Page 39 of Date with Destiny

‘Joey!’ I exclaim, leaping up to give him a hug. You get overfriendly when you’ve spent weeks talking about the biggest moment of someone’s life.

‘Is it ready?’ the customer asks, nerves plain on his face.

‘It sure is!’ I beam, leading him to the counter.

We all grin at each other nervously as Zach reverently unpackages the box. Our mutual fear is plain on our faces and I hover anxiously as Joey stares at the finished product, the result of so much thought, care and love.

This is my favourite part – and also the scariest.

At last he breathes out heavily. ‘It’s stunning!’ He looks up to meet my eyes – his are wide and damp. ‘It’s exactly what I wanted, I love it.’ Beside me, I feel Zach exhale heavily. Joey pauses, his brow suddenly furrowed. ‘Oh god, do you think Hannah will like it? She’s shown me so many rings she likes over the years and this is definitely in the right area, but it’s also so unique. Do you think she’ll like it, you guys?’

‘I really do,’ I say as reassuringly and warmly as I can. ‘I think she’s going to love it.’

‘I’m so thrilled you’re happy,’ Zach says with genuine delight and I grin over at him.

‘He was so nervous,’ I share teasingly.

‘Youwere nervous!’ he laughs at Zach. ‘Think how nervous I’ve been!’

We all laugh now, full of relief.

‘Are you popping the question soon?’ I ask as I carefully replace the ring in the velvet box, admiring the satin lining as I close it, and begin the careful process of packaging it back up as beautifully as possible.

Joey is silent for a moment and I look up, concerned.

‘I actually don’t know,’ he admits. ‘I’ve been thinking so long and hard about the ring, I kind of forgot to make a decision about the proposal itself.’ He bites his lip, looking worried again. ‘I know I have to get down on one knee, right? Or is that a bitdonenow? My knees are a bit dodgy actually.’ He glances down at his legs, his face paling. ‘Should it be at home, with just the two of us, do you think? Or at a really big, fancy hotel? Or should it be in front of all her friends and family?’ His words are coming thicker and faster as the panic takes hold. ‘Or perhaps I should whisk her off abroad somewhere and do it on a beach? Or back to the place we had our first date? Or our first kiss? Or maybe that’s all too cheesy and she’d rather do something fun? Has anyone ever proposed during a session of laser tag? Ughhhh!’

I rest a comforting – and hopefullycalming– hand on his arm.

‘Hey, it’s OK!’ I say nicely. ‘You’ll figure this out.’

‘And where am I going to hide that,’ he gestures wildly at the packaged-up ring on the counter, ‘until I decide on this and arrange everything?!’ He looks like he might cry and I fight the urge to hug him. ‘It has to beperfect, y’know? This proposal has to be the most memorable, amazing moment of Hannah’s life – it’s what she deserves – and I have to get it right. I want her to cherish this and for us to tell our grandchildren about it one day. I want her to bewowed!’

‘Right,’ I nod decisively and grab both his shoulders. ‘Joey, listen, you need to calm down and stop freaking out, OK?’ He swallows tearfully, shutting up at last, as I nod authoritatively. ‘Good. Now let’s go sit down for another minute and talk this through.’

We spend the next hour going through his options. We talk about Hannah and what she likes and dislikes. We talk about how close she is to her friends and family. We talk about how she feels about surprise parties, cheesiness and romance. He paints a picture of this woman he loves so much, and by the end of the hour, it seems clear to both me and Zach that Hannah is one of those increasingly rare people who will want a public proposal.

We settle on a plan for a surprise party at a hotel they stayed at early on in their courtship for their first minibreak. It’s where Joey said he loved her for the first time. Her friends will surprise her there for a huge celebratory party, wherehe will get down on his bad knee and propose. I am to hold onto the ring for him until everything is ready. Once it’s all booked, I’m going to personally deliver the ring to the hotel, disguised in some way, and make sure the concierge knows to pass it along subtly to Joey – andonlyJoey – when they arrive.

He is so grateful for my help that by the end, he is inviting me to come to the proposal party. I’m completely elated, and wave him off, thinking about how this is a moment Joey and Hannah will remember forever. How amazing that I get to be a part of it. I haven’t felt so buzzy and happy with my work in ages.

Zach and I wave Joey off at the door, both a bit drained – but happy.

‘Wow,’ Zach says quietly. ‘That was really cool.’

‘It was,’ I say, turning to him, forgetting the awkwardness for a moment. He suddenly steps closer. ‘Look, Ginny, about what I said at the wake.’ He clears his throat. ‘I really did mean it. About being friends, I mean. Do you think we could hang out as mates sometime? Away from the store?’

Oh fantastic. The rejection speechagain. Just what I need.

‘Totally!’ I say, nodding too much. ‘That would be totally, totally great! Totally.’

Celeste bounds in at this moment and I’ve never been so relieved to have her unprofessionalism around.

‘Zach, darling!’ She reaches to air-kiss him and he awkwardly obliges. ‘How did it all go with the client? You two were with him forages. I was starting to think you were upto no good!’ She giggles flirtily as we both blush beetroot. ‘Was he happy with your ring?’

At this Zach breaks out a genuine smile. ‘I think he loved it!’ He glances at me for reassurance and I nod. ‘And Ginny wasamazing. She basically ended up planning his whole proposal for him!’ He laughs, then adds teasingly, ‘She’s a great engagement concierge, isn’t she? You definitely need to make that a proper, official service you offer at Celeste’s Stones.’

‘A what?’ Celeste frowns, peering at me.

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