I fumbled with the bag then pulled out a ring that I hoped would work for her.
Nina froze with her mouth hanging open.
“Logan,” she finally gasped. “What the actual hell?”
“I’m guessing you like it,” I chuckled. “It’s a six-carat flawless emerald cut on a gold band. Normally, I prefer platinum, but since you already have the gold wedding band…”
“It’s so big that I’m afraid of it.” She let out an embarrassed giggle. “Hold on, that sounded dirty. I meant thestoneis big.”
I laughed with her. “Hey, I’ll take it, whichever way you mean. Give me your hand, please.”
Nina glanced around, then held out her trembling hand.
“Are you nervous?” I asked her softly.
“I mean, yeah? You’re about to put a ring on me that’s probably worth a couple years of my salary. I’mterrified. What happens if I lose it or damage it?”
“Stop,” I scolded her gently. “If something happens, it happens. That’s what insurance is for, so please don’t worry. Now let’s make this official.”
I slid the ring on her slim finger and twisted it so that the stone was perfectly centered.
“Wow,” she sighed. She held her hand up and swiveled it in the air, admiring the ring from all angles. “I’m inlove.”
Hearing her speak the words made my heart stutter out of rhythm. It was silly to be impacted by the throwaway comment—she’d said she was in love with the organic peanut butter we’d bought at a farmers’ market—but I couldn’t deny that hearing the word “love” from her lips did something to me.
“I’m glad it works for you,” I finally said.
“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Ashford?”
We turned to find Peter, the steward, smiling at us from the doorway.
“We’re ready to begin dinner service whenever you are.”
“This view is gorgeous, but I’m sort of starving,” Nina whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
I snorted softly at her eagerness.
“Thank you, Peter. Now works.”
“What can I bring you to drink?” Peter asked. “A cocktail? Glass of wine?”
“Just sparkling water for me,” I said.
I wanted to stay lucid for this night. And besides, just being with Nina put me in an altered state.
“Same,” she agreed quickly.
Were we on the same page?
We laughed our way through the meal, especially detailing all of Noah’s hijinks. The kid was finally finding balance, a change I attributed to Nina’s stabilizing presence. But we talked about other things too. About our travels—places we’d been, places wewanted to go, places we’d never willingly set foot in again, and places we couldn’t wait to get back to. And about random things: favorite superhero, favorite cartoon from when we were kids, favorite breakfast cereal.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smiled so much. My cheeks actually started to hurt by the time we got to dessert.
“Can we go out on the deck for a bit?” Nina asked as she scooped up the last of her strawberry sorbet. “It’s such a beautiful night.”
“Of course.”
I jumped up to pull out her chair and relished the fact that I had a clear head. Everything that happened from this point on would be deliberate.
