Page 98 of Forbidden Puck
He pulled a box from his pocket and showed me the gold ring. A diamond, big and white as snow, glittered under the bright blue sky.
“Will you marry me, Ella?”
“Yes! Of course, yes!” I yelled, and he put the ring on my finger and I pulled him to his feet and we hugged and kissed in front of all our friends who wentyay!andaww!
Lance aimed a champagne bottle into the sky andpop,sent thecork sailing. “Let's get this party started!” My brother began pouring champagne, and gave us the first two flutes. “Here you go! Congratulations, Ella!”
“Thanks, Lance!” I took the champagne from him, but I didn't sip from it.
Lance went passing out his flutes to everyone, and they all milled about, engaged in lively conversation and passing by to give Ryan and I their best wishes and ambush us with questions:
So when I was moving to Boston? (The sooner the better! I'm ready!)
Would we let Lance move in with us? (Ha ha ha—NO!)
During a lull, I found myself in Ryan's arms, just the two of us, away from the boisterous chaos and overlooking the serenity over the harbor.
“So, I have to ask—why'd you pop the question here?” I asked him.
“Remember when we first met, and I showed you around the building?”
“Of course.”
“When we were on the rooftop—that's when we first started to really talk. That's when I realized there was something about you, something that just drewme towards you. I thought you were so cute, Ella, and I was so dumb, thinking I wouldn't fall for you. God, I really thought I could ignore my feelings for you and they'd go away …”
I put my hand on his cheek. “Aw, Ryan. That's so sweet.”
“Yeah, so I figured I had to propose either right here on the rooftop … or at MacAllister's,” he said with a smirk.
“Oh myGod.Don't even joke about that!”
Ryan finished off his champagne. He glanced at my glass and frowned. “You haven't had a drop.”
“I told you, I'm not drinking.”
“Not even tonight?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “What's up, Ella?”
I held my breath.Should I tell him now? What if it goes badly and I screw this whole celebration up?
Oh, whatever.
I didn't want to make a big scene out of it. Gently, I took Ryan's hand and simply placed it over my tummy and held it there.
His eyes grew wide. “You serious? Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
I nodded. “Yes, Ryan.”
Any fears or doubts or anxieties I might've had, Ryan smothered with a soulful kiss. “Ella … that's amazing!”
“Yeah?” I asked, nervously laughing.
“Oh myGod,yes! We're gonna have ababy,Ella!” Then he hushed his voice and looked around, hoping no one had heard. “Shit, I shouldn't say that so loud, eh?”
“Yeah … we shouldn't announce it just yet …”
“How far along are you?”
“Six weeks. I found out yesterday.”
