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A hoot of laughter came from Jay. “Because we want to be here to watch when his heart breaks over a woman who won’t give him the time of day.”
Dirk snorted. “Not happening. I’m enjoying the bachelor life too much to give it up for one pretty face and hot body. No wife. No kids. No commitment. Speaking of commitment, when are you going to propose to the brainy Dr. Street?”
Heat crept up Bull’s neck, but he ignored the bait that would undoubtedly force him to admit he’d impulsively bought a ring weeks ago. Only one topic would shut him up. “Are you planning to call Ingrid while you’re in town?”
The low blow hit its target.
Dirk’s jaw tensed, but it was the only hint that the thought of contacting his former girlfriend from most of their middle and high school years bothered him. “Nope.”
The three of them fell back into superficial conversation after several minutes of awkward silence. Wives, girlfriends, and exes hadn’t been come up last year—or the previous several years. When they parted in the parking lot twenty minutes later, the impulse to ask Laurel to marry him hadn’t waned.
Setting the scene for a romantic Christmas Eve, prepping food for being snowed in, and chatting with his mom and dad about how their fortieth anniversary trip to Costa Rica was going helped distract him for a while at home.
Ten minutes before Laurel was supposed to arrive, he retrieved the small blue box from the end table in the living room. Each facet of the diamond sparkled in the light shining in the front window, promising something magical if he braved giving it to her.
The doorbell chimed, sending his gut spinning.
He shoved the ring in his pocket as he walked to the door. “It’s too soon. Be patient.”
A frown greeted him through the glass, but she stepped onto the rug when he gestured her inside, bringing in a chill that had nothing to do with the winter temperature and blowing snow. After a few stomps of her boots, she exhaled and looked up at him. The usual cheerfulness in her eyes was missing. They weren’t readable at all.
A surge of protectiveness swept through him. “Is something wrong?”
She twisted her gloved hands together and tilted her head. “I don’t know. You didn’t tell me about the blind date, even after I told you I lied about already having a date. Am I just a hook-up to you?”
Shame for not coming clean battled with the guilt the hurt in her words triggered, but his feelings didn’t matter. “No, you’re not a hook-up. I would never disrespect you.”
Her eyebrows dipped lower. “Then why didn’t you tell me you asked Jay to set us up?”
He bit his lower lip and rubbed the back of his neck. His embarrassment was a small price to pay for earning her trust. “I felt stupid for not being brave enough to ask you myself, especially since I had no idea if you liked me that way, and I didn’t want to risk your friendship. Not that it justifies hiding my actions.”
Her expression softened, but she deserved the whole truth.
He pulled the jewelry box from his pocket, recognizing his chance to fix his mistakes. His hand shook as he opened it in front of her. “I bought this a few days after the first time you invited me over for a cookout. Not once have you ever treated me like a big dumb jock, and I wanted to prove to you how special you are to me. Words are just words with nothing to back them up. I love you and I want to marry you if you’ll have me.”
She blinked at him, her eyes shining like she might cry. “I love you too, you big smart romantic, but I’ll only marry you after you practice communicating your feelings to me.”
Ecstatic to know she felt the same about him, he picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom. “I’m madly in love with you, and I want to show you how much right now.”
