His right arm took the place of his left, holding her against him while his left hand fumbled near her hip.
“So I didn’t plan on this tonight. I didn’t really have a plan, except not to do something stupid and public like Andy, who went down on one knee then pretended to tie his shoe.” His left hand appeared before her, a diamond ring sparkling between his thumb and index finger. “But I’d be honored if you wanted to be my wife.”
Stunned, she stared at the fire sparking through the gem, the rich gleam of gold.
“It’s Susan’s ring.” A hesitant note entered his voice. He rotated the ring so she could see, the band thin but richly sturdy, supporting the solitaire in a traditional cut. “She left it for me when she passed. I had it cleaned and the band polished, but if you want something else—”
“It’s perfect.” All she could manage was a breathless whisper.
“I’ll get down on one knee if you want me to.”
“No.” Her lungs and throat were so tight, she couldn’t get her voice above that murmur. She laid her hand along the palm of his left, noticing then the fine tremor in his fingers. “Put it on.”
A relieved exhale shuddered against her spine. He fumbled a bit, aligning the band with the top of her finger. “Will you marry me, Holly?”
The dazzling ring slid into place, a little big, wanting to slip around her finger. She bit her lip on a tiny sob and closed her fingers over his.
“That’s a yes, right?”
Now she picked up the nerves in his voice, her heart folding in even as joy fizzed through her veins. He loved her and wanted to marry her, to be her husband.
“Yes.” She turned to throw her arms about him, his quietoofvibrating into her, making her smile, even as her glass toppled over, ice tinkling against metal and brick. With a ragged laugh, he grabbed the glass and righted it. She caught his face in both hands, gazing into those dark eyes. “Oh, Colt, I love you.”
“Yeah?” One brow quirked upward, surprise and relieved happiness in his dark eyes, and she wound her arms about his neck.
“Yes.” How could he not know? She pressed her face to his throat, wanting to be as close as she could. “Absolutely.”
“That’s good to know.” Beneath a rough laugh, his voice was only half teasing.
“I do.” She cradled his jaw again, string lights sparkling over her ring. “And I’ve been making myself crazy, thinking you didn’t—”
“Not a chance.” A hand at her nape, he levered her into a kiss, and she caught a glittering joy in his eyes, shining as brightly as the ring he’d placed on her finger.
She buried her other hand in his hair, drawing back enough to study the ring, her hand on his shoulder. She thumbed the stone into place. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“We’ll have to have it sized.” He lifted a hand to turn the ring side to side, a mischievous quirk to his lips. “Grandma Susan was, um, a generous woman.”
“I remember.” She bit her lip and slanted a glance at him from beneath her lashes. “Are you sure?”
He grinned. “About Grandma Susan? Yeah, she—”
“Colt.” She tightened her fingers on his shoulder, blazer smooth under her skin. “I mean about loving me, wanting to marry me.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” He shook his head. “You say yes, then question my sincerity?”
“You’re the guy who keeps telling me we have to take things slow.”
“Yeah, well . . .” He fiddled with the ring once more. “Think we both needed this.”
“I agree.” She tiptoed up to kiss him. Flexing her hand, she watched fire spark through the diamond all over again. Sue’s parents had been married a long time, too, although Colt’s other grandaddy had died in a farm accident when Colt was a toddler. Mrs. Susan, who’d never remarried, had passed when they were in middle school.
“Go ahead.” With a long suffering sound belied by an indulgent smile, he tugged her phone from her back pocket and handed it to her. “Take a photo and text Lorraine.”
Wrinkling her nose at him, she accepted the device and swiped to open the camera.
“No social media until we tell our mamas.” He pointed toward the auditorium. “I will throw you under the bus so fast.”
“You would, too.” Quickly cropping and editing the photo to highlight the ring, she tapped out a text to her friends, hit send, and waited. “Andy pretended to tie his shoe?”
