Page 74 of Save the Drama for your Mama
At least, I hoped there would be a next time.
Lucinda stopped next to us outside of the shop, looking satisfied. “What. A. Kiss. There’s no way you can fake that. Believe me, I tried.”
I wasn’t going to ask.
“You had your chance, Lucinda, but you didn’t act fast enough,” Larissa said. “And you can bet your bottom dollar that Melody will not let that manly man get away from her in this lifetime, especially the way he just devoured her like that.”
“It sure looks like you’re right.” Lucinda sighed, then was about to leave, when she suddenly paused. “Wait a minute!” She glanced down at Melody’s hand. “Where’s your engagement ring?”
Melody gasped without missing a beat, holding out her bare left hand. “Oh, no! Did I already lose it? I can’t believe it. And it was huge! Three carats!” She gestured back to the shop. “Maybe it fell off when we knocked over that rack. We need to go back in there.”
“Wait, I have it right here! Remember?” I said, pulling out my mother’s engagement ring from James that I had in my pocket. “We were thinking of going swimming, and Melody took it off, so there was no chance of losing it. We changed our minds because the water is kind of cold today.”
Melody looked confused, probably wondering why I was carrying the ring around with me, but she played along anyway. “Thank God! I would die if I lost that gorgeous heirloom.”
Larissa would not give up, peering at the ring. “Hmm, awfully small rock for three carats . . . Looks more like, uh, one and a half.”
I waved off her astute observation. “It’s quite deceptive when the diamond is of such high quality. The brilliance can create an optical illusion. You know those mirrors that sometimes say objects may be closer than they appear? Yeah. Same thing.” I slid the ring back in my pocket.
As the women were not buying anything I was selling, I chose that moment to leave.
“Well, we should get going,” I said, grabbing Melody’s hand again. “Right, honey?”
Melody smiled, then nuzzled my nose in a super-sappy manner. “Sounds good, my little love muffin.”
“You ladies take care.” I turned to leave and—
“Aren’t you going to put the ring back on?” Larissa called out.
This woman would not give up!
We froze and turned back around, not expecting that.
“Sorry?” I said.
Lucinda pointed to Melody’s hand. “The ring—don’t carry it around like that in your pocket. What if you really do lose it? You need to stick it back where it belongs, on Melody’s finger.”
I nodded, knowing I couldn’t get out of this one, but there would be no harm in doing so.
“Right . . . Good call.” I pulled the ring out of my pocket and turned to face Melody.
She held out her hand and batted her eyelashes. “Get down on your knees again, love monkey.”
I flared my nostrils, then mumbled, “Oh—you are so going to get it.”
Melody playfully mocked. “Finally—you’ve kept me waiting long enough.”
That almost made me laugh as I got down on one knee, then glanced into her beautiful eyes, and slid the ring on her finger.
A gentle smile spread across Melody’s face as I held her hand in mine. For a moment, we lingered there, lost in our little game of make-believe.
Call me crazy, but part of me wanted it to be real.
“Ahem!” Lucinda’s cough broke our spell.
I scrambled to my feet as Melody’s face blushed.
“Well, there’s no doubt about it—this is the real deal,” Larissa said, satisfied at last.
