Maddock clenched his teeth. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were planning, Cheydan? I’m your twin brother, for heaven’s sake. How will Amanda feel if you propose to her sister tonight?”
Maddock knew she’d spend the whole week wondering if he was going to do the same, feeling either jealous or terrified.
Maddock planned to propose to her eventually. Their future together was sealed the moment he worked a miracle for her, forging a permanent bond. But Amanda was still a teenager, barely 18, and Maddock figured he should wait till… whenever. He didn’t really have a plan yet; he was the impulsive one. He never figured Cheydan would beat him to the punch.
Cheydan gulped and winced, feeling like a jerk. He hadn’t given much thought to Amanda’s feelings. “I just didn’t want you to do it first, I guess.”
“When do you plan to get married? Next week?”
“No, not right away. I just wanted to make it official, you know? Seal the deal.”
Maddock smirked and brushed imaginary dust off Cheydan’s shoulder. “I think you’re just afraid she’ll get a better offer.”
Cheydan slugged his brother and pushed him out the door.
Their parents were waiting for them in the lobby. Luciana Engel’s flowing sundress hugged her generous curves, and her large, dark, spiral curls frizzed in the humidity. She fanned herself with a brochure for a dinner theatre.
Her husband Isaiah’s loud Hawaiian shirt attempted to draw the attention away from the pale white legs sticking out of his cargo shorts. He was dozing in a chair with his head lolled back.
The boys didn’t have a chance to say much before their attention was diverted by two stunning twin angels. Lissy and Amanda were sunshine and spring grass in matching flirty dresses — Lissy in yellow and Amanda in green. Their long, mahogany hair was brushed out in shiny, flowing waves that draped their bare shoulders, and their lips glistened with bright red gloss.
Maddock and Cheydan gazed in speechless appreciation as the girls made their way towards the family, happy smiles lifting their pink cheeks. Simultaneously, the boys reached for their respective partners and kissed the on the cheek, pulling them in tightly to their side.
“Oh, it makes a mother’s heart so happy to see both her boys in love.” Luciana held her hand to her chest and swooned. “Isn’t it just wonderful, darling?” She nudged her husband who bobbed his head forward and looked around in confusion.
“Are we ready to go eat?” he asked, pulling himself from the chair with a grunt. Everyone nodded, and they followed him out to an SUV and headed off in the direction Luciana pointed.
“Why are we eating here? We own an Italian restaurant. We eat it every day,” Maddock asked as his father pulled their rental car into the parking lot of a nearby restaurant.
“I have to keep tabs on the competition, no?” Luciana said.
“Mom, we live more than 700 miles away. We’re not exactly competing for the same market,” Cheydan replied.
“But what if their food is better than mine; I need to know that, no? I cannot just rest on my laurels as the best Italian chef in Indianapolis. I must continue to strive for excellence.” Luciana’s Italian accent grew thicker when she was passionate about an issue, and she spat out the words with vehemence, waving her arms for effect.
Her sons just rolled their eyes at each other, and Cheydan mouthed an apology to the girls.
There was a thirty minute wait for a table for six, and Maddock tried to persuade his mother to go somewhere else, but she was adamant. Cheydan and Lissy found a tiny nook where they could talk in private while they waited, and Maddock grew nervous as he watched them whispering to each other with stars in their eyes.
Would his brother actually go through with his plan to propose to Lissy tonight? There was no way Maddock could let Cheydan one-up him like that, not to mention how it might make Amanda feel. Maddock would either have to propose to his own girlfriend tonight, too, or prevent his brother from doing so.
He wondered briefly if Cheydan had a ring already, but he knew immediately that he did. Cheydan planned everything to the tiniest detail, and he didn’t do anything halfway. Maddock stared at his brother’s pockets, looking for a telltale bulge, and sure enough, a rounded square the size of a ring box poked out from his right front pocket.
Maybe he could swipe it from him. Cheydan would freak out if he couldn’t do everything just right, so if he went to propose and realized the ring was missing, he’d postpone until he found it.
