Page 231 of Lovers' Dance

“Excuse me?”

He took me by the arm and herded me into the living room where he sat me down on the huge sofa. On my forced descent to the sofa I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a huge ornate mirror above the mantle. Crap. I was definitely an ugly crier. I watched him hurry away, leaving me alone for a few minutes before he came back with a box of tissues.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, then added softly, “Poppet.”

Good thing I had tissues now, hearing him confirm I was still his poppet made my eyes leak some more. I blew my runny nose and tried to compose myself. After a short while, Matt came back and took a seat next to me. In the space between us he placed a little box. I blinked tears away. What the?

“Open it,” he commanded before saying, “Please.”

I raised my gaze to his. “What’s in it?”

Matt gave me a small smile. “Open it and see.”

It was a plain black, velvet box, no markings; just a little black box. “Why don’t you tell me what’s in it?”

“Open it,” he urged.

I shook my head, trying not to stare at the box as if it was plutonium.

“Okay.” Matt picked the box up. “I’ll open it.”

And he did.

“Do you like it, poppet?” he asked, barely above a whisper. “I had it made for you. Do you like the colour? It’s a natural red diamond and quite rare. Here, let’s put it on you and we can see how lovely it looks against your skin.”

Matt was holding my left hand with one hand and this oh-my-God-amazing ring with the other.

I finally broke out of my stupor and snatched my left hand away, putting it to my chest and covering it with my right hand. Matt looked shocked.

“Is that a sorry-you’re-having-a-bad-day sort of ring—” I started, and Matt cut me off with an arched eyebrow.

“Does this look like that sort of ring, poppet?” he asked dryly, a glint of amusement twinkling in his eyes. He was smiling at me, a real smile.

I shook my head slowly. “No, it doesn’t, Matt.”

He reached for my hand and I jerked away.

“Madison.” His eyebrows furrowed at my reluctance to let him take my hand.

“Wait,” I said.

“What?” He exhaled loudly, leaning back a bit.

I took a deep breath and asked, “If it’s not a sorry-you’re-having-a-bad-day ring, what sort of ring is it?”

Matt gave me an exasperated look before saying dryly, “It’s an engagement ring, of course.”

He reached for my hand again and I pulled back even further.

“Madi,” he hissed. “Stop pulling away.”

“You haven’t asked me yet,” I said. Matt grinned at me. And I was grinning back. If this was a dream, I never wanted to wake up. “You have to say ‘Poppet, I love you.’” I paused, looking expectantly at him.

“Poppet, I love you,” he said with raw emotion.

I scrunched my face up. “No, say ‘I love you, poppet.’ That sounds better.”

Matt growled at me and my grin widened as he repeated, “I love you, poppet.”

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