She turned back to the dough and gave it a good press with her lower palms. “You almost want to roll into it,” she said, recalling the instruction her grandma had given her.
“Like this?” Richard mimicked the action with his portion.
“Yes.” But suddenly Ava felt something inside the dough. Something small and hard. “I think there’s something in mine.” She hunched lower over the dough, pinching it with her finger and thumb to locate the foreign object she’d detected.
She vaguely noted that the door behind them had opened. Mable was back just in time to see whatever it was Ava discovered in the dough.If,she told herself, she could actually find it. Maybe she’d just been imagining it.
But then she found it again, right along the edge now. It was like a knot or small pebble, perhaps. Ava pinned the object through the dough between her finger and thumb and gave it a persistent tug until it tore free.
Footsteps, she was definitely hearing soft footsteps behind her, but Ava couldn’t pull her mind away from the mystery object long enough to see what was happening.
“It’s…” she started to say as she peeled the final chunk of dough from the item pinched in her grip. Brassy gold with a diamond on top. “It’s aring.”
But Richard did not lean over to look at it like she thought he might. Instead, he suddenly lowered himself onto his knees.
Ava glanced down to see what it was he had dropped, when she realized he hadn’t gotten on both knees after all. He’d lowered himself ononeknee, and he was extending a hand toward her.
Understanding rushed over her as she gripped the small ring and turned to face him. It was then that she spotted the source of the footsteps she’d heard. Because there was his family. Emmitt, Trenton, Andie, Memphis, and even Maverick, who was seated in his reclined wheelchair. He shot her a goofy grin and waved.
“Hi, guys,” she said. It came out in a whispered tone, perhaps because Ava sensed the reverent nature of the moment. A moment she’d dreamt about her whole life.
She turned her focus back on Richard, the ring still firm in her grip.
He cupped her hands and looked up, his hazel eyes glistening with welled tears. “Nelly, at the tattoo shop, asked me if I was next to get inked. When I answered her, saying that maybe someday I would, I didn’t actually see that happening.”
He gave her a sheepish grin and shook his head. “But then I considered it. And I could actually see us driving out there on our twentieth anniversary to get matching tattoos. Our kids will probably be in their teens by then, so they’d tell us that we were cheesy and lame.”
Ava chuckled as she pictured it, her eyes welling with tears now too.
“But secretly…” Richard cleared his throat as his voice cracked. “Secretly, they’ll know how freaking lucky they are, because their parents love each other. It’ll be obvious to them in a hundred different ways. Like when you come home with my favorite candy just for the heck of it. Or when I curl up and watch your favorite chick flick with you.”
“Nowthat’strue love,” Emmitt mumbled.
Richard grinned. “They might even catch us making out in the wine cellar or under the oak tree on a hot summer night like a couple of teenagers, but at least they’ll know we’re in love. And I am, Ava. I’m crazy about you, and I’d give anything to be your husband. Will you marry me?”
Bursts of heat, happiness, and excitement skittered through her as she sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “Yes, of course!”
A roar of cheers filled the room. Richard’s family by the outdoor exit and, Ava realized with a glance over her shoulder, a cluster of kitchen staff huddled at the opposite walkway. Ava took in the moment that seemed to float in a timeframe of its own. Bright smiles and teary eyes met her from every angle.
She set her gaze back on Richard, who was shooting up to his feet and reaching to wrap his arms around her. Ava barely steadied her hands on his shoulders when she was lifted off the floor and into his strong embrace.
She sucked in the heavenly scent of him and buried her face into the nook of his neck. “I’m so happy,” she said against his skin.
“So am I,” he rasped, resting her gently back onto the floor. “I’m happier than I ever knew I could be.” With that, he took the ring, dusted it off a bit, and then slid it onto her finger. “I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
“I can’t wait to makeyoumy husband,” she said with a grin. The family rushed in with congratulations. Ava was happy to see that Betty, Mable, and Don were among them.
“Let’s celebrate tonight at the party,” Betty said. “We’ll make sure Don gives you two your own special dance.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Ava told her. “Thank you.”
As she and Richard greeted the small group, Ava set eyes on the one member of the family who had yet to congratulate them—Maverick. He rolled himself close, a grin on his face as he looked back and forth between Ava and Richard.
“I imagined this all going down a little differently,” he said, the half-smile still locked in place. “But I’m actually happy for you guys, and I don’t think that’s just the meds talking.”
“Thank you, Maverick,” Ava said, rubbing a hand over his shoulder.
Richard chuckled. “I, for one,knowit’s not the meds because they’re only giving you Ibuprofens, man.”
