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She took the small box out of his hand and opened it up and started to laugh. “You’re giving me a mini Jell-O mold.”
Kelsey was giggling at this point, his parents laughed too. “Take a closer look at it.”
It was yellow and he’d done it as light as he could so she could see inside. Many might think he was nuts putting the ring in there, but it’s not like it’d be damaged.
“Oh my God,” Hadley shouted. “What is in the center of it?”
“Guess you need to take a bite to find out,” her father said.
“No,” her mother said. “Just break it apart. I’ve got some handwipes here.”
“You knew?” Hadley asked her mother.
“We all did,” his mother said. “All but you.”
“Are you going to get it out?” he asked. “Or do you need me to do it for you? I know you like to do things on your own without help.”
She had tears in her eyes as she started breaking the Jell-O mold apart. The large diamond was free and he’d taken it out of her hand and cleaned it off with a wipe from Louisa.
He got on his knee in front of her. “I know it hasn’t been that long, but I think you just know when you do. I might have known the minute I saw you and tried to fight it off. I lost that fight pretty quickly.”
“I think we both did,” Hadley said. She was all but jumping in place.
He grabbed her hand. “Will you marry me, Hadley? Will you run this business with me like you’ve been doing for months? Turn it into the dream you just discovered you had. Make it into what you need for your cake business and make my dreams come true by being my wife?”
“Only you would throw food and a marriage proposal together,” Kelsey said.
“Hush,” his father told his twin.
“Yes!” Hadley shouted.
He slid the ring on her finger, pulled her up and hugged her tight, then gave her a big kiss and turned her.
He yelled up to the guys, “Now!”
The tarp came off and everyone saw the name of the new pub: “Hadley’s.”
“Duke,” she said. “What if I said no?”
“You weren’t going to. It’s this island after all. No one can resist a Bond descendant.”
She laughed at him. “If you say so. At one point I was thinking the legend hit me hard with you, but then told myself not to be silly.” She shook her head. “I just can’t believe you did this. And it looks just like the design for Duke’s.”
“Be silly,” he said. “I’m starting to realize that crazy legend has merit. And who knows? In time, each of our kids can have a restaurant named after them too, don’t you think? Together, we can make it work.”
“With you by my side, I can do anything,” she said.
“That’s my woman. Just as strong as I knew you could be!”
The End!
