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“What do you say?” He failed to see the problem. She loved him. They’d known each other for a long time. Why wait years doing the whole long engagement followed by a big wedding media frenzy thing. His way, they could marry and start the next phase of their life without the annoying paparazzi and gossip mill getting involved.
“Derek, we can’t get married tomorrow,” she said incredulously.
“Why not?”
“Um, well, first of all, don’t you want your family there? You Sherbrookes are all about togetherness and family celebrations.”
He shrugged a shoulder, still not seeing a problem with his suggestion. “We can have a party and celebrate later. If we do it my way, we can escape without our wedding photos showing up on every magazine cover and Internet site. We’ll avoid months of fabricated articles in trashy magazines. Do you remember what it was like leading up to Trent and Addie’s wedding?” When he’d woken up, getting married hadn’t been on his to-do list. Sometime between when they left the Cape and arrived in Providence it had entered his mind. Now it was a permanent resident there.
“And the media had Sara and Christopher calling off their engagement every other month until their wedding. I don’t want to deal with all the BS, and I know you don’t either.”
“Derek, I’m not getting married on my lunch break.”
“It wouldn’t be on our lunch break.” Obviously she hadn’t been listening to him. “After work we can drive to Barrington. My father has the authority to marry us. We can put off a honeymoon until later in the summer.”
“Nope. I don’t need anything crazy like my sister had, but I do want a wedding dress, maybe some flowers, a sweet chocolate cake, and Cheyenne as my maid of honor. If I married you tomorrow, I wouldn’t have any of those things.”
“There’s no way for me to change your mind?”
“Sorry. I love you, but I won’t marry you tomorrow night.” Brooklyn reached for his hand and gave it a tug to get him moving again. “Besides, do you really want to get married without Allison there? She’d never forgive you.”
Brooklyn had a point. Allison would rip him a new one if he got married and she wasn’t there. He’d be pissed too if Allison and Rock decided to get married and not invite him. “How long will it take to plan the wedding you want?” When they reached the stairwell door, he pulled it open, but Brooklyn didn’t enter.
“Is this your idea of a marriage proposal? If it is, it stinks.”
He thought they’d already established he wanted to marry her.
“People usually get engaged somewhere nicer than an underground parking garage. There is often a ring involved too, in case no one told you.”
Perhaps his timing and location stank, but it didn’t change the facts. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Brooklyn. “We can shop for a ring tomorrow. Or if you’d rather wait until the weekend, we can head to New York or Los Angles Saturday.” Raising her hand, he kissed the top of it. “So will you marry me?”
Brooklyn opened and closed her mouth a few times. Finally sh
e broke into a wide grin and threw her arms around him, the momentum pushing him back into the railing. “Yes.”
“You had me worried there for a minute.”
“Yeah, right. You knew the moment you spoke what my answer would be.” She released him and retrieved her overnight bag, which he’d dropped on the ground when she launched herself at him. “Let’s go upstairs.”
He’d let her believe he’d known her answer. However, he hadn’t. Agreeing to marry him would cause even more turmoil with her parents. While he recognized her relationship with her family was nothing like the relationship he shared with his, she did love them.
Dion sat at the security desk when they entered the lobby, and he called out a friendly greeting when they passed by.
“So do you want to go ring shopping after work?” Derek asked as the elevator door opened at Brooklyn’s floor. “Or would you rather wait until we can visit somewhere else?”
“Maybe it’s silly, but I’d rather have you pick it out for me. Have it be a surprise.”
“Really? If that’s what you want, I’ll go alone.” Derek watched her unlock the door and push it open. The lights on inside immediately caught his attention. “Did you leave—”
“About damn time you got home.”
Donovan Novak’s voice brought them both to a standstill.
“Where the hell have you been? I called you all week, and I’ve been sitting here since two o’clock this afternoon waiting for you to come home.”
All the color drained from Brooklyn’s face and Derek put a reassuring hand on her waist.
“Dad, how did you get in?”