Maddock just needed a little more time to get his own ring for Amanda, so stealing Cheydan’s ring might be the perfect way to stall him. Even better, Maddock could sneak a peek and see exactly what kind of ring Cheydan had picked out. It wouldn’t do for Maddock to get something smaller.
“So, what’s the plan?” Amanda alternated between twisting her fingers and pulling on the hem of her dress. She’d never been on a vacation like this before, and she’d never been anywhere with Maddock’s whole family, so she had no idea what to expect.
Maddock was too busy scheming, thinking of ways to snatch the ring from Cheydan, to notice Amanda’s nervousness.
“Huh?” He swung his head around to her, a crazed look in his eyes. Had he said something out loud?
“I mean, what does your family like to do while you’re down here?”
“Oh, right, yeah.” Maddock turned his focus towards Amanda for a moment. He tilted his head, confused by the scared look in her bright green eyes.
“Uh, we usually pick a couple things we want to do together and spread them out throughout the week, but the rest of the time we just hang out at the beach and relax.”
“What kinds of things do you do together?”
“Sometimes we go to the waterpark or go parasailing. Mom likes to go shopping at the Boardwalk. Dad likes to go to the movies — to get out of the sun. I like trying new restaurants.” Maddock wiggled his eyebrows and patted his belly.
Amanda smiled, relaxing a little. None of those things sounded too intimidating, except maybe parasailing, but it also sounded kind of fun.
Maddock took her hand and ran his fingers up and down hers, looking intently at them. When Amanda gave him a questioning look, he squeezed her hand and smiled, dropping it in his lap.
They made small talk throughout dinner. Luciana alternated between telling embarrassing stories about her sons and offering a running commentary on everything from the decorations to the dessert.
“Well, their appetizers were certainly unique, but their entrees were a little lacking, and that tiramisu was just disgraceful,” she announced when the meal was over. The others wisely murmured in agreement to avoid an argument.
When they rose from the table, Maddock took advantage of the moment to stick his fingers in Cheydan’s pocket and pull out the ring box. He quickly cracked it open and gasped at the size of the diamond solitaire nestled in soft, black velvet. The noise caught Cheydan’s attention, and he turned around, immediately grabbing the box from his brother’s hand.
“What the heck are you doing, Maddock?” Cheydan growled through gritted teeth.
“I just wanted to see it!” Maddock held up his hands innocently.
“You could’ve just asked, you know. What if Lissy had seen you do that?”
Maddock shrugged and stuck out his lip.
Cheydan wrapped his hand tightly around the ring box and shoved it in his pants pocket, holding on for dear life.
“Did you kids want to go back to the hotel now, or is there someplace you’d like to go tonight?” Isaiah asked, climbing in the driver’s seat of the SUV.
“I’d like to go for a walk on the beach tonight; the weather’s perfect,” Cheydan said with a twinkle in his eye, and Maddock’s eyes grew wide with fright. That sounded way too much like a romantic proposal location to him.
“No, I don’t want to go back yet; it’s still early! And besides, we’re right next to the SkyWheel. Let’s go for a ride!”
“Oh, that sounds fun!” A
manda smiled. She’d seen pictures of the giant Ferris wheel online and was eager to ride it.
“I’d like that, too,” Lissy said. “We have all week to walk on the beach, right?”
Cheydan nodded reluctantly, and his father steered the car towards the attraction.
“There’s only room for four in each gondola,” Cheydan said as they waited in line for a turn. “We’ll have to split up.” He clasped Lissy’s hand, and Maddock instantly knew what he was thinking. A sky-high view of the shoreline from a private gondola was even more romantic than a walk on the beach.
Maddock swung his head back and forth between the three couples, scrambling to foil his brother’s plan.
“I’m pretty sure it can hold six, but if not, Amanda and I will go with Cheydan and Lissy, and you can guys can go up alone,” Maddock offered, winking at his parents.
Cheydan gave him a perturbed look, but Maddock pretended not to notice. When the ride attendant approached them, Maddock quickly asked if all six of them could go together, and the man agreed.
