“Of course I’ll bring Maya,” he said, his heart squeezing at the knowledge that this lovely young woman never had his daughter far from her thoughts.
“She’s going to love it,” Allie promised, looking as excited as a kid herself.
“Come on,” he said, leading her to the pavilion. “Let’s go up.”
They climbed the steps together, the snow crunching under their boots. But when they reached the top, the center of the pavilion floor was mercifully free of snow.
Ash had been paying attention before when they stood here to watch Maya and Eloise playing. He’d called it a romantic spot as kind of a joke, but Allie had agreed innocently, and there was a dreamy look in her eyes that told him this was the right place to take her tonight.
She was looking back at the tree and its surroundings now, her gaze soft as she took in all the sights of her favorite tradition.
While she admired the view, Ash pulled out the pretty little box with the ring inside and knelt at her feet.
When she turned back to him, her expression of wonder was one he would remember forever.
“Allie Lawrence,” he said, holding out the ring. “Will you marry me?”
Her eyes widened.
“It’s just pretend, right?” she whispered after a moment, her blue eyes worried.
He nodded, hoping the pang of hurt he felt didn’t show on his face.
What’s wrong with me? Of course it’s pretend. That was the deal.
“Then, yes,” she said with a smile. “Iwillpretend marry you.”
She peeled off her glove and he took her small, warm hand in his and slid the ring onto her finger, where it twinkled like it was happy to be home.
“Oh,” she said softly. “It’s beautiful.”
“I had it made just for you,” he told her, standing.
“But that’s not a real diamond,” she said, her eyes fixed on the pretty little stone.
“Of course it is,” he said. “No one in their right mind could believe that a man had proposed to Allie Lawrence without a diamond.”
He’d opted for a small stone. He could have said it was because he knew it wasn’t for a real proposal, but that wasn’t true. He designed this ring to fit Allie, and he didn’t have to know her long to know that she wasn’t the type of woman who would go around showing off some giant rock.
“I’ll give it back when this is over,” she said, looking a little sorry to make that offer.
“No, no,” he said, chuckling. “It’s yours. You’ve earned it.”
“It looks like something out of a fairytale,” she said with a smile, gazing down at the tiny golden vines that wrapped around the setting.
“That’s exactly what I was going for,” he told her. “I know how much you love fairy tales.”
“Maya has been talking about me outside of class,” Allie laughed, looking up at him again.
“She loves you,” he told her honestly. “It’s wonderful to hear about you through her eyes.”
“Is that why you want to know me better?” she asked him, her eyes sliding down immediately, like she thought maybe it was too forward to ask.
“It’s one reason, yes,” he told her honestly.
Reaching for her hand, he tugged her closer, hoping to kiss her again, and remind her how much he liked her for hisown reasons.
His heart thundered in his ears and his stomach twisted like he was a teenager again.
