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“You mean, besides Cletus?”
“Oh God.” He hung his head. “I forgot about Cletus. That's a life sentence.”
“Kind of like Shiraz,” I said, hoping I’d made my point.
“Cletus,” he mumbled, shaking his head as he started picking the same sweet melody as before.
I nodded towards his guitar. “I like that. It’s nice.”
“I know. Can’t get it out of my head.”
“Does it have a name?”
A playful smile pricked his cheeks. “I can’t name it until I know if it’s a boy or a girl.”
“What about gender-neutral names?” I asked. “Like Charlie or…Peyton.”
“I don’t hate Charlie.”
“It disturbs me that that feels like progress.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time. And if we can’t decide, we’ll always have Shiraz and Brewski to fall back on.”
I sighed. “Small mercies.”
“Speaking of progress, would you toss me a pick?” he asked, lifting his chin towards the black metal tin at my end of the coffee table. “I’ve been working on another little ditty you might like.”
I gripped the back of the couch so I wouldn’t dump Otis on the floor as I reached for the case on the table. “Little Ditty,” I muttered, thinking that would be even worse than Shiraz as I settled back against the pillows. “Any pick in particular?” I asked, popping the tin open.
But when I dropped my eyes, there were no picks to be plucked. There was just a single, platinum ring with a big, fat halo diamond in the center of it. I looked up at Finn, and he cleared his throat before sweeping his hands across the guitar strings in an attention-getting strum.
“I only want to play naked pancakes with you,” he sang.
“Maybe knock you up another time or even a few.
“Will you marry me, baby? Please say I do?
“I only want to play naked pancakes with you.”
I stared at him, closing my mouth when I realized it was hanging open. “Was that a serious proposal?”
“No,” Finn said, setting his guitar aside. “But this is.” He rose off the couch, took two steps towards me, and pinched the ring from the case in my hands. Then he dropped to one knee and lifted it between us as his eyes found mine. “I know it doesn’t seem all that long ago that you strolled into my bar, sat on my stool, and had your life changed forever by my enchanting personality and dulcet tones.”
I laughed through my smile.
“But falling in love with you has been the greatest adventure of my life, and I never want it to end.”
I swallowed the swell of emotion rising in my throat.
“And for the record, I’m not asking because you need to marry me,” he said. “You don’t need to. I’m going to love you forever either way.”
I bit my lip and blinked to clear the tears pooling in my eyes.
“But if you want to,” he said. “I’d love to call you my wife.”
I licked my lips and tried to memorize the loving expression on his face, the way it felt to hear him say those words. “I don’t want to get married,” I said finally.
His smile wilted.
