Page 87 of Hot Stuff
Walker is real where Johnathon Whitman is anything but. Shaking my head, I clear it of any thoughts of Nat’s husband. I don’t want him ruining whatever it is Walker has in mind.
When we get to the bedroom, he moves me in front of the windows and says, “Wait here.”
He disappears into his closet and I can hear him moving things around, a drawer opening and closing followed by another and then some muttered cursing.
“Everything all right in there?” I call out.
“Fine. Give me a minute.”
There are more drawers opening and closing and then I hear ‘aha!’.
He must have found what he was looking for because he comes striding out of the closet like the winner of the Cup being presented with his prize.
“I should have done this earlier, but I went with the right moment instead of the staged one.” Dropping to a knee in front of me, he reaches for my left hand and looks up at me. “I know I asked already, I know you said yes, but I’m asking again.”
I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to do this when what he has in his other hand grabs my attention. “Oh.”
“These were my parents’ rings. I’d be honored if you wore my mother’s, if I wore my father’s. Oakley James, will you give me the greatest gift in the world and let me be your husband?”
“My answer is still yes. And those are gorgeous. I’d be more than honored to wear them. But…” I drop to my knees in front of him. “Does Shelby know you’re doing this? Is she okay with me having them?”
“I…” He snaps his mouth shut and closes his eyes. “Shit!”
“I don’t want to ruin the moment, but I can’t accept them until I know Shelby is okay with it.”
Walker’s eyes are blazing when they open. “This. This is why I fell for you in an instant.”
Tilting my head to the side, I eye him.
“You have the biggest, most generous heart. I don’t think you even realize you’re thinking of everyone else all the time. You weigh everything up so quickly and know the best way to get what you want without hurting others.”
“Oh.” His words touch me deeply, so deeply my sight blurs and the sting of tears burns my nose. “Walker.”
“Come here.” He pulls me in, wraps his arms around me, and lets me rest my head on his chest.
“I don’t know how you see me so well,” I murmur.
“I don’t either, but I do, and I want to see you for the rest of our lives.”
“We will. But I’m serious about those rings. And I have an idea that may work for all of us.”
“What is it?”
“What if we use the wedding bands and give Shelby the engagement and eternity rings?”
“She’s never mentioned Mom’s rings so I just assumed she didn’t want them. Now I see that was foolish thinking. Of course, she’ll want the option to have them. But if she doesn’t, will you wear them?”
“Of course! And if she does take them, I’d like to have something similar made for us. Keep the tradition of it if not the rings themselves.”
“Oh, I like that idea. Mom and Dad couldn’t afford much when they got married. They only had their wedding bands for the first ten years, then Dad bought her the engagement and eternity rings after Shelby was born and their family was complete.”
“I want you to tell me all about them. Do you have photo albums? Pa has a stack of them from when I was younger. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to show them to you when we head back to Baton Rouge.”
“I’d like that, and yes, I have a storage facility full of my parents’ things. I didn’t want to go through it all without Shelby, and she’s been avoiding it for years.”
“How long is it since they died?” I know the answer; it was in the PI’s report, but I want to hear it from Walker. I want him to tell me all the personal details I would learn as our relationship developed.
“Seven years. Shel was two months shy of eighteen, four months from heading to college. They’d gone for a weekend away. A drunk driver took them out on their way home.”
