Page 52 of Just Like in the Movies
He put a hand on my arm for just a second and then turned to the salesman. “I’ll take this one.” He picked up one that was in the upper half of my stated budget, but definitely not even in the top three price-wise between all the ones we’d looked at. “In platinum,” he added darkly, shooting me a look that dared me to contradict him now.
I just tilted my head at the salesman. “You heard the man. Does that one fit or do we need to wait for one to be made?”
The salesman glanced at the computer code taped to the back of the ring and looked thoughtful. “Give me a moment and I’ll check.” He disappeared toward the other end of the shop, where the cash register crouched like a dog waiting to be fed.
“You’re sure about this?” Lew asked in a low voice. “I don’t care about the ring.”
“No?” I reached for his hands. “Not even a little bit?”
He opened his mouth, I was sure to deny that he cared at all, but Lew wasn’t much of a liar at heart. “I…shouldn’t we be saving money for other things?”
“Like what? You only get engaged once, right?”
He nodded.
I slid in closer to him. “Does the ring make you happy?”
“I do like it.” His gaze flickered away, over my shoulder toward the back of the shop. “I’ve never spent that much money on something before. Except my car.”
His lips were so tempting. I kissed him and he kissed me back, pulling his hands away from mine only to flatten them against my chest.
The salesman cleared his throat noisily behind us. “You’re in luck. We don’t generally sell the display pieces, but since it does fit your fiancé and we have a recent return I can put out in its stead, you can take this one home with you today.”
I reached for my wallet and pulled out a credit card. “Let’s do this.”
Then, as soon as I had the receipt in my hand and we’d suffered through the salesman’s spiel about warranties and returns, I went down on one knee in front of Lew and reached for his left hand. “Lewellyn King, would you marry me? Even though I’m an idiot?”
He nodded and laughed, but his eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I will. Even though you are an idiot. At least you know it.” He covered his mouth with his free hand as I slid the ring into place on his finger, then pulled me up and kissed me like we were home in the apartment, not standing in the middle of store in front of a total stranger.
“Let’s go home,” he whispered at the end of the kiss. “There’s still time.”
“I love you,” I whispered back, then we raced out of the shop, headed for home so I could make love to Lew with my ring on his finger.
