It's Got A Ring To It (32 page)

“
Please, let me finish.” He placed
his hand on mine, calming me. “When I saw you with Ethan, it made me realize
that I should have fought for you the first time around. Should have shouted it
from the rooftops, if I wasn’t such a fool over-thinking things, worrying about
what other’s might say, about how my family would change, or about losing a
bachelorhood that’s really only left me feeling empty anyway. At first I tried
to rationalize it, analyze it, make it make sense, but what you’ve taught me
about love is that the one thing it isn’t, is logical. I love you with all that
I am and I couldn’t bear the idea of someone else being the man for you. I want
more walks at dusk, trips to Napa, and dances in the middle of a room that make
me feel like the whole world is revolving around us. I’ve been watching life
happen all around me through the lens of a camera, but I’ve told you before,
it’s like I’ve been seeing it in black and white all this time and only with
you do I get to see the world through a rose-colored lens. I get to be a part
of life with you and I want that for as long as I live.
Laila
,
if you’ll have me, I’d be honored to marry you
.
”

Placing
the ring on that special finger on my left hand, he asked the question I’d been
dying to answer
.

“Will you
marry me and color my world with happiness?”

With
the backdrop of all my loved ones and a ring that ma
de
the sun pale in comparison, I could never
refuse this man who love
d
me for being me.
“Yes!”
The word yawped out like a yell of victory, winded and desperate. It felt like
I was at the end of some long quest, too. I’d waited so long for a man who I
could love, who would love me in return. I said nothing else, just that one
word, followed by a barrage of tears. I was happy.
Ecstatic
and in love.
And there’s nothing that feels as good as being in love,
when you know the person is in love with you. After an embarrassing display of
kissing and canoodling and getting lost in the whimsy, in front of a room full
of our closest friends and family, we finally came up for air. Me, with raccoon
eyes smeared with goo-gobs of mascara streaking down my face and him happily
looking like a clown with my lipstick plastered across his
mouth—territory clearly marked.

With
my hand snug in his, I scan
ned the crowd to thank everyone for coming. Lena and Sam bubbled over
with excitement. Playfully, I squinted the evil eye at her because I knew she
was up to no good. She puckered her bottom lip, pleading with me not to be mad
at her. After all, she
was
my little sister and I had to cut her some slack for being wild enough to do
the things I never could—or would, for that matter.

The
room
was ch
ock-
full of my parents’
friends. Thank God I said yes, otherwise, it would have been yet another
embarrassment for my mom by me. A small intimate wedding would suit Myles and
me just fine, or a drive-by at the court, which would probably boil her blood,
if she couldn’t throw some talk-of-the-town party to invite her friends. She
was busy schmoozing them and already
planning
the details of some extravagant
shindig. Dad happily nursed a scotch. He could
care less, as long as we
were
happy.

My
crazy Aunt Pam
snapped
away with her camera. Every moment is a Kodak moment as far as she
was
concerned. An upgrade
to a digital would make life easier, but she
was
a creature of habit and as long as her
35mm
was
working, that
was
what she’
d
use. It tickled me to
think of all the rolls of film that she had tucked away in her freezer.
“Preserves the film, sweetheart,”
s
he explained—one of many lessons.

Stephanie
and Ashley
were in
the corner cheesing their best, I’m-happy-to-help smiles—occupational
hazard. They continued to work despite my insistence that they enjoy the party.
A few others that I didn’t recognize were scattered throughout the room, but we
made our way around one by one like a presidential meet and greet at a state
dinner. By the time we hit the back of the room, Lena made her way over to Elle
and the two of them simply glowed about Elle’s recent wedding and Lena’s upcoming.
I’d basically blocked out their entire conversation, save for some crazy talk
about all of us
double-dating
, to which they both
shrieked with excitement.

Finally,
Brooke jumped out from behind the bar, “Surprise.”

“
How did you…?” I grilled her, completely
stumped and taken for a loop. I knew Myles, Lena, and my meddling mother
planned this whole thing behind my back, but there
was
no way Brooke could ever hold a secret
from me. I knew even before Ethan was going to propose, when he bought the ring
and the day he’d ask because he made the mistake of thinking he could trust
Brooke to help him plan everything.

“
I just got here today. No one
told me until this morning. Lena just called and said it was an emergency and
to
jumpseat
on the next flight.” The two of us burst into laughter, hugging and guffawing.
There wasn’t an important event in each other’s lives that we had not shared.
It made the difference to know she was there.

“
I’m so glad you made it. This
just makes everything perfect.”

“
Laila
, I love you, girl. I wouldn’t
have missed this for the world. Now let me take a look at this man you’ve been
obsessing over.” Brooke stepped around the bar and eyed Myles from head to toe.
“Turn around,” she instructed him, and jokingly he obliged, in disbelief of her
outlandish audacity. “Oh, he’ll do just fine. Yes, he’ll do nicely.” Again, we
rolled with laughter and this time, Myles joined us at his own expense.

 
“
So, this must be the infamous, Brooke
.
” Myles deduced from our playful
camaraderie—it
was
obvious that a friendship like ours had been years in the making.

“
In the flesh.” Brooke made no
apologies. In fact, it
was
one of the many things I love
d
about her. She singlehandedly saved me from many a fashion faux pas and hair
don’t. As always, she looked absolutely flawless in a flowing red maxi dress
and gold sandals draped in pave crystals. Her blond locks were neatly tucked in
a loose ponytail, allowing the focus to be solely on her face, red lips
accenting blushing cheekbones.

