Page 141 of The Thing About My Secret Billionaire
“Let’s be good sports,” Miller says. “It’ll make everyone smile.”
I raise my eyes to the ceiling with amused resignation.
He takes my face in both hands and rests his lips against mine. Gently at first, then increasing the pressure until my eyes close and I almost forget where we are.
The wolf whistles rebounding around the stadium remind me that our faces are currently ten feet tall for thousands of people to see.
I pull back and look into Miller’s eyes. “That’s probably enough.”
“Thing is,” he says. “I really don’t think it is.”
I open my mouth to ask him what he’s talking about, but no words come out because…
Miller’s dropped to one knee.
If the stadium had a roof, the crowd would have just blown it off.
Behind me, Oliver shouts, “Fuck, yeah!” and whistles so loudly I flinch.
Everything in my peripheral vision blurs.
All I can see is Miller looking up at me and taking my hands.
My heart races with a mix of excitement and embarrassment, my stomach somersaults, and the unreality of the situation makes my head swim.
Of course we’ve talked about spending the rest of ourlives together and probably getting married someday. But we decided to wait until the house is built and we are able to actually live together.
Two weeks ago, we crossed that milestone and have finally unpacked and gotten everything the way we want it. As Miller promised, it’s my dream home. I couldn’t wish for more. And the fact it’s right next door to the sanctuary and I get to help Grandpa and make donkey videos every day for our social media is an unbelievable gift.
But whenever Miller was going to propose, I’d never have expected him to go down on one knee. And even if I had, I wouldn’t have expected him to do it in front of thousands of people. I’d imagined him rolling over one morning in bed, kissing me, and saying, “Let’s get married.”
Who is this Miller who’s going for a grand public display of a proposal?
“I love you so much.” His voice snaps me out of my swirling shock. “So much thatI love youdoesn’t cover it. It isn’t a big enough thing to say.” A rhythmic clap breaks out in the crowd, and everyone around us in the owners’ box joins in.
I take my right hand from Miller and rest it on my chest to try to calm my out-of-control heart and force myself to actually breathe because right now it feels like there’s a non-zero chance of me passing out.
The overwhelm of the shock, the surprise, the surroundings, grips my throat and builds pressure behind my eyes.
“But…” Miller’s still talking, and I absorb myself in his words, steady myself on them like they are a raft that will keep me afloat. “Would you please spend the rest of your life with meand marry me?”
And I’m wiping tears from my face. Tears I didn’t even realize had fallen. And nodding because there’s a lumpy rock around my vocal cords that I can’t squeeze any words past.
Obviously the nods are enough for the crowd because they erupt again and there’s some sort of fanfare through the sound system, and Miller stands up, taking a box from his pocket. A tiny wooden box with gold hinges.
He opens it toward me to reveal a wooden engagement ring. It’s exactly the shape of a solitaire diamond, but it’s one hundred percent smooth, deep brown wood. And it’s fucking beautiful.
“We’ll get a real one,” he says. “This is just for now.”
“You made it?” are the first words I’m able to squeak out.
“Of course,” he says.
I offer him my hand and he slides it onto my finger. The warmth of the wood is better than any cold metal would feel right now. It’s like it wraps itself around me. And I know that for the rest of my life I will treasure this even more than whatever sparkly one we choose.
Suddenly the crowd explodes again and Oliver shouts, “Whoa!”
I turn to the screen to see its focus has shifted. But not far. Just to the row in front of us, where Grandpa is now on bended knee looking up at Elsie, who’s still in her seat.
