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“Actually,” she murmured with a thoughtful wince. “No. He never did ask her to marry him. The night he was going to propose out of some silly noble obligation he felt toward her because she was the first girlfriend he’d ever had, he learned she was cheating on him.”
“Oh, snap,” I breathed, wincing in sympathy for past Dad. “That must’ve sucked for him.”
“Well.” Mom made a sound in her throat that didn’t carry much sympathy. “It was great for me, though.” When my eyebrows shot up in surprise, she laughed and patted my arm, adding, “I snatched him up for myself that very night.”
I blurted out a chuckle and squeezed her fingers in congratulations. “Yes, queen,” I cheered. “Slay...”
Mom giggled and leaned against me. “The point is…” she went on after she’d calmed down, “your father made the wrong decision to commit himself for life to someone he didn’t truly love, all because he felt like heshould. Loyalty and duty are strong in the Hamilton genes. Maybe a littletoostrong. It was a blessing in disguise when she broke his trust and cheated on him. He never would’ve even looked at me like that and gotten to learn what true love was if she hadn’t. And I don’t want you to miss out on that either just because someone important to you needs help.”
“She’s not just important to me, Mom,” I swore. “She’s everything. She’s the rest of my life and the mother of your future grandchildren. Whenever I try to picture my future without her being my number one, I start to panic. I truly, honestly love her. I swear it. She… Fuck, she makes me feel special. And alive.”
When I realized how far down the cheesy road I’d just traveled, I flushed and groaned. “God. That sounds stupid.”
“No, it doesn’t. Not at all,” Mom assured. A smile bloomed across her face as she squeezed my arm, looking happy and proud. “It sounds perfect,” she promised me. “I’m so, so glad.” Blowing out a relieved breath, she added, “Thank God.”
Sighing out a pacified sound, she turned to face the rest of the room and watched the others search for Chloe’s perfect ring with me. Then she tipped her face to the side and rested it on my shoulder. “Want to hear something ironic? I think it was actually Pick who went with your father when he picked outmyring.”
I snorted. “No shit?”
Thatdidfeel ironic. It was as if Pick had already known, way back then, that he was orchestrating the existence of his future son-in-law by helping my parents get together.
Chuckling, I shook my head and then lifted my gaze as Teagan marched toward us, with all the others following her.
“We found it,” she announced proudly. “We found Chloe’s ring.”
Stretching her arms forward in a grand gesture, she tipped the open ring box to show me what lay nestled inside.
I peered at the sparkling diamond and gold that glittered up at me. To me, it looked like any other ring, but when I glanced around at all the eager, expectant faces that were trying to gauge my thoughts, I knew it wasn’t just any ring. Even Chloe’s mom and sisters looked excited by it.
“And you all agree?” I asked in amazement. “Unanimously?”
They nodded, so I glanced over at my mom.
A grin burst across her face, joyous tears gathered in her eyes, and she nodded too. “It’s perfect.”
“Okay, then,” I said and extended my hand toward Teagan, with my credit card fit between two fingers. “Get it.”
The others screamed in cheers, and more Champagne was poured.
33LUKE
Teagan made me stop by the hospital before heading home so I could show my brother Chloe’s ring while he was at work.
He was with a patient when I arrived, so I hung out in one of their waiting rooms until he could see me. It’d been a while since I had last heard from Chloe, so I shot her a text, not really expecting an answer since I figured she was still being interviewed.
Being forced to remember all that shit and retell it was going to no doubt be taxing on her. I already planned on suggesting that we make today another cheat day, then veg out in front of the television together, safely behind locked doors while watching movies and eating junk food. Between rounds of sex, of course.
There would have to be lots of sex for the rest of the day. Chloe liked sex. It’d make her feel better.
I grinned over those plans and dug the ring box out of my pocket as I tucked my phone away.
Flipping the lid open, I peered down at the symbol of my love for her and drew in a long breath. I was so eager to get this on her finger and make it official that I kind of wanted to propose as soon as I saw her again. But then, I also wanted to wait for something special. Maybe Teagan had been right; becoming engaged during this drama with Freston wasn’t the best idea.
But I wanted her to be happy. And if this put a smile on her face, it’d be worth it.
“Is that it?” my brother’s voice asked from nearby.
I snapped my head up to discover that JB had arrived. Wearing a white lab coat over blue scrubs with a stethoscope draped over his neck and a badge clipped to his front pocket, he looked like the model doctor.
