Page 61 of Bidding on a Second Chance
How did he read her so well? He hadn’t even been looking at her. Or had he? She was so distracted, she couldn’t say with any confidence. She blinked hard and forced herself to read the menu.
Appetizers.The meals here were hearty enough that she didn’t usually bother with appetizers. She moved on to main courses. There’d either been a shortage tonight or a menu change recently, because a piece of paper had been taped over two of the usual listings. Replacing them was a dish called …A Lifetime of Love?
She read it twice, but the dish name didn’t change. Maybe they were testing something out before Valentine’s Day? She glanced over at the family in charge of the place. Did a dish name like this really come out of such a serious conversation? She ran her finger beneath the words, a breath away from asking Graham what he thought.
But as she read the description, her lungs stopped working altogether.
Piper and Graham, the ultimate pairing, married with faith in God and accompanied by generous servings of loyalty, appreciation, and commitment, free refills daily.
* * *
Graham watched as Piper’s jaw popped open wider and wider, while her lips spread into a grin. He’d seen a no, so he had a pretty good idea how to spot those coming. This was a yes if he’d ever seen one.
Beyond her, Bryce gave him a thumbs up. Gertrude and Ralph beamed. If she hadn’t been in such a distracted mood, she might’ve noticed them enter a minute behind them. She also didn’t seem to have noticed Lucy slip into a seat at Mav and Bella Knight’s table, where she’d have a clear view to snap pictures of this.
A gutsy choice on his part, maybe, to involve family, to risk rejection in front of a roomful of witnesses once again. But Piper was different than she’d been two years ago.
Without fear holding her back, she’d been connecting on a more meaningful level not only with him, but with a widening circle of friends. They’d been attending a Bible study at church these last few weeks and had enjoyed going deep with the discussions there. Each weekend, she scheduled some event with family or friends—and sometimes both—so elaborate that it took them both to follow through.
One of those nights, when Graham had hosted a shared meal, she’d told him she liked his house. And then, over the next week, she’d redecorated it into the home it’d never been before. Cody’s living room looked thrown together in comparison.
As they’d cleaned up after meals and game nights, they’d dreamed about their future. Turned out, without the long shadows cast by what-ifs, she wanted three kids. He’d had two in mind, but that was a compromise he was happy to agree to.
He loved this woman. He wanted to share life with her.
Tears lined her eyes as she looked up from the menu. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“What if I am?”
She gave a shaky laugh. “Um …” She swiped under her left eye, even though her tears hadn’t spilled over. Then, her hands both disappeared below the table. “You weren’t supposed to do this.”
He held himself outwardly still as his heart did a swan dive. Not again.
Her eyes went wide. “I mean, that’s not a no. It’s just …”
Something thumped onto the floor.
“Oh no.” Piper pushed her chair back from the table and leaned sideways but couldn’t reach whatever it was.
What in the world was happening? He glanced at Lucy, who had the best chance of offering insight. Mav and Bella both sat, leaned back in their seats with entertained smiles on their faces as they let their food get cold. Seated at their table, Lucy had her phone up and pointed their way, as though instead of taking pictures, she was recording video. She nodded when she noticed Graham looking her way.
She thought this was all right?
He refocused on Piper in time to see her dip below the table—or try to anyway. Another thump, this one the dull thwap of a body part against the wooden furniture, was followed by a muted, “Ow.”
Enough already. He was supposed to take a knee, anyway.
He slid from his seat to the floor and lifted the tablecloth to find Piper underneath, one hand pressed to her temple where she must’ve hit the table, and the other reaching for a metallic mound closer to him than to her.
“I’ll get it.”
“No. You can’t.” Piper stopped holding her head to crawl toward him. She claimed the item first, then lifted it to him. “I was going to ask you.”
“To tell you the time?”
“No.” She giggled. “I’m really flustered. This is ridiculous, right? We should reconvene.” She pointed up, still chuckling.
“We probably should, but let’s be honest. The traditional proposal went out the window two years ago.” He ducked under the tablecloth and joined her under the table. He opened his left hand for the item she held—a man’s watch. “What were you going to ask me?”
