“I know,” he said in a stage whisper. “But she doesn’t know it’s tonight.”
“Right, right.” She paused. “You’re sure this time, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m definitely sure this time.”
Kristina smiled. “Good. I’m happy for both of you.”
“Thanks.” Nick swallowed. “This isn’t weird for you, I mean—”
“Nick.” She inclined her head. “That’s all in the past. You guys are obviously made for each other. You know as well as I do that if things had turned out differently, you and I would be miserable and probably divorcing by now.” She paused, smiling. “And I never would have met Daniel.”
“That’s true.” Nick returned the smile. “I guess everything worked out.”
“Yeah, it did.” Her expression shifted to a playfully menacing glare. “And just so you know, if you leave my sister at the altar? I will find you, grab you by the balls, and drag you down the aisle.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I’m pretty sure that won’t be necessary.”
Kristina smiled. “No, I’m pretty sure it won’t.” She glanced over her shoulder as the front door opened behind her. “Okay, there’s Daniel. Now where the hell’s my sister?”
“Still getting ready.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. “God. You women and your getting-ready routines.”
Kristina smacked him playfully, but Daniel just chuckled.
“All right, boys,” she said with mock frustration. “I’ll go see if I can drag her down.”
She went upstairs, and the guys both laughed and shook their heads.
“Women,” Daniel said with a shrug.
“Yeah, I hear that.”
While they waited for their girlfriends, Nick and Daniel shot the breeze about last night’s game. Daniel hadn’t been sure about this at first, spending time with his girlfriend’s ex-fiancé, but he’d warmed up to the odd arrangement after a while. After all, Kristina’s sister was part of the package deal, and the longer Deanna and Nick were together, the longer he was part of the deal too. Which meant if Daniel wanted to stick around, he’d accept it.
And he did want to stick around. Nick wondered if Kristina was getting suspicious yet. Daniel had bought the ring a week or so ago, but he was waiting until her birthday at the end of the month.
With the way Daniel kept fidgeting, shifting, laughing nervously, Nick had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to hold out. If Daniel and Kristina weren’t engaged by the end of the week, Nick would be stunned.
“There they are,” Daniel said, and Nick turned around as the girls came down the stairs.
He tried to come up with a smartass comment about how long it had taken her to get ready, but it wasn’t happening. All he could think was that she’d been worth the wait. In that black velvet dress—high in all the right places, low in all the others—she looked absolutely stunning. She’d capitalized on every last one of the curves he’d long since memorized, and she’d left her hair tumbling over her bare shoulders.
He was half-tempted to ask her right then and there, if only because his knees shook just enough he was surprised they didn’t buckle and put him down on one knee.
As Deanna’s heel clicked on the foyer’s hardwood floor, Nick cleared his throat. “Thought you were going to take all night up there.”
She grinned and kissed him lightly. “Well, you’re the one who insisted on a nice place. Not my fault that means I have to actually dress decently.”
“Yeah, heaven forbid your man takes you to a nice restaurant,” Kristina said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s such an inconvenience,” Deanna said. The girls looked at each other and laughed.
Nick drove the four of them to the restaurant, which had required reservations almost a week in advance. Almost a week during which that diamond had been burning a hole in his pocket, and now, here he was. Tonight was the night. He just had to wait for the right time.
All through dinner, it was a wonder he ate anything at all. Nerves didn’t usually work him over quite like this, but tonight, he was a sweaty-palmed, heart-pounding wreck. Checking every thirty seconds to make sure the ring was in his pocket. Constantly wondering if this was the right moment. Or maybe now. Now? How about now?
As dinner wound down and the waiter came around with the wine list and dessert menu, Kristina shot Nick a puzzled look that said nothing if not, “Well?”
He gave her a reassuring nod, but he still didn’t take out the ring. This just wasn’t the right time. The right night, yes. He’d do this before the night was over. But in spite of rehearsing it in his head all damned week with this restaurant as the backdrop, it suddenly didn’t seem like the right place. It was all wrong.
Or maybe he was just nervous. Finding reasons not to propose. Time and again, while Daniel, Kristina, and Deanna carried on with their conversation, he asked himself if he had doubts. If he was unsure about this. And every time, his mind came back with an emphatic No! This is the right thing to do!
It just wasn’t the right place, damn it.
On the way out of the restaurant after dinner, Nick and Kristina looked at each other surreptitiously. She narrowed her eyes slightly like she was trying to read him, and she must have seen something in his expression, because she hooked her hand around Daniel’s elbow and said, “You mind if we go check out that bookstore that just opened?”
