Inside is a ring with a band made of twined gold and silver vines. At the top blooms a golden rose, and in the center is a perfectly clear diamond.
She slips it onto my finger, and I slide off the bed and into her arms. Morgan catches me with a laugh.
I lean into her and hold up my hand. “Where do you evenfindsomething like this?”
“It’s custom.”
“Oh… Mor, wait, this was… premeditated?”
“Extremely. I may have been… stalling, planning the perfect proposal. Inviting you tonight was Eileen giving me a kick in the balls. Which I deserved.”
“No kidding,” I say, trying to find some levity again. “I’ve been crying myself to sleep and—”
Morgan looks stricken.
I swallow hard.
She cradles my cheek in her hand. “You broke your promise.”
“I… I did?”
“To tell me when I hurt you in a way you don’t want to be hurt.”
I press her hand against my cheek. “I’m sorry,” I murmur.“I’ll do better.”
“I did think about texting you, maybe dating remote for a while, but… I wasn’t going to be able to handle it. Talking to you and not being able to hold you, touch you. So I’m… I’m sorry I held out on you. And I wanted to besurethat my feelings ran deeper than just… hormones.”
“Do they?” I breathe.
Morgan grabs my hand and lifts my ring back into my field of view, her expression emphatic.
I blink. “I’ll… take that as a ‘yes.’” It’s slowly settling in. “So, this means we have… a wedding to plan?”
“Give me your wish list. Anything. I’ll do the planning. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
“So…Eileenwill do the planning.”
Morgan laughs. “You catch on fast.”
#
MORGAN
Jamie is still on-edge, and I can smell his anxiety. I wrap my arms around him where we sit on the floor, pulling his back to my chest and tucking my chin over his shoulder.
“O-okay. This is happening…”
“You’re hesitating.”
“I just… I want to be with you more than anything. I really do. But… I don’t want you to regret moving too quickly. I don’t want you to feel… stuck with me.”
“I want to be stuck with you,” I murmur.
“I… I don’tneeda wedding to feel… to be… yours. I’m not sure I…wanta wedding. It seems like… a lot of fuss.”
I force my breathing to stay even. “Jamie,” I plead, “if I am going to claim you,permanently, it’s the least I can do. Let me fuss over you. Let me parade you around, show you off. Dress you in pretty things. Could you do that for me?”
His heart flutters under my touch. If I couldn’t smell thechange in his scent, the desire that he’s finally letting through, I’d be panicking right now.
