McKenna exhaled, letting the stress of the past twenty-four hours, maybe the past thousand hours, roll off her shoulders as the melody of Tricia and Guy’s song floated around them like the soundtrack from a movie.
She smiled at Nate. Oliver was here. And Bobbi was inside his arms. And a real celebrity concert was taking place. How in the world had they managed to get Tricia and Guy Scampy here? She’d have to find out later.
Right now she just wanted to soak up this perfect moment. The one she’d been waiting forever to see. McKenna even managed to toss the ring box to Oliver so that he caught it in one hand while still holding Bobbi.
Nate’s hand slipped inside McKenna’s. He gave her a wink. She squeezed his hand and did her best version of a wink back, then freed her hand so she could dig her camera out of her shoulder bag.
Her baby sister was about to get engaged.Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
Tricia’s voice started to wind down, the song nearly done. It was almost over. All the twists and turns. All the thwarted plans. The moment had finally arrived for Oliver to pop the question.
McKenna lifted her camera.
Except Oliver didn’t have time to ask anything. Bobbi had already pushed herself out of his arms and was dropping to both knees as the final note rang, her words rushed and shaky. “Oliver, will you marry me?Please?”
The song ended. And in that brief pause before all the applause started, everyone heard Oliver say loudly and clearly, without a single stumble or stutter, one simple word.
“No.”
Click.
“No?” said Bobbi, still on her knees.
“No?” said McKenna, lowering her camera.
“No?” said Georgie and Barb, latching on to each other as if they needed one another’s support to keep standing. Nate might need that support here too in a second.
“No,” said Oliver. “I mean, yes, but perhaps... perhaps no?”
What?Nate and Oliver might have a repeat performance of the first time they met. Only Nate would be doing the headbutting this time. “What exactly are you saying, Oliver? Do you want to marry Bobbi or not?”
“I do want to marry Bobbi,” Oliver said, looking at Nate while both Georgie and Barb sighed with relief.
Great.Nate waved a palm toward Bobbi with a tight smile.Now might be the perfect time to tell the woman still on her knees, pal.
“I do want to marry you,” Oliver said, crouching in front of Bobbi. “I love you. So much.”
“Then why do you sound like you’re not so sure about marrying me?” she whispered back as a much livelier song started up in the background. Good question. Nate was sort of wondering the same thing.
“Because I’m not so sure you’ll want to marry me when I tell you... I agreed to go to Germany.”
Georgie and Barb both gasped.
“I know. I’m a fool. I should’ve talked to you first. I’m so—”
“I do,” Bobbi said, grabbing on to Oliver’s hands.
“You do what?” he said.
“Still want to marry you.”
“Ohhh,” Georgie and Barb both sighed with relief as Nate met McKenna’s gaze. Why wasn’t McKenna sighing or smiling?
“But... but what about the Nebraska Sandhills?” said Oliver. “Your job with the Nature Conservatory? You said there’d be nothing for you to do in Germany.”
“Which is why I’m staying and keeping my job with the Conservatory until you get back.”
Bobbi was staying in Nebraska? What did that mean for McKenna?And why wasn’t she sighing or smiling?
