AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’d purchased two diamond rings from the shop already. He knew the master jeweler there; had sold him a house a couple of years ago. He made beautiful, custom pieces—and he accepted returns if the woman said no.
Ty’s heart squeezed painfully in his chest, causing him to gasp for air. He wasn’t sure what shape a human heart was, but his suddenly felt like it had morphed into a cube only two inches big.
“You’re not doing this,” he told himself. He even locked the doors, as if that alone would keep him in the vehicle. He and Sage had not spoken about marriage again, not since June. She hadn’t told him she loved him; she’d given him no indication—other than the way she melted into his embrace, kissed him hello and good-bye, spent all her spare time with him—that she’d say yes if he showed up on two knees wielding a diamond.
He’d been here before; he would not do this again. He would not go into a situation where he didn’t know if the woman he was proposing to would say yes or not.
“She’ll say yes.” His whispered words sounded like a manifestation, not a fact. They sounded like the desires of his heart, not something he knew intellectually.
With indecision raging through his whole body, he turned off the vehicle. Got out. Walked to Steiner’s in a matter of minutes.
“Ah, hello, Mister Parker,” a woman said with a bright smile. She wore a straight dress in all-black, with black heels, and minimal jewelry around her neck, at her ears, or on her hands. She’d have perfectly manicured fingernails, though, and he smiled at Rose.
“Good morning, Rose.” His eyes moved to the case in front of him; his pulse danced as if he’d dropped it onto a hot tin roof and told it to survive. “I’m—” His voice broke. “I’m looking for something…simple. Elegant. Something that makes a statement without being obnoxious.”
Plenty of people in Hilton Head had money, and plenty didn’t. At Steiner’s, they had something for everyone, or so they claimed, and Ty followed Rose toward the back of the store as she asked, “Is this an engagement ring, Mister Parker? Or something for your sister’s birthday?”
He smiled, but it felt plastic and brittle, like it might break off his face if he let it linger too long. “Well, I don’t have a sister, Rose, so I’m going to go with an engagement ring.”
She looked at him with knowing and compassion in her eyes. “I understand, Mister Parker. Let me show you something new Gentry has been working on.”
30
Sage held Ty’s hand as they wandered along the line of booths at the Heritage Festival. She loved things like this, and she’d already been back to the car once to deposit the tea towels, the facial scrub, and the water bottle she’d purchased.
She marveled that every booth here belonged to someone local, a business who served the population of Hilton Head all summer, and year-round too. The Salon Mionic had gotten a booth this year when Sage had mentioned to Barb, her boss, that she’d seen others in the beauty industry at the festival last year.
Ah, last year’s festival.
Sage had helped Bessie set up and take down her booth. She’d wandered around with friends. She’d met Ty for the concert in the park—exactly what they were doing this year too. He’d told her he went every year, and he’d understand if she didn’t want to go with him.
She’d laughed and said, “I didn’t have a bad time on that date, Ty. I just…wasn’t sure about you.” She’d been flirty and fun, and she’d almost expected him to ask her if she was sure about him now.
He hadn’t.
He didn’t know the band this year, and they’d come far earlier so they could walk around the booths, then get dinner, then watch the concert. He’d brought the same camp chairs they’d sat on over the Fourth of July, and Sage felt more her age than she had last year.
She felt more like herself.
“Look at these,” she said, taking Ty over to a booth with cast iron everything in it. “You need something like this for those Dutch pancakes you were trying to make last weekend.”
“Tryingto make?” he asked. “Ididmake those just fine.”
She smiled at him, because he wasn’t annoyed or upset, and picked up a tiny little pan that would make a pancake that would just fill a dinner plate. “Look at this. It’s adorable.”
“They crisp everything up better than anything,” a man in the booth said. “Hey, Ty.”
“Stanley.” Ty shook the man’s hand. “How’s it been going this year?”
“Just great,” Stanley said. He looked at Sage, his smile big and round. “This—”
“This is Sage Grady,” Ty interrupted. “We’re seeing each other.”
“Oh, great,” Stanley said. “He definitely needs to make you pancakes with this pan.”
“I agree,” Sage said, already moving to get out her thread wallet. “I’ll take that little one.”
“Sage.” Ty wore a suppressed smile in his voice, but Sage didn’t stop getting out her card. “You’re going to have to carry that around.”
