Page 95 of A Baby for the Firefighter
Jewelry box? I scanned the dog's collar with my eyes, and, indeed, there was a small box attached to it. “More presents?” I asked. Andjewelry? Really, what was the occasion?
“Just a small thing.” Dean licked his lips. For some reason, he seemed to be getting just a little bit nervous.
Well, time to find out what thissmall thingwas that he was talking about. “Hold still, doggy.” I detached the black box from the collar and set my new furbaby on the floor where he sniffed my leg as if to determine whether it was edible. Oh God, we needed dog food. I looked at Dean. “Do we have anything to eat for him?”
“I bought some stuff. It's still in the car.” He glanced at the front door, then back at me. “Don't you want to open the box first?”
Right, the box. I'd nearly forgotten about it. But now that I looked at it again, I noticed that it was the perfect size for a ring.
Oh!
Was this…?
My heart started pounding as I opened the box.
It was empty.
“Uh...”
My eyes darted to Dean, then back to the empty jewelry box in my hand. “There's nothing in there?” Was Dean trying to pull some really weird prank on me?
But no, he looked just as surprised as me, if not more so. “What?” He stepped up to me and took the box out of my hand. “Oh shit.” His face went pale. Okay, so he wasn't trying to pull some sort of prank on me. His eyes flitted back and forth between the dog and the jewelry box.
Oh no.
Slowly it dawned on me what might have happened.
“Was there supposed to be a ring in there?” I asked, biting my bottom lip. I'd hoped Dean might propose to me someday, but... I'd never expected it to play out like this. I wasn't sure what to think. Did I want to marry Dean? Hell yes, but I also wanted a ring. More specifically, I wanted to know that my new dog hadn't eaten my ring. I was all for letting your pets participate in the ceremony—to a point! Call me old-fashioned, but I'd prefer to know that my engagement ring had not passed my pet's bowels.
Dean gulped. “There was,” he admitted.
Poor Dean. I was sure this scene wasn't playing out likehe'dimagined it either.
“Where do you think it went?” I asked. “Do you think...?” I glanced at the dog. We both did.
“I was sure I'd put it in the box,” Dean said. “Oh God...”
I picked the dog up. “Maybe we need to call him the lord of the rings, huh?” I tried to make a joke. Dean's smile seemed forced. Yeah, I didn't think I was being particularly funny either. I kissed the doggy's squishy face. “Did you eat it? Did you eat my engagement ring?” The dog only licked my cheek in response.
I looked back at Dean, who was frantically searching his pockets and then the inside of the large box the dog had come in. “This is so not how I planned this to go,” he muttered.
“Don't worry about that. Do you think it can hurt him? Swallowing the ring, I mean.” The boxer looked healthy enough to me, but you never knew. “I'm going to call Eli,” I decided, handing our puppy to Dean. “Don't let him eat anything else not dog appropriate.”
“Promise.” He held the dog tight as if to make extra sure.
And then, of course, the baby started to cry. “You go to him,” I told Dean while I fiddled with my cell phone. My alpha looked the tiniest bit overwhelmed, but he’d brought this on himself. Honestly, he’d just given me an empty jewelry box!
But as Dean dashed off into the nursery, I had to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of my situation. Honestly, a part of me was loving this. My house certainly didn't feel empty anymore. Smiling to myself, I called my brother.
“Griff?” he answered the phone after a few rings.
“Yeah, hi. What do you think I should do if my dog swallowed my engagement ring?”
“Your what swallowed your what?”
Now Ihadto laugh. My poor brother was so confused. “Dean adopted a dog,” I explained. “You have to see him! He's the cutest thing!”
“You got a dog? That's great! What kind? What are you naming him? Can I come over?”
