Page 34 of Surge of Storms

“I may end up with diamonds,” Evander says, “since silver gems are hard to find.”

“And I want mine to have four gems that match theirs,” I say.

Evander sits down with the shopkeeper to go over what we want while we continue to look around. Zane is brought over when it’s time to describe his ring, and based on the look on Evander’s face, Zane’s going to end up with one gaudy ring. Like, really gaudy.

Not that we care. Whatever makes him happy.

I end up falling in love with a necklace with a ruby stone, which Evander promptly pays for and has put around my neck. The earrings I chose are placed in a box and wrapped up. When he’s done, Evander tells us that the custom rings are being made and will take a few days, then everything will be delivered to the base.

We exit the jewelry store into the cool day, and I smile at Evander.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing. It’s just weird to know I might beofficiallyproposed to soon.”

He tucks my hair behind my ear and glances at my necklace. “Proposing to someone should never be a surprise, just the proposal itself. You’ve basically already agreed to marry us, so now we get to have the fun of setting up a real proposal, knowing that you’ll say yes.”

Zane steps between us, putting his arms around us. “When you propose to us, you must make certain you go down on one knee and that there is lots of food.”

“I’m proposing toyou?” Evander asks, lifting a brow.

Zane looks wounded. “Of course!”

Granger and Aydan come to walk at our sides, and Aydan tentatively says, “Buddy, usually the men do the proposing, so it’d be us proposing to her.”

Zane looks sad.

Granger glances at me, then at Zane, and adds, “But that doesn’t mean wecan’tpropose to you, just that that’s not the way it’s usually done.”

“Really!” Zane gushes.

I’m trying my hardest not to laugh. “Really.”

He jumps up and down, pulling us all into a hug. It’s wonderful. Perfect.

We keep walking until we see a bar with a big open patio looking out on a park. In the park, there’s a party taking place. A wedding, with music and lots of laughter. It looks like the perfect place to enjoy a few drinks. We choose a spot outside to enjoy the cool breeze.

“What are those people doing over there?” Zane asks, pointing at the wedding.

“They’re getting married,” I explain.

He looks confused. “Marriages look different here.”

“A lot of stuff does,” Evander says with a smile.

Before we can say more, a tired-looking waitress stops by our table. “What will you have?”

“Five beers,” Evander tells her.

Zane perks up. “I don’t want a beer. I want this.” He turns the menu around on the table with a picture of a pina colada on it and points to it eagerly. “It looks delicious.”

Aydan groans. “We can’t let you get that. If we do, we have to take your man card.”

I roll my eyes. “Aydan, you used to wear a dress and play Princess with me, so who’s to say what a man’s drink is?”

Aydan looks horrified as he glances at the waitress. “I was like five years old!”

Everyone laughs.

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