Maddock climbed in first, pulling Amanda onto the bench next to him, then he called to Lissy to join them as well. Cheydan sighed as he took the open spot on the bench across from them, next to his parents.
“This is amazing,” Lissy cooed, laying her head on her sister’s shoulder as they watched the ocean disappear beneath their feet.
Cheydan scowled; she was supposed to be saying that to him right about now. Maddock grinned and squeezed Amanda’s hand, proud of his quick thinking.
They all gazed in silence as the giant wheel spun slowly around the sky, giving them a bird’s eye view of the coastline.
When the ride was over, it was still early, and Maddock wracked his brain trying to figure out what to do next to stall his brother. Their mother’s affinity for shopping helped him out.
“I’m ready to go now, how about you?” Cheydan asked.
“Oh, since we’re right here, let’s walk a little bit, shall we? There’s some lovely boutiques nearby,” Luciana suggested.
“That’s a great idea!” Maddock said just a little too exuberantly for a guy who normally hated shopping.
He’d never paid much attention to the stores, but surely there was a jeweler nearby. Maybe he could pick up a ring for Amanda, and then he wouldn’t have to prevent Cheydan from proposing. He didn’t really want to spoil his brother’s moment, he just didn’t want it to mess things up with his own girlfriend.
They strolled two by two down the sidewalk, peeking into windows, letting Luciana decide which shops were worth exploring, until Maddock spotted a jewelry store. His mind went into overdrive, devising a plan to separate himself from the group.
“I need to use the restroom,” he called out when they had passed the jewelry shop and he hadn’t come up with a better idea.
“There was a cafe back that way that should have one. You guys go on ahead; I’ll catch up.”
“I need to go, too. I’ll go with you,” Amanda said, and Maddock cringed. He couldn’t buy her a ring if she was with him!
“Me, too,” Lissy chimed in. When Cheydan offered to walk with her, Maddock’s hopes sunk to the ground.
“We’ll just wait for you all in that gift shop across the street. They have the most darling accessories.” Luciana pointed, and the teens headed back towards the cafe.
“Uh, I might be a minute,” Maddock blurted, red-faced. “Why don’t you guys go ahead to the gift shop when you’re ready. I’ll be there in a bit.” Great, now his girlfriend was going to think he was feeling constipated.
The two sets of twins entered their respective bathrooms, and Maddock claimed a stall. As soon as Cheydan left the bathroom, Maddock dashed out of the diner and towards the jewelry store, his head swiveling wildly to make sure no one saw him. He burst into the jewelry shop and crashed into the glass counter, his heavy breathing drowning out the soft elevator music that drifted throughout the elegant space.
“Can I help you, Son?” a distinguished-looking old man in a pin-striped suit with large, gold rings on several fingers asked him, raising an eyebrow.
Maddock decided the truth would probably work in his favor. “Sorry, I’m trying to get a minute away from my girlfriend. I want to propose to her, and I need a ring.”
The salesman’s eyes lit up at the promise of a pricey sale, and he led Maddock over to a display of engagement rings so sparkly that Maddock had to squint to make out the individual pieces. Diamonds of every shape and size fought for attention in the velvet-lined case, and Maddock felt instantly overwhelmed by the choices.
The ring Cheydan had bought was stylish and sophisticated, a lot like Lissy, But what would Amanda like? She didn’t wear any other jewelry for him to compare, and most of her clothing had been given to her when she was a homeless runaway. Who knew if she even liked the girly style of her current wardrobe? Maybe she preferred something simpler. Maddock froze, unsure what to do.
“Might I make a suggestion, sir?” the salesman asked, pulling out a tray of rings.
Maddock nodded eagerly.
“Do you have a picture of her?”
