“Of course there’s a ring.” Once he’d managed to remove the box, he told her to close her eyes, and he turned on the flashlight app on his phone so they’d have enough light to see by. “Now give me your hand.”
She worried that he might have spent too much. Any man who could pay seven million for a car could have easily gone overboard in the ring department. But when he slipped it onto her finger and told her to open her eyes, she gasped because it was exactly the type of ring she would have chosen. At approximately two and half carats, it definitely wasn’t small, but it wasn’t ostentatiously large either. A halo of smaller diamonds surrounded the center princess-cut stone, giving the ring a vintage feel that she loved.
“Oh my God.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect. Have you had it the whole time?”
“It was a custom design. FedEx just delivered it yesterday.”
“Let me guess. Right around the time you asked if I’d run back to the coffee shop to grab you a muffin.”
“I was tracking the delivery on my phone.”
Kate laughed. “Of course you were.”
“Remember the day I spent with your parents while you were driving from Minneapolis? I really wanted to get it right, so I asked your mom to help me design the ring. It made her cry.”
“It’s amazing. I love it.”
“You were worried it might be too big, weren’t you?”
“No, not at all.”
He laughed. “Kate.”
“Maybe a little.”
Just then the fireworks began, and as the colors streaked across the sky, the future Mrs. Bradshaw snuggled with the man she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with.
The next night, when they were seated at a table at 1587 Restaurant, which had quickly become one of their favorite places to eat on Roanoke Island, Ian said, “My fiancée would like a glass of chardonnay and I’ll have a bourbon.”
“You are so sweet,” Kate said, smiling back at him because his happiness was palpable.
“Congratulations,” the hostess said. “When’s the big day?”
“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Ian said.
“We do weddings at the inn. You should stop by the front desk and pick up some information on the way out.”
“Really?” Ian said.
“Yes. People get married here all the time. I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
“We cannot elope,” Kate said once the hostess had walked away. “Underneath my mother’s sweet and mild-mannered exterior lies a woman hell-bent on immersing herself in the planning of her only daughter’s wedding. She’s been looking forward to it my whole life. She won’t admit it, but when I broke up with Stuart she mourned the loss of that ceremony. She hasn’t been able to scratch her itch with Chad because Kristin’s mom is just as cuckoo about weddings as she is. If she doesn’t get the chance to make her wedding fantasies come true with me, she’ll come unglued and then my dad will kill you for real.”
“Oh, I know all about your mother’s wedding obsession. After she helped me with your ring, we sat on the couch with my laptop for hours while we were waiting for you. She showed me flowers and dresses, we looked at tuxedos and wedding cakes. I know we can’t elope. But what about inviting everyone to come here? It shouldn’t be hard to plan, especially with your mom’s help.”
“That’s actually a really good idea.”
“Do you think she’ll be upset that we can’t have a large wedding?” Ian said. They’d already discussed the fact that only Kate’s parents and Chad and Kristin could know what had happened with Ian.
“She’ll be fine. And considering we’ll have to pull it together quickly, she’ll have her work cut out for her.”
“What about you? What do you want?”
“As long as my immediate family is here and you’re waiting for me at the end of the aisle, that’s all I care about. Maybe everyone could spend some time with us on the island before the wedding. You could meet Chad and Kristin. Just a heads-up: my brother thinks you’re crazy.”
“I’ll win him over. You’ll see. I’d want to invite Phillip and Susan too.”
“Of course,” Kate said. “Maybe we could also invite your mom.”