“
Well, it’s a pleasure to finally
meet you
.
” Myles kissed
her hand
lightly.

“
Hey, hey. Enough of that,” I
teased. “This one’s taken.”

Brooke
step
ped to my side,
hanging on to my arm, but her focus was trained directly on Myles, “That’s al
l
right. Myles, I just hope
you’ll make it down the aisle. The last one couldn’t hang.”

“
I’m not letting this one out of
my sight,” Myles retorted, closing in for another carnal kiss that reached into
the depths of my warmest hollow.

“
Ok
ay
. You guys need to get a room. I’m going to
go mix and mingle with some people who don’t have their tongues lodged down
each other’s throats.”

“
Brooke, you can come mix and
mingle with me
.
”
A
deep, guttural male voice
offered.

Brooke
stared, utterly aghast and speechless—and
L
ord knows it t
ook
a lot to render Brooke speechless. By the
way she looked at Drew, and the way he ogled her, I determined it was best to
keep my mouth shut. She’d been tight-lipped about the whole thing between them
and I hadn’t seen him since Elle’s wedding.

“
Drew?”

“
Nice to see you again Brooke, but
I was kind of hoping it would’ve been a little sooner.”

Myles
furrowed his brows
at me, but I refused to interrupt. Whatever was going to happen between them,
it needed to just play out on its own. But, Myles couldn’t keep his two cents
out of it
.

“Andrew,
I was going to introduce you to Brooke, but it looks like you two already know
each other…” Myles fished, hoping either of them would add more.

“
Uh, yeah. First off, congrats
,
buddy. I’m real happy for
you guys.” Andrew leaned in and hugged us. “This is the girl I was telling you
about from the plane,”
he
said,
without
taking his eyes off Brooke.

“
Oh.” It was long and drawn out.
Andrew
, or
Drew,
and Myles had been talking.

“
Drew.” Brooke spoke his name once
more as if it were the answer to a question.

“
You said that already
.
”
H
e pulled her into him, taking her off guard
and holding
her
a little too long for it to be casual.

“
I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“
Well, I was hoping I
would
see you here.” Drew smiled, and
Brooke visibly melted against the bar. She was actually weak in the knees over
this guy.

I
couldn't help but
giggle at her expense. “Looks like I may not be the only one walking down the
aisle soon. Or, should I say being carried, judging by the strength of your
knees right now,” I teasingly whispered in her ear.

Myles
and I took our cue and walked
away. I needed to steal him away to fully take in the reality. When we reached
the library and I was sure no one was around, I gently closed the door and
pivoted toward him.

“
Laila
? Here?”
H
e eyed me with a
titillating
salacious grin plastered across
his face.

“
Myles, my love. There’ll be
plenty of time for that, but I just needed to be with you. Just you. When you
proposed out there, in front of everyone, I didn’t really get a chance to
express how happy you’ve made me.” I walked into his open arms where he sat
atop my father’s desk. “I need you to know that you are it for me. I’ve never
been happier in my life and there’s no one that I would rather be with than
you. I’m so in love with you that it scares me. Those couple of days that we
spent apart, I felt like the breath had been ripped from my lungs and my heart
would literally break at any moment. I don’t want to be without you.”

“
And you never have to because the
way you felt, describes exactly what I went through in better words. I meant
every word I said and I promise to love and honor you. I’ve never felt more
alive than I do when I’m with you. I can’t wait to start our life together.” He
smiled sweetly, leaning in to kiss me. Alone with th
e
room to
ourselves, I couldn’t help thinking about the fantasies I’ve had about having
sex on a desk or in a library. This would kill two birds with one stone. Myles
must have been thinking the same thing because his wayward hands roamed about
my body.

Next
thing I kn
ew, I was
on my back on the desk
,
and he was on top of me. Easing my dress up my thighs, he parted my legs with
his knee and positioned himself in between. His deft tongue trailed from my
chin to my neck and inched south. With both hands, I reached for his pants and
tugged at the zipper. Between labored breaths and writhing hips swaying to meet
the rise and fall of the other, I heard a faint
tinging
.

Straining
to hear,
Myles and I
paused. “What is it?”

We heard
someone in the other room. “I’d like to make a toast to the newly engaged,
Myles Donovan and
Laila
Smart.”

“
Shit,” we both cursed the timing.

“
I’d say this is a sign that we
need to stop trying to have sex at your parents
’
house,” Myles joked.

Like
d
é
j
à
vu, we hastily struggle
d to get our clothes back
on
. Maybe spontaneous
public sex wouldn’t be our thing, I thought as I finger-combed his hair while
he shifted my dress back on straight. Inside my pocket, my phone vibrated against
my hip. An unknown number reflected on the screen, but I answered anyway.

“
Hello?”

“
May I speak with Myles Donovan,
please?” a man asked and I knew it was a telemarketer or some overzealous
volunteer for the
N
ational
Census
B
ureau.

All
my instincts involuntarily tighten
ed up and I wanted to yell at them like I usually would,
but, then something dawned on me and a mile
-
wide smile
spread
across my face. “This is Mrs. Donovan.
What can I do for you?”