Dakota made a sound that got immediately strangled when Sawyer looked at him.
"I wasn't taking too long," Sawyer said.
"You absolutely were."
"I had a plan?—"
"You had intentions," I said. "A plan has steps."
Forrest, from the end of the table, covered his mouth with his coffee mug. His eyes were doing something warm and complicated above the rim.
"He doesn't have a ring," I announced to the room, because I was enjoying this.
"Sawyer," Millie said.
"It was spontaneous," he said. "There weren't a lot of options at the creek."
"He gave me his St. Christopher medal," I said, and touched it, and Millie's expression collapsed entirely into something soft and ruined.
"Sawyer," she said again, completely different this time.
He looked slightly uncomfortable, the way he did when something landed bigger than he intended. "It was what I had."
Millie pressed both hands to her face.
Gage put his arm around her, which was good, because she looked like she needed the structural support.
"I'm getting a real ring," I said. "With diamonds. We've already discussed it."
"Somediamonds," Sawyer said.
"Many diamonds."
"A reasonable number of?—"
"Sawyer."
"Yes," he said. "Many diamonds."
Adam appeared fully from the hallway, assessed the room in one sweep, and walked directly to Sawyer to shake his hand. "Well," he said, "it's about time."
"That's what Peggy said," I told him.
"Smart woman." He came to me next and took both my hands in his, and looked at me with those warm easy eyes that had never once made me feel like a guest at this table. "Welcome to the family, sweetheart. Officially."
My throat did something inconvenient.
"Thank you," I managed.
Wyatt shook Sawyer's hand without making a production of it. Haven hugged me, warm and genuine, Ethan squashed cheerfully between us. Dakota hovered until Sawyer gave him a look that clearly communicated *behave* and then he hugged me too, surprisingly carefully, and said quietly near my ear: "He's been gone on you since New Mexico. Just so you know."
"I know," I said.
"Good." He stepped back. Returned to his normal volume. "Someone should've told him sooner but he's stubborn as hell?—"
"Dakota…" Sawyer said.
"I'm just saying?—"
