Page 113 of Playing a Player (Sweet Cravings 1)

"She works at a jewelry store. Her friend Jamie, who I only met yesterday, found the ring I was looking for." He opened up the box.

It was beautiful. It was elegant and sophisticated, and not over the top or garish. It was exactly what I would have picked out.

"Connor and Jackson were with me the whole time. I told them they couldn't talk to you because I knew they'd blab. Neither one of them is any good at keeping secrets. And I called Emily to find out your ring size. I swore her to secrecy too."

"Why didn't you just tell me? I shot you in the...Rory, I'm so sorry." I put my hands on both sides of his face. "I'm so, so sorry."

He laughed. "I didn't have the ring yet. And I wanted to propose at a nice restaurant. Or somewhere exotic. Or just anywhere you've ever wanted to go. But maybe this was the best place. My life changed forever when I first knocked on your door. That is, if you say yes." He smiled up at me. That charming smile that made me fall so hard for him in the first place.

I knelt down in front of him, holding his face in my hands. "Rory, I thought you..."

"I know." He kissed my palm. "But I didn't."

"Rory, we barely know each other."

"I know you, Keira." He kissed my other palm. "I know every inch of you." He kissed my forehead. "And I love every inch of you." He kissed me softly on the lips.

I put my arms behind his neck. "I love you so much."

"Then marry me." He pulled the ring out of the box. "I should have known you'd make this hard too. I know I'm a mess. I know that I need..."

"You're not a mess. Rory, you're perfect. I think everything about you is perfect. And you're definitely perfect for me."

"You're killing me. Say yes, Keira."

"Yes. Of course, yes!"

He leaned down and kissed me. It was soft, yet passionate at the same time. He grabbed my hand and slowly slid the ring onto my finger.

"Rory, it's beautiful."

He stood up and lifted me in his arms, twirling me around in a circle. I couldn't help but giggle. I didn't think I had ever been so happy. As he lowered me down, my torso slid against his. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around me as I looked up at him.

"I thought you never wanted to get married?"

"I don't think I had any idea what I wanted until I met you." He kissed me again.

There was a loud knock on the door. "Can we come in now?!" Jackson yelled.

I smiled up at Rory. "The door is unlocked, guys!"

Jackson ran into the room, followed by Connor, Emily, and Jim. I laughed as Jackson put his arms around us. "I knew you two would work it out," he said.

He was quickly followed by the rest of our friends, as they all embraced us in a big circle. I had felt so alone earlier. And now I had never felt so full. I don't think I had ever been happier in my whole life. Each big moment with Rory had made me feel like that. I couldn't help but think that each day going forward he would make me happier and happier. And he was absolutely right. At the end of the day, happiness was the only thing that mattered.

Epilogue

“It’s perfect,” I said. It probably looked like I was staring up at the freshly painted sign, but my eyes were glued firmly to my new husband’s butt. God did Rory look good in swim trunks. Although he insisted that he had to wear a shirt during our new ice cream shop’s business hours, I was pretty sure in a few more weeks he’d abandon the policy. After all…we were at the beach. No shirt, no shoes…who the hell cared? I sure didn’t. I preferred him without a shirt. And as far as I was concern

ed, the swim trunks weren’t necessary either.

Rory looked down at me from the ladder he was standing on. “Hey, eyes up here, Keira,” he said and waved his hammer in front of the sign.

I laughed. “I was talking about the sign.”

“Of course you were.” He stepped off the ladder and joined me on the boardwalk. “It really is perfect, though,” he said.

“Sure is.” The sign was great, but I was still talking about his ass. “I still can’t believe we’re actually doing this.” Sweet Cravings was scrawled across the top of our new storefront. Our new storefront. It felt like I was still dreaming. One minute we’d been touring all the beaches on the east coast during our honeymoon, and the next minute we were buying this shop on the Rehoboth boardwalk.

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