took my hands. “But baby, I’m crazy about you, and I want to tell the world. You make me a better man. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He dropped down to one knee and more gasps rose up around the room.

“Oh, my god!” Max squealed behind me.

My head was about to explode. A nervous laugh sat right below my vocal cords, ready to bubble up at any minute. My stomach twisted back and forth. My hands shook in Emmett’s. Everyone stared at me. Every single person I considered a friend was here tonight, watching me, watching this happen.

On bended knee in front of me, Emmett opened the box.

My mouth fell open.

It was a vintage diamond ring from the 1920s, Art Deco style. I’d seen similar styles online. It sparkled brilliantly, catching the light from every angle. The center diamond was a soft grey, just like the color of Emmet’s eyes. A halo of tiny white diamonds encircled the larger diamond, with baguette-style gems cascading from the halo.

It was gorgeous. It was complicated, unique, over the top, and yet dainty at the same time. I was absolutely enchanted by this ring.

How did he know what I would like? The only person I had told about this was—

My gaze cut to Hannah, who gave me a soft smile while biting her lip in anticipation. She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I swallowed again and looked back at Emmett. His money and influence knew no bounds in this town, it appeared.

“Avery Adams, will you marry me?” he asked softly, but just loud enough for everyone to hear.

The whole restaurant was silent, waiting for my answer. Emmett watched me with a gentle, reverent look on his face. I was frozen. My thoughts moved through jello, slow and sluggish. The longer I was silent, the more the tension grew. Shit, what was I doing? I had to say something. I had to say yes.

Out of the corner of my eye, Chuck fidgeted in his seat before checking his phone, like he was bored.

The restaurant. I was doing this so I could get the restaurant. Emmett and I were in this together, and I always kept my word. I always held up my end of the bargain.

Uncertainty flickered through Emmett’s eyes as he waited for my answer. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Yes,” I whispered.

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