She tugs on my hand.“No, I’m fine.Look.”
I look at the display window more closely.Crystal figurines of all sorts, trinket boxes, some picture frames.Maybe she sees a gift we can give Finn and Shelby for the new baby?Then I see it.The ring.It’s so Phoebe.It’s unique, it’s colorful, it’s joyous.
“The ring?”
She nods enthusiastically.
“Do you want to look at it?”
The way her brown eyes are shining with eagerness answers that question.I let go of her hand so she can enter the store first, but I can’t stand to not touch her, so I rest my hand on the small of her back once we enter the shop.It feels so natural to put it there.I follow her to the counter of colorful jewelry and see it on display.A woman around our age approaches us with a smile.
“Hello,” she says in a friendly tone.“Is there anything you’d like to see?”
Phoebe smiles and bounces on her toes in excitement.I can’t wipe the smile from my face.I love seeing her so happy.
“Yes, the flower ring, please,” I request when Phoebe doesn’t.
She opens the back of the display and reaches for the ring.“I love this one, it’s so happy.The pink bloom is made up of round pink tourmaline stones, the blue flower is round-cut tanzanite.The leaves are marquise chrome diopside with white topaz accents.Sterling silver band.”She glances up, “Size seven okay?”
“Perfect,” Phoebe replies.
Before she can take the offered ring, I take it from the clerk with a nod and a murmured, “Allow me.”I’m not sure what way it goes.There are two flowers offset from each other, one pink and the other blue.Deciding to put the pink toward her body, I lift her left hand.It’s trembling slightly, so I rub my thumb gently along her knuckles in reassurance.
Our eyes meet.Are you okay?I ask with mine.She answers with a soft smile and shining eyes, so I slide the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand.My hand is shaking slightly too.It fits and looksrighton her hand.I don’t know if it’s because of the specific ring or because I’m the man who put it there.No matter the why, it’s a moment I’m going to remember forever.
Lifting my gaze from our joined hands, I whisper, “Is it okay?”
Phoebe gives a shuddering inhale.“Yeah.”
“Is this what you want?”I’m not sure how I’m defining “what.”The ring?The engagement?Me?
Suddenly her hand steadies, and her gaze is direct as she says, “Yes.”The firm resolve in her voice is what I need to drop to my knee, still holding her hand.The salesclerk gasps and gives a happy little clap.
“Phoebe, will you marry me?”I ask, imprinting this moment into my brain and heart forever.I wish I had thought to give the clerk my phone to record this moment.That’s my one regret.
She’s so beautiful with her bright eyes and even brighter smile.“Yes, I will absolutely marry you, Ollie!”
I jump to my feet and wrap her in a hug, lifting her so we’re face-to-face.This is it, now is the perfect time to kiss her.Finally.
Then all the hooting and hollering hits my ears.What.The.Fuck?How is half my team here?Do they always travel in a pack?Are they codependent?Have I joined a cult and not a hockey team?Am I ever going to get to kiss Phoebe?
I close my eyes and sigh.Phoebe rests her forehead against mine, and I can feel the giggles shaking her body.With great reluctance, I lower Phoebe’s feet to the ground, and we turn to face the small crowd invading the shop.Daphne’s leading the charge.Well, her belly is.
“You two are so cute!I got it on video.I’ll send it to both of you.With your permission, I’ll share it on the team social media too.”
Phoebe must notice I’m getting overwhelmed because she steps in front of me like she’s protecting me and accepts the hugs and shows off her ring to everyone.I remember the poor salesclerk and pull out my wallet to complete the transaction.I sign the charge slip, cringing slightly at how inexpensive the ring is.Shooting a look over my shoulder to make sure Phoebe is occupied, I point to a couple pairs of stud earrings, one pink and the other blue, to match the stones in her ring, and a snowflake pendant on a silver chain.The center of the flake matches the blue flower on her ring and has different shades of blue stones radiating out.It reminds me of the storm we shared at the cottage, and I hope it does the same for her.Accepting the bag, I apologize for the circus taking over the store.
She laughs.“No worries!This is so exciting!Welcome to the Devil Birds, by the way.I love to attend the games.”
Damn, I don’t know how the team handles giving out tickets.I need to find out the protocol and come back and hook her up.Before I have a chance to promise to get her tickets, team owner Teagan Penhall is next to me, giving me a glass of champagne and handing the clerk a card.Where the hell did she come from?I know she’s a witch, but does that give her the power to magically appear?
“Hailey,” my stunning blonde boss says with a friendly smile.“Call that number and let them know what game you want to attend, and there will be a pair of tickets at will call for you.Thank you so much for helping Oliver and Phoebe with this special moment.I’ll herd everyone to one of the restaurants and get them out of your hair.”
Hailey accepts the card.“Thank you, Miss Penhall!”She smiles at me.“Congratulations, Mr.King.I wish you and your fiancée all the best.”
My fiancée.Phoebe is officially my fiancée.I offered, she accepted.It’s a contract, of sorts.I took business law as an elective in college.I know the basics of a contract.I wonder if she had to take a business law class at pastry school?Even if she didn’t, I hope she knows I meant it when I asked her to marry me, and I’m praying she meant it when she accepted.
“Thank you, Hailey.”I offer my hand to shake.“You made this day incredible for us.”
