Page 14 of Bad Boy for Hire
Posy’s eyes popped with excitement.
“Stay with me,” May warned. Posy was rooted in place but resembled a rocket about to launch. Her eyes were wide, her mouth pressed together as if holding in a scream. “When Lisa mentioned the possibility, I admitted that it made sense. I mean, we’ve been together for two years, and you’re like my family. With how nervous he’s been acting tonight…”
“Oh my God!” Posy whisper-shrieked. “He’s going to propose!” She let out a silent scream, danced in a circle, and then composed herself by closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “We’re already sisters, and soon it will be official. He would be a fool not to ask, and we all know Terrell’s stance on marriage. If that man wanted to marry my sister, he could have asked her twelve times. How many tropical vacations have they been on? How many jaunts overseas?”
That tracked. When considering the romantic locations Terrell and Paisley had visited, a country club ballroom in Ohio seemed the least likely place for a proposal.
“You should tell him you know what he’s up to. Put him out of his misery.” Posy, now the picture of calm, sipped her drink. “Surprises stress him out. Is it evil of me to be excited that the spotlight will be turned from Paisley to you, even for a moment?”
“A little bit.” But May smiled. A proposal was exciting to think about. And the timing was good. He was in the process of becoming partner at the law firm. Them having two separate residences didn’t make sense long term.
“Oh shit.” Posy frowned. “Do you think he told Paisley? If she knows and she didn’t tell me, I swear I will?—”
“Hey.” Prescott materialized out of nowhere, causing May to nearly leap out of her Jimmy Choos.
After two years of looking at him, she’d grown used to his good looks. Until she was in a room like this one, where passing eyeballs took him in, and then she noticed anew how attractive he was. Bald head, full lips, impressive muscles bulging. He looked great in a suit too. Tonight he was wearing a bold blue jacket and pants, the white button-down, sans tie, offsetting his dark skin.
“May, I will need you to stay close when they bring out the cake.” A frown accompanied his odd request.
“Why? Is someone going to burst out of it?” Posy asked.
Prescott flicked his eyes in his sister’s direction for a fraction of a second before snapping his attention back to May. “Can you?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Thanks. Fifteen minutes.” With that, he was gone, leaving May with a familiar sense of unease.
“Charming.” Posy rolled her eyes. “Tell me he’s more romantic than this when you’re alone.”
May’s smile was wan. He’d never been much of a romantic. More pragmatic and practical.
Fifteen minutes felt more like fifty, but eventually a suited waiter carried out a sheet cake adorned with lit sparklers. The crowd erupted into “Happy Birthday”—everyone except for Prescott, who was standing at her side and sweating visibly.
He reached into his pocket again. This time, she noticed a definitive sparkle. A diamond, if she wasn’t mistaken. The song died on her lips as she gaped at him, her head swimming. Lisa was right. May was right. Her eyelids fluttered as she thought of how to react. Not like a deer in headlights, preferably. She pulled her shoulders back and put a genial smile on her face.
He shoved the ring into his pocket, his startled gaze landing on her. “You weren’t supposed to see that. Did anyone else notice?” His deep brown eyes snapped back and forth around the room.
“Does it matter?”
When May’s mom died, she and Prescott had been dating for three months, which had been fragile timing for such a life-changing event. As horrible as the grief of losing her mom had been for her, her dad leaving had overshadowed it. Prescott could have spared himself the emotional heavy-lifting and broken things off with her, but he hadn’t. He’d been her rock at a time she would’ve been utterly alone. And then his parents and sisters had stepped in to tuck her under their wings. They’d loved her when she needed it most, which had made mourning her lost family survivable.
Prescott’s mouth flinched. “It’s our grandmother’s ring.”
A family heirloom. She rested a hand over her racing heart. Such symbolism. She’d lost her family in one fell swoop, and now Prescott was asking her to be a part of his. It was everything she wanted—to be a part of something bigger than herself. And yet she found herself thinking, What about our connection?
“Terrell was afraid he’d lose it if he carried it around, so he left that to me.”
The vision of her future popped like a soap bubble. She felt her brow scrunch as she repeated, “Terrell?”
“Can you believe it?” he asked, his voice just above a whisper. “Nine years and he chooses today to propose. I don’t want to be the one who screws it up, you know?”
The music swelled, and Terrell called out Prescott’s name. Numbly, she watched as Prescott handed the ring to Terrell, who turned to Paisley and went down on one knee.
So, the ring wasn’t for May.
Tears sprang to Paisley’s eyes. As she nodded her yes, Terrell embraced her. He grinned and gave a thumbs-up. The crowd surrounding them applauded.
Prescott returned to May’s side and blew out a breath. “Jesus, that was stressful.”
