Page 8 of Forever

CHAPTER 3

ANABEL

“It kind of looks small.” Sienna inspects the ring with her knowing eye.

It’s been hours since the game ended, but the list of things those guys have to do after the main event is over is endless.

After the excitement of the Knights winning the Super Bowl and Will proposing settled down, we watch the closing ceremony and then wait for the guys to do their thing in the locker room.

Once, I asked Will why it takes them so long to get out of the locker room, so he explained that they have to talk to the press, after which they have a short discussion with the coach before they go to cool off, treat their wounds, and take a shower before they can go home. I wanted to tease him about their constant complaint about girls taking too long to get ready, but I didn’t think he’d find it funny.

I chuckle lightly at Sienna’s words, not taking it personally. Sienna’s just being Sienna. Some may say she’s cruel; I call it honest. One of the many traits I love about her.

“It’s pretty.” Grace looks at me, trying to lessen the blow of her sister-in-law.

As it turns out, Grace came into J.D.’s life around the time I came to the USA to work as an Au pair last year. Because of the big age difference—he’s thirty-one and she’s thirteen—he always seems more like a father than a brother to her. And Sienna had taken her under her wing even before she knew Grace was J.D.’s sister because Grace attended ballet classes at the community center in which Sienna and her mom volunteer. Talk about a small world.

“But small. Couldn’t he get a bigger one?”

“I don’t need nor want a bigger ring, Si.” I roll my eyes at her. “Not all of us need a big, flashy stone on their hand.”

“This is not flashy.”

Sienna puts her hand next to mine to inspect and compare two rings.

Hers is huge. It has a platinum band with twisted diamond lines. In the middle sits one big diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds. It’s obnoxiously sparkly and probably weighs a ton. I wouldn’t look twice in its direction, but it’s totally Sienna.

Mine is smaller, more delicate. Just two twisted lines. One platinum, one set in diamonds with an oval, modest, diamond set in middle.

I don’t know what’s more unexpected—William asking me to marry him or him carrying this ring with him for months.

As soon as he realized I said yes—like there was an option to start with—Will got me on my feet and started dragging me down to the field.

At that point, we were already the main attraction in the stadium. People looked at us, some cheering, some wiping tears from their eyes. And if that wasn’t enough, all the cameras were on us, streaming live, and showing our faces on the big screen so that nobody missed William Price, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion team proposing. Freaking proposing.

To me.

His girlfriend.

Well, now, fiancée.

Reporters gathered around us, filming, taking pictures and asking questions, but he ignored all of it. He’s a man on a mission, whatever that may be.

We passed by his teammates and staff—all of them cat-calling and hooting—and went straight to the tunnel toward the locker rooms. Thankfully, they were empty, with all the players still celebrating out in the field. I don’t know how I would feel about walking into a room with bunch of bare-assed men.

He started throwing stuff out of his locker until he found what he was looking for. A small, black, velvet box.

For the second time that day, the air got stuck in my lungs and tears gathered in my eyes.

“You are my forever, Bel,” he said as he took my hand in his and slipped the ring on my finger.

I never looked down. For all I cared he could have put a plastic ring, or no ring at all, on my finger. My forever was looking at me right in my eyes.

“Okay, it totally is flashy,” Sienna admits, bringing me back to the present.

“You both have beautiful rings and even more beautiful men in your life.” Emily wraps her hands around me, her chin resting on my shoulder. “I can’t believe it. My baby boy is getting married.”

Tears gather in her blue eyes. She’s trying to hold them in, but one tear rolls down her cheek. Emily wipes it immediately, a bright smile curling her lips.

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