Page 114 of Words We Didn't Say

Mum flapped a hand, distracted as she grabbed more oranges. “Not yet, hon, we need to finish—”

“No. Now.” Yvette cackled a nervous laugh. “Just, um—” She looked helplessly in my direction.

Mum’s gaze snapped up, finding me standing there like a dumb fool. Her eyes rounded. “Oh, yes!” She yanked off her apron. “Yes! The, ah—thethrow rug.”

The two of them bolted out of the kitchen, heads together to share excited whispers, and a lot of winking back at me.

They knew.

Eden had no clue.

She watched the scene with her brows knitted together and the knife hovering above an orange. “What the hell got into that pair?” She shook it off with a laugh and went back to slicing. “Want to help?”

I shook my head. Every word I wanted to say was stuck in my throat like glue. I shuffled closer by her side.

“There are heaps of people here today,” she said, touching my arm. “You doing okay?”

I nodded, stuffing my hand back into my pocket and fumbling to check the ring.Still there.Blood pounded in my ears. My mouth was dry enough to drink boatloads of the punch Eden was making. What was I meant to do? My mind looped in blanks, and every plan was out the window.

“I love you,” I whispered.

Eden looked up at me with a soft smile. “Yeah?” She didn’t always say it back, but I didn’t mind.

“You mean everything to me. You always have, you know?”

She wedged herself closer. “What’s got you so talkative?” She kissed my cheek. “Was it the guy perving on me at the supermarket? I wouldn’t have noticed him if you hadn’t gone all caveman.” Her grin was sly.

She liked it when the jealous caveman glared at all the other men…and even more when I tossed her on the bed afterwards to prove to her exactly who her man was.

“I got something for you.” I nudged my shoulder against hers. “In my pocket.”

“Oh!” She waggled her eyebrows. “You know I love this game.” Grinning, she stuffed her hand down deep. I was hoping she wouldn’t try to cop a feel—an erection accompanying a proposal might lead to some awkward looks from the people outside.

Eden’s smile wobbled. “Z-Zach?” Her hand was still in my pocket. Had she found the ring? “Is this…” She pulled out the antique platinum band with its one diamond. She blinked. A tear blotted down her cheek. “I-It’s, um…”

“It’s my grandma’s ring.”

She bit her lip. “Why?”

“Oh, I got this all wrong, didn’t I? We always mess up the order, don’t we?”

I dropped to one knee. My heart jumped like a jackhammer in my chest, and the speed only ramped up when I looked at Eden. She held the ring in trembling fingers, eyes swimming in tears. I’d ruined the proposal. I should’ve practiced more. I should’ve—

“Ask me,” she whispered.

I hesitated.

I could feel too many critical eyes on us. Mum and Yvette peeked around the corner. Dad and Andie pretended not to be interested from their spot outside by the barbecue. I hadn’t planned on an audience, just like I hadn’t rehearsed what to say.Eden deserved better than a nervous proposal in my parents’ kitchen. She deserved better than me too, but here we were.

I’d waited long enough.

“I saw you a month before you saw me,” I said. “I used to hang out on the back wall of the coffee shop, and then you came in one day…and the next. I wanted to talk to you so bad. You were just…everything. Clever and gorgeous, a big ball of sunshine who lit up my whole day with only a smile. It took me a month to get brave enough to step away from the wall. I pushed past two idiots in baseball caps to get a spot up the front, but you finally saw me.”

“I remember that day. You were so sweet with your shy smile.”

I couldn’t help giving her another one of those smiles. “I want to be brave again, Denny Dee. I’m stepping from the wall, but I want you to be brave with me this time. Will you…?”

A huge smile threatened to burst across her face, but she bit down on her lower lip to stop it. “Even with all my drama?”

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