Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“It’s Susan’s ring.” A hesitant note entered his voice. He rotated the ring so she could see, the band thin but richly sturdy, supporting the solitaire in a traditional cut. “She left it for me when she passed. I had it cleaned and the band polished, but if you want something else—”
“It’s perfect.” All she could manage was a breathless whisper.
“I’ll get down on one knee if you want me to.”
“No.” Her lungs and throat were so tight, she couldn’t get her voice above that murmur. She laid her hand along the palm of his left, noticing then the fine tremor in his fingers. “Put it on.”
A relieved exhale shuddered against her spine. He fumbled a bit, aligning the band with the top of her finger. “Will you marry me, Holly?”
The dazzling ring slid into place, a little big, wanting to slip around her finger. She bit her lip on a tiny sob and closed her fingers over his.
“That’s a yes, right?”
Now she picked up the nerves in his voice, her heart folding in even as joy fizzed through her veins. He loved her and wanted to marry her, to be her husband.
“Yes.” She turned to throw her arms about him, his quiet oof vibrating into her, making her smile, even as her glass toppled over, ice tinkling against metal and brick.
With a ragged laugh, he grabbed the glass and righted it.
She caught his face in both hands, gazing into those dark eyes. “Oh, Colt, I love you.”
“Yeah?” One brow quirked upward, surprise and relieved happiness in his dark eyes, and she wound her arms about his neck.
“Yes.” How could he not know? She pressed her face to his throat, wanting to be as close as she could. “Absolutely.”
“That’s good to know.” Beneath a rough laugh, his voice was only half teasing.
“I do.” She cradled his jaw again, string lights sparkling over her ring. “And I’ve been making myself crazy, thinking you didn’t—”
“Not a chance.” A hand at her nape, he levered her into a kiss, and she caught a glittering joy in his eyes, shining as brightly as the ring he’d placed on her finger.
She buried her other hand in his hair, drawing back enough to study the ring, her hand on his shoulder. She thumbed the stone into place. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“We’ll have to have it sized.” He lifted a hand to turn the ring side to side, a mischievous quirk to his lips. “Grandma Susan was, um, a generous woman.”
“I remember.” She bit her lip and slanted a glance at him from beneath her lashes. “Are you sure?”
He grinned. “About Grandma Susan? Yeah, she—”
“Colt.” She tightened her fingers on his shoulder, blazer smooth under her skin. “I mean about loving me, wanting to marry me.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” He shook his head. “You say yes, then question my sincerity?”
“You’re the guy who keeps telling me we have to take things slow.”
“Yeah, well . . .” He fiddled with the ring once more. “Think we both needed this.”
“I agree.” She tiptoed up to kiss him. Flexing her hand, she watched fire spark through the diamond all over again.
Sue’s parents had been married a long time, too, although Colt’s other grandaddy had died in a farm accident when Colt was a toddler.
Mrs. Susan, who’d never remarried, had passed when they were in middle school.
“Go ahead.” With a long suffering sound belied by an indulgent smile, he tugged her phone from her back pocket and handed it to her. “Take a photo and text Lorraine.”
Wrinkling her nose at him, she accepted the device and swiped to open the camera.
“No social media until we tell our mamas.” He pointed toward the auditorium. “I will throw you under the bus so fast.”
“You would, too.” Quickly cropping and editing the photo to highlight the ring, she tapped out a text to her friends, hit send, and waited. “Andy pretended to tie his shoe?”
“Yeah. Dumbass.” One hip cocked, he stood with his normal, lazy grace. His warmth wrapped around her, and she burrowed her shoulder into his chest. “I thought Gracie was going to kill him. Would’ve served him right if she’d said no.”
“Thank you for not doing anything public or fancy.” She glanced around the secluded garden, their only companion the bartender, wiping down from the pre-concert crowd. “This is wonderful.”
Her phone burbled with an incoming video call, Lorraine’s name on the screen. With a bright smile at Colt, she swiped to answer, immediately greeted by Lorraine’s excited scream. Holly’s smile widened. Poor David, if he was trying to sleep before or after a shift.
“Girl!” Lorraine’s ecstatic smile creased her face, crinkling her eyes. “He did good. Hold it up so I can see it.”
“It was his grandmother’s ring.” Holly complied, cheeks aching from the joy, so far removed from her earlier moody despair. She slanted an apologetic glance at him. Later, she really needed to make up for that.
“It’s beautiful. Does your mama know?”
Lips pursed, Holly shook her head. “Not yet.”
“You told me before your mama?” Lorraine flattened a hand on her ample bosom. “Oh, Holly.”
“Don’t you dare let her know that.” Holly glanced toward the auditorium. “I’ll tell her right after the concert.”
“And Colt’s mama is with y’all, too.” Lorraine laughed. “That’s brilliant.”
“He’s a smart guy.” Holly shifted the phone to her left hand and wrapped her arm about his waist, hugging herself into him. He made a smartass noise in his throat.
“Well, I’m thrilled for both of you.” Lorraine blew her a kiss. “Congratulations. Love you, girl.”
“You, too.” Killing the call, Holly tucked the phone in her pocket and pressed into Colt. “Okay, doing this so we can tell our mamas at the same time was brilliant, Colton.”
“I didn’t plan this for tonight.” He touched a pair of fingers to his chest. “I’ve been walking around with that in my pocket for days, trying to figure out how to do this right, the way you deserved.”
