“Well, I’m glad he confessed.” Darius watched the crowd of servants and family as they talked. “But now what do I do? Everyone’s looking stunned, and I don’t blame them.”
“Not everyone. Look.”
Graham was embracing his grandfather. The young man turned from him to Eve who’d finally stepped outside. He clasped her hand, talking rapidly. She smiled, and they hugged.
Eve looked up then and met Darius’s gaze. Her parents were a few feet to the side. Everyone seemed to remember him then and quieted. Joe stepped beside him, and at the rustling behind, Darius glanced back to see the groundskeepers had gathered too.
“Looks like you’re going to have to do a Kayn,” Joe said, his voice low.
“What are you talking about?”
“He had nearly the whole town there when he proposed.”
Had he really? Darius gave the bodyguard his phone. “Do something useful and call Melanie.”
“You’re making her nervous by waiting.” Joe gave him a nudge. “Do it.”
Darius took a step forward. The poor old guy had been looking stunned, his face wet. But his expression brightened when Darius nodded to him.
“Mr. Stewart, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” He said to her parents, “Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, it’s been a long time.”
Her father looked about to say something, but her mother shushed him.
Taking a breath, Darius shifted to face Eve and met her wary gaze.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to find you looking so well. We were right. This is a good place to recuperate.”
Darius shifted uncomfortably, his mind going in too many directions. He’d considered a dozen approaches but hadn’t been able to settle on any of them. The look of anticipation on Eve’s face brought back a memory from high school, and he started to speak.
“Do you remember that car wash we did for the local dog shelter?”
“The one that turned into a huge water fight, and we got kicked off the property?” Eve asked with a soft chuckle.
“Yeah. Or the movie marathons we’d have in your backyard?”
“You always had a knack with my dad’s projector,” Eve said. “Remember the summer concerts on the town green?”
“And playing Frisbee golf in the park.”
“That was not fair because you’re so tall. I preferred watching the sun set over the lake.”
Behind Darius, he could hear his phone ringing. Would Melanie pick up?
“Do you remember that evening after junior prom,” he asked, “when we all decided to go to the park in our formal clothes?”
“And my date suggested everyone try to sneak into the zoo.” Eve shook her head, wearing a hint of a smile.
“You weren’t comfortable with that and refused to go, but he went with the others anyway.”
“I was so mad at him.” Her eyes narrowed at the memory. “It was late and dark, and he’d taken the keys to his car. But then you were there, and I wasn’t alone or scared anymore.”
“As if I’d ever leave you alone. My date had gone with the others, so it was just us.”
“You suggested we go to the park across the street.”
Eve took a small step toward him, and Darius’s heart leapt into his throat. He didn’t know if she’d made the motion involuntarily or if she was sending him a message, but he didn’t dare move. Yet.
“It’d rained earlier, and the ground was wet. As we walked across the grass toward the playground equipment—” he began.
