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“Oh my God!” Peggy flung her arms around Minty, while Em looked on with the expression of someone who’d just met their long-lost twin. “I can’t thank you enough, Minty. Thank you for taking care of my sister.”
“You’re quite welcome,” Minty said, smugly. Then she turned to Em and became instantly engrossed in conversation, as though they’d known each other for years.
The sound of metal tapping against glass drew our attention to the front of the room where Hector stood commanding everyone’s unwavering focus.
I looked sideways at Minty and watched her eyes roam him with a mixture of pride and hunger. I knew that feeling all too well. Before I could think too hard on it, Rupert’s presence warmed my left side. I looked up at him but his eyeline didn’t falter; he simply stared straight ahead at his brother.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“You’ll see,” he replied, not gracing me with a glance.
The lights dimmed and Rupert’s hand found mine in the darkness. Every part of my body sighed at the contact and I had to concentrate on keeping myself together as we simply stood doing something as innocent as holding hands.
“I’d like to make a short announcement,” Hector began.
The room rang with the sound of low murmurs, the words of people who were as clueless as me as to what Hector had up his sleeve.
“As you know, Rupert and I have run Blackcap Distillery for a number of years with a great deal of love, care and pride.”
The room answered with nods and mutterings of agreement.
“We love that business but it’s time to move on. We don’t want to close it down; it’s too iconic a brand, and a real asset for Crow and its inhabitants.”
Everyone seemed to hold their breath. I, however, was being distracted by Rupert fiddling in his pocket with the same hand he’d captured mine in. I forced myself to focus on what Hector was saying.
“We’ve decided to hand the keys over to people we believe are perfectly placed to take this whisky business forward and make it a flagship brand for this island.”
Rupert’s hand finally stopped roaming around his pocket and he flipped it so his thumb was pressed against my palm, holding it still.
“Jasper and Arran,” Hector said, his eyes searching the crowd, “we would be honoured if you would take this business on as your own. We think you have the perfect skills, mindset and ability to make Blackcap Distillery the most famous and credible distillery in Scotland.”
A roar went up in the room as Jasper and Arran emerged, propelled towards Hector by slaps on the back. My heart expanded watching two of Rupert and Hector’s most unlikely, yet most loyal, supporters take to the stage. Then, as a cool metal band slipped over my ring finger, my heart collapsed into a heap. I went to lift my hand but Rupert held it tight. Without even looking at me, he whispered, “Shh. You can give me your answer later. Just let me enjoy this moment. Feeling my ring on your finger.”
I didn’t hear a damn word anyone else said for the following ten minutes. Even as Rupert chaperoned me around the room, talking to acquaintances I’d never met, introducing me as his girlfriend and partner, I didn’t digest a syllable. I desperately wanted to lift my hand so I could see exactly what he’d slipped onto my finger but he held it in a vice, his fingers warming the delicate band.
After another thirty minutes, the suspense and the stomach-wrenching desperation of wanting to accept him entirely got the better of me. I lifted myself onto tiptoes and brushed my lips across the shell of his ear. “My answer is yes,” I whispered.
For a second or two, he didn’t respond. He simply closed his eyes and breathed deeply, his nostrils flaring. Then his head turned a fraction, his lips catching my cheek. “I want to see that rare diamond curled around my cock in no less than one hour.”
Panic infused my chest. “But my sist—”
He turned again, this time his nose brushing mine and his lips tasting the corner of my mouth. “One hour,” he said with a growl that seemed to come from the pit of his stomach.
I swallowed heavily and muttered something that sounded like ‘yes’ but my throat was so dry I could have said anything. In a beat, his eyes softened and his warm hand cupped my jaw. “I’m going to make you the happiest woman that ever lived.”
“You already did,” I said with a smile.
He gripped my hand one last time, then disappeared again into the crowd, leaving me speechless and significantly heavier. I lifted my hand and stared at the glistening rock he’d just imparted. It wasn’t huge, which I was thankful for, but it was as clear as spring water, with an icy blue sheen. No imperfections at all. It must have been rare indeed. In the shimmer of light, I caught a glimpse of Arran. He was hugging a frail woman who sat by the makeshift stage. A smile spread across my face when I recognised his mum, his lifelong supporter. Rupert appeared next to them and after a few seconds, Arran’s mum embraced him too. I didn’t think my heart could take any more. I raised my hand to wipe the beads of sweat from my brow.
“WHAT. The FUCK. Is THAT?”
I turned to see none other than Minty gawping at – and possibly salivating over – my ring.
“Um, a ring?” I said, cringing.
“Are you ENGAGED?”
“Shh, keep it down,” I said, glancing around and hoping no one had heard. “I think so.”
