Page 11 of The Engagement
“Me!” Luke shouts.
Beth lays a sleeping Ava in her playpen to nap. The rest of us gather at the long dining table.
Cooper has laid out an unbelievable spread—crudité, tiny cuts of meats, cheeses, dipping sauces, little spinach and cheddar quiches, freshly baked Italian garlic bread, and cut-up fresh fruit. There’s homemade lemonade to drink.
When Mack deposits Luke on his booster chair, Luke grabs his arm and says, “Sit by me, Mack!”
We all take our seats. Mack, of course, sits by Luke, and I sit on Mack’s other side. I find myself a bit overwhelmed as I scan the table. The most important people in the world are all here with me, celebrating our engagement. I just wish my grandmother was here to see this. She’d be so pleased.
Cooper lifts his glass of lemonade. “A toast to the happy couple! May you have a long life together, filled with nothing but happiness and joy.”
“Cheers!” everyone says in unison as we raise our glasses.
Mack leans over to kiss my cheek. “Nothing but joy,” he repeats.
* * *
After dinner, we stay a while to visit with our friends. Ava wakes up from her nap and is passed around the room fromadult to adult. She’s such a sweet baby with a quiet, yet cheerful personality, just like her mama. Physically, she takes after her daddy with her brown hair and bright blue eyes.
Ava ends up nestled in Sam’s arms, with her head resting on his shoulder. Cooper has his arm across Sam’s shoulders, and he’s stroking the baby’s hair. I watch the two of them with Ava, and it makes me wonder if they’ll have kids of their own one day. I certainly hope so because they’d be such good parents.
Luke has taken quite a liking to Mack this evening, insisting on sitting on his lap.
I know Mack likes kids. He adores his daughter, Haley. Now that we’re getting married, the idea of us having kids of our own feels more real. We’ve talked about it, of course. And we’re both on board with the idea. But seeing him interacting with Luke really brings it home to me. I can just picture him holding our dark-haired son or daughter. And I’m sure Haley would enjoy becoming a big sister.
When Luke starts yawning, that’s our cue to leave.
* * *
When we arrive back at our apartment, a very disgruntled calico greets us at our door, meowing up a storm and rubbing against both our shins.
I reach down to pet her. “Are you hungry, young lady? Do you want some dinner?”
She replies with a very forcefulme-yow.
Mack scoops her up in one hand and carries her to the kitchen. “I’ll feed her.”
While Mack is seeing to Lizzie, I change out of my dress into a pair of cozy flannel shorts and a T-shirt.
“Do you need anything?” Mack asks when I walk into the kitchen.
Lizzie is busy scarfing up her food.
“Maybe just some water.” I grab my water bottle out of the fridge, and while I’m guzzling some cold, crisp water, I stare at my ring, turning my hand this way and that to catch the light refracted in the clear facets.
“You really like it?” Mack asks. “You’re not just being nice?” He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek. “If you’re not one hundred percent sure—”
“I absolutely am sure. I love it!”
“I just meant I’d be happy to take it back and exchange it for something else.”
“Mack Donovan! Don’t even suggest such a thing. I love you, and I especially love this ring because you gave it to me.”
“Is now a good time to call my folks and share the news?”
Mack’s parents, Hillary and Rob, live in Denver. We have video calls with them at least once a week. His mom has been dropping hints lately that she and Rob aren’t getting any younger and they’d sure like another grandchild.Hint hint.
I get out my tablet and we call them. When they come on the video screen, Mack grabs my hand and holds it in front of the camera so they can see my ring.
