“Groceries next?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We need to make one stop first.”
“Okay. I was thinking we should talk more. We need to get our story straight.”
“What story?” he asks as we head towards town.
“Like where we met, who asked who out, where our first date was, favorite foods, color, all of that,” I say, waving my hand.
“We met in town. I asked you out. We went to that steakhouse here in town. My favorite food is lasagna. Oh, and I like blue.”
“Palmer’s Steakhouse,” I say, nodding as I memorize the story.
“What about you?”
“Oh, right. Um, my favorite food is crab legs. We used to make them every year for my birthday. Sometimes, my grandpa would say he wanted them on his birthday, too, but I know he was doing it for me.”
“I like crab legs.”
I bite back a smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I could eat them on my birthday, too. You know, if you were there.”
I can’t hold back my smile then. “When’s your birthday?”
“February 10th. What about you?”
“September 6th.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Twenty-seven,” he says as he pulls into a parking lot.
I frown as I see the sign. “A jewelry store?”
“Need to get my fiancée a ring.”
He jumps out and comes around to open my door. We enter the store hand in hand.
“Welcome!” the woman behind the counter greets us. “What brings you two in today?”
“We’re looking for an engagement ring,” Heath says.
The woman—whose name badge saysSharon—studies us.
I swallow nervously, knowing that the whole town will know I’m engaged to Heath before noon. I hadn’t considered that. What will they think when we get divorced so soon after marrying?
“Right this way,” Sharon says, waving us over to a glass-top counter.
Heath tugs me over, and we look at all the sparkling rings.
“What style do you like?” Sharon asks me.
“Um, maybe something like that?” I point to the smallest ring.
“No,” Heath says.