“I don’t care if you planned it or not.” She folded her arm across his belly and stepped in to kiss him. “Tonight was exactly what I needed. You’re so good at that.”
Circling a finger at the base of her spine, he smiled. “You’re kinda good for my ego.”
Laughing, she lifted her face again, hope and happiness fizzing through her as he closed his arms about her.
They made their way back to their seats for the final few songs, and sure enough, the trio of their mamas and his aunt appeared oblivious to them, focused on the performance.
With his arm slung along the back of her seat, Holly relaxed into the warm shelter of his body, turning his ring on her finger with her thumb. He was exactly what she needed.
Once the last song ended and the musicians left the stage, the lights came up, their companions giggling and chattering like schoolgirls, in no hurry to rush from the auditorium.
From his aisle seat, Colt watched them, an amused smile curving his thin mouth.
Finally, with much of the crowd thinned out, Mama, who hated fighting traffic, deigned they could start “moving that way.”
“And I thought you were bossy.” Colt’s murmur rushed over her ear as they followed the trio up the aisle.
“Careful.” She elbowed his belly, smiling at his muffled grunt. “That’s your future mother-in-law.”
Their mamas and Mrs. Lenora awaited them in the lobby, still chatting about the evening’s highlights.
“Mama.” From behind, Holly draped her arms about her mother’s neck, a familiar gesture between them. She fanned her left hand, lights sparking off the diamond solitaire. “We should go get coffee.”
“Coffee this late? I won’t ever get to . . .” The words trailed off, and Mama grabbed her wrist. An excited whoop rose from her lips, and behind Holly, Colt startled. “Oh, my Lord!”
“Mona, what on earth . . .” Sue stopped, staring at Holly’s hand. Her wide-eyed gaze jerked to Colt’s face, and he grinned. Sue covered her mouth, excitement vibrating off her. “Colt . . . seriously?”
“Seriously, Mama.” He opened his arms, and Sue wrapped a hard hug around his neck. Holly caught Lenora’s soft smile as Mama turned to embrace Holly, squeezing the life out of her, before she and Sue swapped places.
“Oh, I’m so excited.” Mama hugged Colt side-to-side, slapping the center of his back. Holly hugged Mrs. Sue, kissing her cheek, receiving a kiss in return.
“Holly.” Mrs. Lenora stepped forward, cradling her face before folding her close. “Congratulations.”
She hugged Colt, too, although Holly didn’t miss how still and awkward he was in the embrace.
“Now, coffee sounds like a good idea.” Linking her arm with Holly’s, Mama lifted a finger, a wide smile lighting her face. “So we can make plans.”
“Hmm, coffee, yes. Plans? No.” She slanted a smile at Colt. “Not until Colt and I have time to talk.”
Their mother mostly complied with the dictate, although talk of venues and flowers and dates dominated their coffee klatch. Holly tolerated the conversation, because really? She was as excited as they were.
She studied his profile as they turned into her driveway. “I cannot believe you looked at your mama and said, ‘I was thinking we’d go to the courthouse.’ You are lucky to be alive.”
A grin played about his mouth, and he killed the ignition. Lord, he was such a tease. And he was hers. In a few months, he’d be even more hers.
In a few months, he’d be her husband.
She adored the idea, could see their life together opening up before her, an extension of what they shared now. He would be there, steady, dependable, hers, every single day.
The dress, the flowers, the venue — all that sounded great, but more than anything, she wanted him, the wry way he teased, the warm arm he hooked over her waist in bed, the way he treated her like she was incredibly valuable.
Half-turned in the seat, he gripped her headrest, a quizzical twist to his brows. “What’s that smile all about?”
If anything, her smile widened, and she let her gaze trail over his face. She reached out cup his jaw in her palm, a slight burr of stubble beginning to appear. “I was thinking how excited I am to marry you. To have you be my husband.”
Light flared in his dark eyes. “Huh.”
A laugh bubbled up from her throat. Of course that was his reply.
“That excitement is mutual.” He hooked his other hand about her nape, gaze holding hers. “Can’t wait for you to be my wife.”
“Hmm.” She looped her arms about his neck, although the seatbelts made the position awkward. “Let’s go to the courthouse Monday.”
A bark of laughter rumbled from his chest. “No.”
She fiddled with the edge of his hair. “You know, most men would jump at the chance to skip out on the fuss of a wedding.”
“Most men don’t have Sue for their mama or Mona for their future mother-in-law.” He tapped the end of her nose. “They’d take turns killing me.”
She leaned closer. “I’m going to have a say in my own wedding, Colt.”
“I’m going to make sure you do.” His mouth hovered over hers. “But I want you to have all the stuff . . . the showers and parties and the planning.”
And she really loved that, too, how he wanted the best for her. She fanned her fingers over his cheek, warm skin against hers. “I love you.”
“Yeah?” His gaze glowed brighter, a sense of ease to his posture she hadn’t witnessed in . . . well, the last time she’d seen him completely relaxed, completely joyful, they’d been kids.
She brushed the side of his nose, touched the corner of his mouth, learning the lines of his face, this new expression she treasured. “Yeah.”
“That’s good.” His voice was low, a honeyed bourbon, a little bit of sweet burn around the edges. “Because I love you, too.”
The joy fizzing through her required more than a kiss. She pressed close, buried her face in his neck, squeezing him in her embrace, and his deep laugh vibrated through her as he closed his arms about her, hugging her as near as he could get her.
He was hers.