Daniel shrugged, resting his hand on top of hers. “They still open this late?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“You guys goon ahead.” Nick slipped his arm around Deanna’s waist. “We’ll catch up.”
Deanna eyed him. “You don’t want to go?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “But I want to walk down by the water first.”
“All right,” she said. To her sister, she added, “Apparently I’m being dragged this way.”
Kristina giggled. “You kids behave, okay?”
“Brat,” Deanna muttered, and they threw each other good-
natured glares before the two couples started in opposite directions. Nick glanced back, and Kristina winked as she mouthed, Good luck.
The waterfront was about half a block away, and without really knowing why he’d decided to do this, Nick led Deanna toward it. As they walked, she said, “You’ve been quiet tonight. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” He smiled. “Everything’s fine.”
“You sure?”
He kissed her cheek. “Of course. Just figured you and I could have a few minutes to ourselves before we join them.”
She shot him a devilish grin. “Well, you know I won’t object to that.”
He chuckled. “You? Oh, what a shock.”
They both laughed, and as they turned the corner at the end of the block started down the long, deserted pier, something in Nick’s chest settled even as the butterflies in his stomach started fluttering in earnest. Though it was dark, the glassy surface of the water was visible wherever city lights played on top of lazy waves, and the tide lapped gently at the water below the pier. The breeze was cool, the night was alive with the sounds of distant cars instead of voices and steel drums, and the solid pier beneath their feet was a far cry from soft sand, but this was perfect.
Nick stopped beside the railing. He put his arms around her, and she snuggled against him, probably trying to shelter her bare arms and shoulders from the less than tropical wind.
“You know,” she said, “that bookstore is probably a little warmer than out here.”
He laughed. “We’ll get there.” Tucking a few unruly strands of hair behind her ear, he said, “I did bring you out here for a reason, though.”
“To see how I do with hypothermia?”
“Oh, come on,” he said. “It’s not that cold.” He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Better?”
She pulled it across her chest. “God, yes. Much better.”
&nbs
p; “That’s what I thought.” He paused. “So, about that reason I brought you down here…” He slid his hand under the jacket she now wore, and she bit her lip.
She shivered as his fingers grazed her breast. “You know we
can do this at home, right?”
“We’ll get to that. But first, there’s something I need you to tell me.”
“And that is?”
“I want to know…” Nick slipped his hand into the inside pocket and withdrew the ring. As he brought his hand back out, he took a deep breath, and by the grace of God, he managed to keep a straight face as he said, “Deanna, will you put up with my bullshit for the rest of your life if I promise to put up with yours?”
Her jaw dropped. She stared at him incredulously, and when he finally cracked a smile, they both burst out laughing.
“You’re joking, right?” she asked, though there was a hint of something—excitement? Disbelief?—in her voice that said she’d caught the meaning behind his question.
“No, I’m not.” He took a step back and went to one knee. As he held up the ring, he barely forced a whisper past his lips: “Will you marry me?”
Without so much as a second’s hesitation, Deanna nodded. “Yes!”
Nick grinned, and as he took her hand, he wondered if they could do this without dropping the ring between the slats beneath them or over the side of the pier, but somehow, he slid the band onto her finger without incident. Then he rose, and before he was even on his feet, she cupped his face in both hands and kissed him.
When she drew back, her eyes were wet. His own eyes stung, and he had to blink a couple of times before pulling her into focus.
Deanna looked at the ring on her hand, then back up at him, and her devilish grin made his heart flutter. “So, are you absolutely sure this time?”
Nick laughed softly and touched her face, brushing a tear off her cheek. “I seriously considered proposing with a pair of plane tickets to Vegas instead of a ring if that tells you anything.”
She smiled. “I don’t know, I think I’d prefer something a bit more… local.”
“Me too.” He smoothed her hair. “But to be honest, as long as you’re there, I really don’t care.”
“Neither do I,” she said, and leaned in closer.
Nick kissed her, and the tension in his chest loosened. The
butterflies scattered. Emotion threatened to overwhelm him as he held her tight and kissed her while the waves rolled below them like quiet applause, because he still couldn’t believe they’d made it this far. That he’d asked. That she’d said yes.
They had. He did. She did.
And Nick had never been more sure of anything in his life.
About Lauren
Lauren Gallagher is an abnormal romance writer who has spent the last three years on Okinawa, but is being sent to Omaha, Nebraska for the next three. Her cover story is that she, her husband, their two cats, and their fluorescent green hedgehog are being transferred because of the Navy. Skeptics say this is actually a strategic move to get closer to her arch nemesis, M/M erotic romance author L. A. Witt.
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