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“I’ll show you later” My fingers close around her wrist

“Why can’t you show me now?” She strokes the velvet She knows I can tell by the way her eyes widen “Alex?”

“Let’s have dinner first” It’s a plea

“Is this—are you?” Her gaze lifts, her shtly in her hand “It’s not a pair of earrings, is it?”

“Nope”

All o to shit if she opens the box Or I could go with the flow I sit up in a rush, and Violet finally let’s go of the box Lifting her fro on the footboard

“Giveit out so she can put it on

“But I thought—”

“We need to talk first”

She blinks nervously but coh the sleeves and pull it over her head Then I drop to one knee and flip the lid open

“I love you, Violet Hall You make every day an adventure Marry me”

Violet bites her lip and stares at the ring “Are you sure?”

“One hundred and ten percent”

“We’ve only been together for six months”

My hand is starting to shake from the anxiety Is this how rejection feels? If so, it sucks “We can have a long engagement”

“I don’t like big weddings” Her panic is clear “All those peopleinappropriate”

“It doesn’t have to be big It can be just the two of us if you want We can wait until next suet married up here by a justice of the peace on the end of the dock at sunset A damn Rastafarian can perform the cere part All I want to be is connected to you in the nificant way possible I want you as my wife”