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Now or never.
He took the corded phone, feeling very much like he was back in junior high, calling a girl for the first time. His pulse sprinted now, and he felt like he might throw up. He’d been so calm at the country club, and he didn’t know where these nerves had come from.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, his voice smooth and bright. “This is Blake Williams, and I have a very important question for one of our shoppers today.”
He turned from the customer service desk, and several people had stopped and were looking at him. Women. All women. All smiling.
He smiled back, his shoulders relaxing. “Lauren Keller, I’m in love with you. You’re my sun and my moon, and I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, loving you, and raising our family together. I’m up at customer service, and I’d love for you to make your way here and answer one question for me.”
Even the checkers had stopped ringing up items. It felt like the entirety of Shirley’s had stopped breathing entirely, and Blake basked in that moment.
“Will you marry me?” he practically bellowed into the phone and over the loudspeaker in the grocery store.
He lifted the receiver over his shoulder without turning, and Shirley took it.
Now he just needed Lauren to come up front and answer him. He noticed a couple of women turning toward the back of the store, then another, and another. He watched in their direction, and Lauren appeared at the end of an aisle.
She wore a stunned look on her face, like someone had just thrown a bucket of cold water at her, and she was trying to find air.
He lifted his hand as if she might not recognize him or be able to see him, and she walked toward him in those sexy heels.
He got down on both knees and dug in his pocket for the diamond ring. Praise the heavens, it was still there. He held it up as she arrived in front of him. “Well?” he asked, and it felt strange for his voice to be so quiet. “What do you think? Will you be my wife?”
Lauren looked at the ring and then him. “You’re insane, that’s what I think.”
Chloe twittered behind him, but Blake ignored her. “Is that a no?”
“No,” she said, and his heart bounced against his ribs. “I’m not saying no.”
“I don’t hear a yes.” He grinned at her.
Lauren’s smile grew by degrees over a few long seconds, and then she said, “Yes,” in a loud voice. “Yes, Blake, I’ll marry you.”
The same series of beeps filled the air as Blake slid the diamond onto Lauren’s left ring finger, and then Chloe drawled, “She said yes, folks!”
Applause filled Shirley’s, and Blake got to his feet and took Lauren into his arms. He held her tightly, and she did the same to him. He pulled back and gazed into her eyes as Chloe started blasting celebratory music through the store.
“I love you,” he said, barely able to hear his own voice. “I hope this gives you enough time to plan your spring wedding.”
“It does.” She smiled at him and ran her hand down the side of his face. “I love you so much.”
He kissed her then, and despite the people still watching, and Chloe catcalling, and all the music around them, he existed inside the slow, sensual touch of the woman he loved. It was just him and Lauren, and that was how Blake always wanted it to be.
* * *
