“Are we done?” she asked as they juggled more bags than they could carry and had laughed more often than Annie had ever laughed while Christmas shopping.
“We’d better be,” John said, “because I’m hungry, and I think my card’s about to pull the plug on my account. Can we go back to Edgartown to eat?”
“I already planned to. How about the Town Bar and Grill?”
He did not disagree.
* * *
On the way back to Edgartown, they sat in the truck and held hands as if they were the teenagers in the family. But when they reached the restaurant, he asked her to go in and get a table; he said he needed to make a quick stop at the station and that he’d be right back.
His request seemed strange, but Annie was alone inside the vestibule almost before she knew it. The host escorted her to a table for two.
While waiting, she perused the menu that she already knew. Anyone who’d lived on the island very long knew most of the selections at the restaurants, especially the year-round ones. She set it down and wondered if lunch would be the right time to share Trish’s news. They’d had such a happy day. Would it add to the magic? Or break the spell? She wished she knew how he would react. Then again, she still wasn’t sure howshewould react once the reality set in, once she figured out how the deal would change her life, and if that’s what she wanted. Or not.
If she was very rich, she could do lots of things. Didn’t everyone wonder what they’d do if they won the lottery? She’d start by giving Kevin the money to either buy the house from Rex or build a new one. She could invest in turning the Inn into a wedding venue, which they’d talked about. It would require expansion, marketing, and a whole lot more, but it might be exciting. She could create college funds for Bella and the new baby. She would pay for Abigail and Lucy to go to college, too, if John would let her.
But her daydreams were abruptly interrupted when John sat down next to her.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi, yourself. That was fast.”
He smiled.
The server brought champagne.
Annie adjusted herself in the chair, pulling her thoughts back to reality. “What’s this?” she asked as the bubbly was being poured.
John shrugged. “I thought it was as good a time as any for our own Christmas celebration.”
She smiled back. She’d been with John long enough to know that he had a romantic side, but he didn’t usually show it while in public.
The server left, and John raised a glass. “To us.”
They clinked.
He took a sip, set down the flute, then reached into his pocket. And presented Annie with a small box.
“For you,” he said. “Merry Christmas.”
She laughed. “It isn’t Christmas yet.”
He shook his head. “But this is overdue. Open it.”
The box was wrapped in glossy red paper and tied with a white satin bow. She undid the ribbon and removed the wrapping. A leather cube stared back at her, the kind that jewelry—nice jewelry—came in. She looked at him again, smiled quizzically, and then opened it. Inside was a marquis-cut diamond. Not a huge one, but a gorgeous one. Surrounded by several small diamonds. And set in what looked like platinum. She sucked in her breath.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
She stared at the ring. “But . . .” They had decided she would forgo an engagement ring. Rings were expensive. Rings were ostentatious. And yet . . . and yet . . . this one was so beautiful. “John . . . ,” she uttered.
“It isn’t new,” he said. “Well, the big stone isn’t new. It was my grandmother’s. My mother’s mother. I had it reset with a few extra diamonds for you. Try it on.”
She raised her eyes. “The box is from Claudia’s. Is that where you just went?”
He smiled. “I can’t put anything over on you, can I? And yup, she reset it. I confess that I ran down the street to pick it up. I did not go to the station.” He took the ring. Annie held out her hand, he slipped it on her finger. It was a perfect fit—of course it was. Annie had taken one of her birth mother’s rings to Claudia’s to be fitted to her last year; the jeweler must have kept the order and known Annie’s exact size.
The almost newlyweds sat in the Grill, both of them fixated on Annie’s hand. Then John leaned over and kissed her. And she kissed him back. And the servers and the other patrons erupted in applause because, in Edgartown, in winter, everyone knew John. And now they knew Annie, too.
