“Just stay here for a second, okay?”
It’s dark, and we’re both covered in black from our spooky costumes, so I have a bit of difficulty tracking him as he moves through the space. But, a moment later, the entire bar is engulfed in tiny twinkling lights.
Red, green, and purple lights hang from the ceiling, the bar, and almost anywhere they can be displayed safely. There are spiderwebs and holy shit. Is that a fog machine in the corner?
My eyes are everywhere, taking it all in. “Oh my god! This must have taken hours!”
“Mel and Lamar were happy to do it.”
“Remind me to thank them, ’cause this is so over the top. I mean, people are going to?—”
“Pres.”
I turn back to the sound of his voice and gasp. My vampire husband is down on one knee, holding a ring. I clutch my chest like a woman from the 1800s suffering from the vapors. “What is that?”
He smirks. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like an engagement ring.”
“It is.”
“I—wait. Is this what you went to do today?”
“Yes.”
“You do remember we’re already married, right?”
His lips twitch. “Can a guy propose?”
I try to fight a smile, looking at his costume and the spooky lights. “Don’t you mean boo-pose?”
He shakes his head back, shoulders shaking. “You’re really gonna make this difficult, aren’t you?”
I nod. “Uh-huh.”
“Get your ass over here, Pres.”
I close the gap between us, allowing me to get a better glimpse of the ring he’s holding. “Oh my god.” My attempt at shitty puns is instantly forgotten as my eyes begin to water. It’s ornate and classy. The gold filigree band wraps around a large oval diamond. It’s exactly what I would have picked. “Is that?—”
“Antique? Yeah.” His eye soften. “It’s why it took me a while. Had to find just the right one.”
I blow out a long breath. I don’t understand why I’m getting so emotional. It’s not like I really have anything to say yes to. I’m already married to the man.
It’s not like he can ask me to marry him again…
“I want to marry you again,” he says, making a total mockery of my thoughts.
“You what?” I laugh. “Why?”
He takes my hand, his expression turning serious. “Because I want us to have something to remember. I want to be able to close my eyes and see you walking down the aisle, know the vows we promised, remember the feel of your lips on mine when we kissed. Shit, Pres. I don’t even know if we said or did all those things.”
“It would have been nice if they had at least taken a picture.”
“Based on my very empty wallet, I’m pretty sure all my cash went to bribing them to marry our drunk asses. There was no money left over for official wedding pics.”
“So are you asking me to marry you again or telling me?”
“I’m not stupid enough to believe I could ever tell you to do anything.” He chuckles. “This is me asking. But just so you know, if you say no, your ass is still married. You’re stuck with me one way or another.”
