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“I need you,” I say, proffering the ring for her admiration.
“Oh, wow, this fits perfectly,” she declares as she slides it on.
“It doesn’t,” I tease. “And that’s okay. You can pick out a nice ring on shore sometime, anything you want.”
“This is a nice ring,” she argues. Her face says that she loves it, and I decide to take it as the success that it is.
“Third time’s the charm,” I say, and she smiles.
“That the number of people you’ve made rings for?” she asks playfully.
“The amount of lifetimes I want to spend with you,” I reply. I gaze at her and see nothing but love in her eyes. “For starters,” I continue, qualifying my statement with a wink. “We’ll see how I feel after that.”
“Ditto,” she says, motioning for me to hold out my hand. When I do, she slides on the ring that she made me. It can only fit on the pinky, but it’s better than nothing. “How does it feel?”
I pause for a moment, considering the question. It’s tight, and it only feels tighter with each passing second. Then it stops feeling… Well, it stops feeling like much of anything. “It’s still there, right?”
I try rolling the ring off my finger, but it doesn't work right away. In a flash, I’m searching my back pockets for my usual Swiss army knife. I’m elated that we’re in the middle of the ocean and not on the side of the road.
I manage to pull the army knife out, but it clatters to the deck before I can use it.
“Nope, I got it,” Shauna offers, scrambling to pick it up. I’m busy rubbing my currently purple-tipped pinkie with two fingers.
“Nope,” I echo. “I was hoping that wouldn’t fall out of your mouth when asking you to marry me.”
She kisses me, nearly taking my breath away but not quite. It takes her decadent smile to do that as she pulls back.
“I hate to break the mood, but if you don’t get this off, I might lose the finger,” I remind her. She giggles and hurriedly complies, making her way through the fishing string so that my finger is once again free.
“Sorry. I guess my ring was more like a trap,” she apologizes. She bites my chin playfully, and I can feel her shoulders shake in what I assume is gentle laughter.
“Your bite skills could use some work.”
“Are you offering your fiance lessons? Because your fiance is accepting.” She kisses me again. “Promise we’ll outmaneuver clumsy mobsters forever.”
“If they keep coming, absolutely. I’d like to hope we can branch out someday, maybe outmaneuver clumsy salesmen or something new, but I’ll take what I can get.” I rub my fingertips up and down her arm, and I can see the goose pimples rushing on her skin at the touch.
Before long, we’re kissing again. My hands are all over her, and I feel a deep rumble coming from my chest. I run my hands through her brown hair, which has started growing out during this trip.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” I confess. “Shauna, Clarissa. Whatever you want me to call you. Every version of you is a dream come true.”
She smiles. “I love you, too. More than anything. Bagels included. Crepes even included!” She plays with one of my earlobes, then the other. For a big, tough man, I feel a little like melting butter.
“I was waiting for you to include the crepes,” I say instead.
“You can cross it off your bucket list then,” she replies, and I savor the taste of my fiance’s lips, glad I’ll be able to endlessly.
The End
