Two Knees Required
Delaney
I walked into Maisie's bike shop and froze.
Oh, my God.
Near the counter, Maisie stood utterly still, looking shocked, while a man at her feet knelt on one knee, holding out an open ring box with the ring inside catching the morning light.
In unison, they both turned to look.
I opened my mouth, but I had no idea what to say.
The man wasn't Griff.
It was Devon, who last I looked had been engaged to somebody else. I glanced around. No Sierra.
Actually, there was nobody at all. The shop was completely empty except for the three of us locked in a visual standoff.
Finally, it was me who broke the silence. "Do you, um…want me to leave?"
They both replied at the same time – except Maisie said no while Devon said yes.
That settled it. I wasn't going anywhere.
I stepped forward, zeroing in on Devon. "So, what happened to Sierra?"
He didn't get up. "Nothing."
"So…you're still engaged?"
He had the nerve to look insulted. "Of course not."
I squinted. "Hey, is that the same ring?"
He snorted just a little too loud. "What do you know about rings?"
"Not much," I admitted. "But I know plenty about you." I looked to Maisie. "I bet it's the same one."
She eyed the ring, squinting just like I had. "You know…I think that is the same one."
Devon sighed. "Alright, fine." He looked to Maisie. "We'll get you a new one. I promise."
Eww.
Seriously.
Maisie shook her head. "I don't care about the ring. I already told you, the answer's no."
He gave her a pleading look. "Oh, come on! Back in college, you said that's what you wanted."
She took a small step back. "Yeah. Years ago. And besides, you dumped me for another girl."
"So?" Devon gave her a shaky grin. "I just dumped her for you. That evens it out, right?"
Maisie stared like he'd just pulled a wedding cake from his ass. "Are you freaking serious?"
His mouth tightened. "I'm here on my knees, aren't I?"
I spoke up. "Actually, it's only one knee."
He turned his head to glower in my direction. "So?"
I shrugged. "I'm just saying, if you really wanna beg, you should probably get on both."
His eyes narrowed, but then he looked to Maisie and asked, "If I do, will you say yes?"
She eyed him like he was nuts. "No. Absolutely not. I'm dating someone else, remember?"
"Oh, come on," he whined. "Are you gonna let that stop you?"
She looked beyond disgusted. "Yes, actually. And even if I had nobody, I'd still say no." She made a little fluttering motion with her hands. "Now will you please get up?"
He didn't. Instead, he changed position, getting on two knees instead of one. To Maisie's obvious horror, he shuffled closer and said, "Not 'til you say yes."
I edged forward to stare down at him. "Well, then I hope you've got good knees, because it'll be hard for you to get on the bus if you keep refusing to stand."
His head snapped in my direction. "The bus?" His expression soured like I'd just handed him a mop and bucket. "I don't take the bus."
"Fine," I said. "Then try knee-shuffling through airport security." I lowered my voice. "I hope you like cavity searches."
He glared up at me. "Just admit it. You hated me from the start."
I gave it some thought. "Not from the start-start. But yeah. Pretty soon after that."
It was true. And honestly, I couldn't help it. He'd been a weasel from day two, when I'd caught him ogling another girl's ass while his arm had been draped around Maisie. And then, there was the time he'd introduced Maisie as a "good friend" during a party at his frat house.
Now, here in the bike shop, Maisie turned and looked toward the store's front window. "Hey, is that Sierra?"
Devon jumped to his feet so fast you'd think the floor had caught fire.
As for myself, I didn't even turn to look. I knew Maisie. She was obviously bluffing. But Devon? He didn't know her at all.
He was still looking panicked.
I spoke up. "I bet if you run, you can still catch her."
Devon looked from the window to Maisie. "Fine," he told her. "I guess it's your loss." And with that, he hustled past me and out the front door in search of Sierra – assuming she was even on the island.
Or hey, maybe he'd be proposing to somebody else.
I mean, he already had the ring, so anything was possible.
As for Maisie, she looked happy as heck to have him gone. "Do you know, that's the second time he's fallen for that?"
I moved closer to stand by her side. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But the last time was months ago, so…maybe he forgot?" She grimaced. "I'm just glad I was here alone. If you think you were mean to him, just imagine Griff."
"Hey, I wasn't that mean. And even if I was, he totally deserved it."
She sighed. "Maybe."
"Screw maybe." I gave her an exasperated look. "Do you remember how many times you cried over him in college? Even before you broke up?"
"Too many," she admitted.
"Exactly!"
She gave me a wry smile. "You know…you and Tessa are a lot alike."
My jaw dropped. "You're joking, right?" I wasn't insulted. Given Tessa's near perfection, it was actually a compliment. But I still wasn't buying it.
Maisie laughed. "Don't look so surprised. You are sisters."
"Yeah, but we're so different."
"Not totally different. Like for one thing, you're both really protective about the people you care about." Her voice softened. "It's nice…well, most of the time, anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She gave the front window a lingering glance. "Like how you acted about Devon – not today, but years ago. It was a little hard to appreciate when I thought I loved the guy."
Her words packed a wallop – not because of Devon, but because of Maddox. In a way, Tessa had been treating Maddox a little like I'd treated Devon in college.
But that was totally different.
Devon was a weasel.
Maddox wasn't.
Right?
Yes. Definitely.
Eager to move on, I said, "Do you know, I ran into Devon in Chicago? Well…actually him and Sierra both." I shuddered. "Twice."
"Yeah, I know." Her voice grew quiet. "They told me what you said."
I paused. "What do you mean?"
"You told them we weren't friends anymore." A shadow crossed her features. "They said you were laughing about it. I just loved hearing that."
My heart clenched. "But you weren't supposed to hear it. I didn't mean it. You do know that, right?"
"I do now." She took a small breath. "But I've gotta tell you…that one caught me off guard."
Obviously, it had done more than that. Even now, I could see in her eyes the lingering hurt – pain that I'd put there without meaning to.
I gave her a pleading look. "I just wanted to keep you safe, that's all."
With a weak smile, she replied, "I know. You already told me, remember?"
She was right. We'd talked about this. But now, looking at the damage I'd caused, I couldn't help but think that I could've handled all of it so much better. "Maisie, I am so sorry."
"Oh, stop it," she said with an unconvincing laugh. "That's ancient history, remember?"
As usual, she was being too nice. I smiled. "If you want, I could get on my knees and shuffle-chase you around the shop."
She blinked. "Wait, what?"
"You know, until you forgive me."
She laughed, this time for real. "No. Definitely not."
"Are you sure? Because I'd totally do it."
She was still laughing. "You'd better not. Just promise me something."
"Anything."
Her laughter faded. "The next time you try to 'protect' me…at least give me a heads-up, alright?"
I smiled. "I promise."