Maddock pulled out his phone and hit the home button to illuminate it. His favorite picture of Amanda was on the lock screen. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and she was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, albeit designer ones since they had been a gift from Risse Arella, Maddock’s fashion-obsessed friend. Amanda was kneeling on the ground, tying the shoes of one of the homeless children who stayed at the shelter where they volunteered, a gentle smile warming her face. Seeing it reminded Maddock of exactly who she was, and suddenly he knew what he wanted.
“How about this one?” The salesman held out a ring, beautiful in its simplicity. The large diamond was nestled deep in it’s setting so it wouldn’t easily catch on things; she could wear it no matter what she was doing. It was clearly expensive, but not over the top extravagant. It was perfect.
Maddock pulled out his wallet and handed over a credit card. He didn’t even care how much it was. That ring was made for Amanda.
The salesman rang up the purchase and tucked the ring in a tiny box then unfolded a stiff, shiny bag with the store logo embossed in gold.
“That’s not necessary,” Maddock said, pocketing the ring box. The salesman smiled and nodded, and Maddock turned and hurried out of the store, glancing to make sure no one could see him as he exited.
He took a deep breath to calm himself and plastered on a casual smile before entering the gift shop. A seashell wind chime tinkled overhead, announcing his arrival, and Amanda looked up at him and smiled like he’d been gone for days instead of minutes.
She was holding up two hooded sweatshirts with Myrtle Beach embroidered across the front. “Which color looks better on me — the coral or the turquoise?” She held each one under her chin in succession for Maddock’s perusal.
But Maddock couldn’t get his eyes to look away from hers long enough to notice the color of the sweatshirts. He stared into them, fingering the tiny box in his pocket, imagining how those eyes would look when he asked her to marry him. His heart started thumping against his chest as he played out the scene in his head.
When they fell in love, he knew he would love her forever, but the concept of forever had never meant so much to him as it did in that moment, when he realized he truly did want to spend the rest of eternity with her by his side.
That morning, he’d been excited just to have her near, to call her his girlfriend and know that she loved him. Now, he didn’t know if he could wait another minute before dropping to one knee and begging her to be his bride.
“You look great in every color, Amanda.” Maddock leaned in and kissed her, unable to resist making some kind of contact.
“Get whichever one you like.” She picked the blue one and headed towards the counter where the others were buying various trinkets.
“Can we please go back to the hotel now?” Cheydan begged once everyone had purchased their souvenirs.
The drive back was quiet, both boys practicing scenarios in their heads.
“Would you still like to go for that walk on the beach, Cheydan?” Lissy asked once they arrived, surprising him. “It’s so nice out, and we haven’t even been down to the water yet.”
Cheydan smiled, touching his hand to the lump in his pocket. “That sounds perfect.”
“Can we go, too, Maddock?” Amanda begged, grabbing his hand.
Maddock glanced at Cheydan whose eyes were pinched together in silent warning. Maddock grinned and gave him a wink.
“Sure, babe. But let’s walk in the opposite direction so we can have some alone time, okay?”
“That would be nice,” Amanda agreed, and Cheydan breathed a sigh of relief before nodding towards his brother in appreciation.
The two couples took off their shoes and walked down to the beach together, but then separated once they reached the water, Maddock and Amanda turning north and Cheydan and Lissy heading south. They were both quiet for a bit, enjoying the cool sea breeze and the tangy, salt spray of the waves as they crashed against their feet.
Cheydan still hadn’t settled on the perfect words, so he decided to follow Maddock’s advice for once and just speak from the heart.
He squeezed Lissy’s hand and let his thoughts flow out of his mouth. “Lissy? Thank you for coming this week. I’m really glad you’re here with me.”
She turned her head and smiled at him, and Cheydan’s stomach felt like one of the out-of-water fish that were flopping erratically on the sand. “Thanks for inviting me. I’m having a great time.”
He wanted to gaze at her forever, but he couldn’t think while she was staring into his eyes, so he dropped his head and concentrated on avoiding the sharp shell fragments littering the beach.
“Lissy, I know I have a couple years of school left, and then it might be a few more years before I’m settled into my career, but, I want you to know that I want to be with you through all of that, and, and… afterwards.”
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 43
