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Setting the knitting needles off to the side, I stand from the chair and walk up to Adam.
Then I eagerly pluck the little black box from his hand.
I start to open the box when I suddenly remember something else.
Looking up at Adam through my lashes, I ask. “You won’t get mad when I play with Charlie now? And you’ll be nice to him?”
Jaw tightening and shoulders stiffening, Adam sharply nods his head.
Beaming up at him, I open the box, the lid snapping open.
Inside, resting against a bed of black crushed velvet, is a gold ring, the band encircled with a row of small, glittering diamonds.
I gasp in surprise.
I was hoping it was jewelry, but I didn’t think it really would be.
“Is this real?” I ask in disbelief.
Chest puffing out and lips curving with a smile at my reaction, Adam says, “Of course. My father helped me choose it.”
I glance back down at the ring in awe.
“Do you want me to help you put it on?” Adam asks when I just continue to stare at the ring, expecting it to disappear at any second.
“Yes!” I exclaim, looking up at him.
I’m so happy, I can barely contain it. I start to bounce on my toes a little out of excitement as Adam takes the box from me and carefully plucks the ring out between his fingers.
I thrust my hand eagerly in his face and wiggle my fingers playfully.
Adam’s eyes sparkle at me as he grabs my hand and slips the ring on my finger.
We both stare down at my hand, at how well the band fits around my little ring finger.
“It’s perfect…” I murmur, marveling at the sparkles in the diamonds as the light catches them.
“It’s a promise,” Adam says, sounding serious again.
I tear my hand away from Adam and hold it up closer to the light. Spinning in a little circle. “A promise?”
“Yes, it’s a promise ring, Abigail.”
Tearing my gaze away from the ring, I glance over at him to see him standing stiff once again.
“What’s a promise ring?” I ask, wondering why that seems so important to him.
Green eyes meeting mine and holding them, he says, “It means you promise to be mine.”
He looks so solemn, so serious, I can’t help but laugh. Tipping my head back, I giggle and spin in another circle, holding the ring back up to the light.
“Yours? That’s silly,” I giggle at him. “Why would you even want that?”
Walking up to me, Adam grabs my hand, pulling it down.
My giggles fading, I frown at him.
Adam grips my hand tightly in his. “Because you are mine, Abigail. My princess. And one day, when we’re old enough, we’ll be married.”
My joy fading a little, I try to pull my hand back but he keeps a tight grip on it. “I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?” Adam asks, his thumb rubbing against the ring, causing the band to feel warm against my skin.
Another giggle slips out of me, this one nervous. “You said you were giving me the present to say you’re sorry, and now you’re saying the present means we’re going to get married. Which one is it?”
“Both,” Adam answers quickly.
“Both?” I repeat, still confused.
“Yes, both,” Adam confirms with a slow nod of his head. “I am both sorry and wishing to get married. This ring is an apology and a symbol of my commitment.”
The word commitment causes me to giggle nervously again. There’s just something about it that’s incredibly silly to me.
“By wearing it, you’re also declaring you accept my commitment and set me above all others. No other boy will come before me.”
When I just stare at him wide-eyed, beyond confused and totally not comprehending what he’s trying to say, Adam sighs that big grownup sigh of his.
“It means you like me more than Charlie, and one day you’ll marry me and not him.”
I frown at that. “You said you wouldn’t get mad if I play with Charlie.”
Adam frowns back at me. “I won’t get mad, as long as you wear my ring and promise to like me more than him.”
I look down at the ring then back up at Adam.
While Charlie is nice, and I like playing with him, he’s not Adam.
He doesn’t hold doors open for me. He doesn’t keep sweets in his pockets for me.
He doesn’t make me feel like a real, special princess.
I’ve always liked Adam more than Charlie, so I really don’t have a problem with that.
Smiling, I say, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Adam repeats as if he’s surprised.
“Yes! Okay! Let’s get married!”
Giggling, I launch myself at Adam and hug him.
Adam stiffens in my arms at first as if he’s surprised but then he relaxes and hugs me back.
Unable to stay still for very long, I pull away from him and spin in another circle. Holding my ring back up to the light to admire it.
