Oh? Lucky’s heart pounded harder. “Yeah. Think you’d want to raise kids with a no-account ex-con like me?”
Bo rolled toward Lucky and lifted his chin with two fingers until their eyes met. “There’s no one else in this world I’d rather raise kids with.”
If Lucky’s heart kicked any harder it’d break out of his chest. “Charlotte talked to me a while back—”
“I know.”
What? Lucky sat up, staring down at Bo. “You know? How?”
A sheepish grin lit Bo’s face. “She talked to me too.”
“She did? Why didn’t you tell me?” Why didn’tshetell Lucky, more importantly?
Bo placed his warm palm against Lucky’s cheek. “Because I know how I felt about the matter, but if I’d mentioned it to you first, I worried you’d run. I needed to bide my time and wait for you to make the suggestion.”
“But…” Lucky stopped mid-protest. Bo knew him so well. “And?”
“I’ve looked into the legalities, our finances, our insurance plans and what they cover…”
Of course he did. “And?”
“And, with new opportunities at work that’ll hopefully keep us more homebound, I believe we might need to start furnishing that nursery.” He nodded toward the room Lucky spent far too much time in lately, dreaming.
“Are you sure?”
Bo pulled Lucky’s hand to his mouth and kissed the knuckles. “I’m sure.”
Only one thing kept Lucky from breaking into a grin. “I know the party was last night, but I’d like to give you one more present.”
“Oh?” Bo leered. “Something you couldn’t share with our guests?”
“Maybe.” This gift might be family-friendly, and not the sex toys he planned to take with them on vacation. Still, this gift needed to be given in private. Heart rate kicking back into overdrive, Lucky crossed the floor to pick up his pants, and the objects he’d kept in his pocket for weeks, hoping for the right opportunity.
Only now, what he planned to ask changed. Bo was right. They didn’t need vows to keep them together. Still…
He sat down on the bed and pressed a white gold ring into Bo’s hand.
Bo gazed up, confusion in his eyes. “Lucky, I—”
“I know,” Lucky murmured, forcing himself to look at Bo instead of turning away. “We don’t have to stand in front of a preacher or nothing, don’t have to sign no papers, but there’s nobody left that matters who doesn’t know we’re together. No pressure, but I’d appreciate if you’d wear that ring.”
Bo let out a shaky laugh. “Marking your territory?”
“No. It’s just that every time you look at this ring, you’ll remember I’ll always be there for you.” Lucky placed the other ring onto his own finger. “I hope you don’t mind, but I plan to always wear mine.”
Bringing the ring to his face, Bo examined the etchings on the outside, the mountain scenes, which reminded Lucky of Bo’s love of camping and hiking. A chuckle came when Bo peered inside the ring where Lucky had inscribed,Love always, T-Rex.“This isn’t the same ring you tried to give me months ago.”
“No. That was just some old ring I picked up in the middle of the night at Walmart. You deserve… better.”
The tears in Bo’s eyes tightened Lucky’s throat. He reached for the ring. “It was stupid of me, I’m sorry.”
Bo yanked back his hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. “Thank you, Lucky. I don’t know what to say but that I’ll always love you too. T-Rex.”
