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Boone buried a kiss in her hair. “I have a better idea.” His hands shifted to the sides of her waist and turned her to face him.
Laura let her hands slide to the top of his shoulders and tilted her head to one side in an alluring pose. “And what might that be?”
She hadn’t missed the touch of his right hand until it was there in front of her. But it wasn’t his hand that captured her attention; it was the small velvet-covered box it held. She stared at it, conscious of the exultant leap of her heart.
“What’s this?” Laura feigned ignorance even as her head told her the jewelry box had to contain a ring.
“Open it,” Boone instructed.
Careful not to allow more space to come between them than necessary, she took the box and snapped it open. There was nothing faked about her sharply indrawn breath of surprise as Laura caught her first glimpse of the ring. It was a marquise-cut diamond, the same pure yellow as the Texas sun, and just about as big and brilliant, set in a platinum mounting.
“Marry me, Laura.” His words had more the ring of demand than a proposal.
More than anything she wanted to slip the ring on and see how it would look on her hand. But Laura knew this was no time to appear too eager. Instead she looked up at him with questioning eyes. “Are you sure, Boone?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” The heat of need was in his voice and in the possessive rake of his eyes.
“In that case, my answer is ‘yes.’ ” She took the ring and slipped it on her finger. The fit was perfect, and the look of it was stunning, just as she had known it would be.
“Laura Rutledge,” she said, as if trying the name on for size, then declared with feeling, “I definitely like the sound of that.”
Boone didn’t bother with words to make his feelings known as his mouth claimed hers. Laura welcomed the crush of his arms and returned the heat of his kiss, for now holding nothing back.
The afternoon sunlight flashed on the ring as Laura ran lightly up The Homestead’s front steps, still riding on a triumphant feeling. She spared a backward glance at Tara, who followed more slowly.
“There’s so much to do, my head’s spinning just thinking about it all,” Laura said on a wondering note.
“You have to start first with ‘where’ and ‘when,’ ” Tara replied, ever the practical one.
“But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Laura crossed to the front door.
“You really need to bring a wedding consultant on board,” Tara told her.
“The sooner the better,” Laura agreed and opened the door. “Would you get the names of some for me?”
“Of course.”
Once inside the entryway, Laura set her small carry-on on the floor and called out, “Hello! Where is everybody?”
The answer came from her mother. “We’re in the living room.”
Eager to share her news, Laura sailed down the wide hall to the living room. Her bright-eyed glance made a sweep of her mother, grandfather, and Laredo, all seated in the room. She came to a stop when she saw that the man standing by the fireplace wasn’t her brother.
“Sebastian,” she said his name on a breath, soft and warm.
But it was the shining look in her eyes, completely uncalculated, that caught and held Jessy’s attention, though that moment of surprise and complete spontaneous reaction didn’t last.
“Hello, Laura. Surprised to see me?”
The minute Sebastian spoke, a practiced smile of beguiling charm curved Laura’s lips. “Surprised and pleased,” Laura declared, moving toward him. “And your timing couldn’t have been better. Now you can join in the celebration. Congratulations are in order.” She lifted her left hand and wagged her ring finger at him, letting the yellow diamond catch fire in the living room’s light.
Jessy’s estimation of the young Englishman went up a notch when he glanced at the ring and never turned a hair. “I think I am supposed to ask who the lucky fellow is?”
“Boone, of course.” Laura swung toward Jessy, but Jessy found it impossible to tell whether the excitement in her daughter’s expression was genuine. “He asked me last night. If it hadn’t been so late, I would have called you. Then this morning I decided I would much rather deliver the news in person. Have you ever seen such a rock?” She crossed to Jessy’s chair to give her a close-up look at the ring.
Chase leaned over to see it. “It’s yellow,” he observed dryly. “Is that for caution?”
“Well said,” Sebastian replied. But Laura ignored him as she gave her grandfather an admonishing look.
