She stuttered into his embrace and looked up at him with wary eyes. “Ha-ha. Okay, Clay.”

“No, really, Andrea,” he said without preamble, looking square in her eyes. “Marry me.”

Andrea stilled and gave a half-laugh. “Clay, come on.”

Clay just smiled, sank down onto one knee, and removed the blue Tiffany box from his jacket pocket. Her eyes rounded to the size of saucers.

“No, you come on, Andrea. Run away with me. Marry me.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. She gasped in pure shock at what was happening before her. He saw tears brimming in her eyes.

Yeah, there was no way she had seen this coming. Though, frankly, he hadn’t seen it happening this way. There was just no other way it could have happened once he was here. She’d shown him a part of her soul. And he wanted her to have his for the rest of their lives. It was only fitting.

“Clay,” she breathed. “Oh my God!”

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

“Yes! Are you joking? Of course, yes!”

He laughed and jumped up, sweeping her into his arms. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too. Oh my God, you just proposed.”

She held her left hand out, shaking slightly, and he plucked the enormous, way over-the-top diamond out of the box. It was a giant circular diamond set with a double halo of diamonds around the center stone. The band was a simple thread of diamonds all the way around her finger. And, when he slid it into place, he smiled triumphantly. The diamond took up almost her entire tiny finger.

She really started crying then. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous. This is exactly the ring I would have picked. How did you know?”

“Because I know you, baby,” he said, drawing her in for a kiss. “I’ve always known you. And I’ve always wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Now, it’s just official.”

“We’re official,” she said in awe. “Oh my God, we’re official.”

“You just have to do one thing when we get to Chris’s big party tonight.”

She beamed. “What’s that?”

“Tell all of them yourself, so they don’t kill me.”

“What? Why?”

He laughed and ducked his head. “Well, the party is actually for you, and I was planning on proposing to you there. So, they’re all waiting for us.”

She started laughing uncontrollably. “You sly little dog! I had no idea. Why didn’t you wait?”

“I couldn’t wait. The moment was perfect. How could I not let you know I wanted to share the rest of my life with you when you were sharing so much with me?”

“Oh, I do love you!” She threw herself into his arms. “We’re getting married!”

Andrea screamed that all over again as soon as they entered the room of her favorite restaurant. She threw her hand out to the gathered audience—Gigi, Brady, Liz, Chris, Ethan, Cash; Jamie and her husband, James; Victoria and her boyfriend, Daniel. Everyone oohed and ahhed appropriately when she showed the giant diamond around the crowd.

But it was Gigi who came up to Clay in the mayhem and smacked him on his arm. “I put all of this together, and you proposed at home?”

“Thanks, Gigi. Couldn’t have done it without your pep talk at the office.”

“Damn, I really wanted to see! Tell me everything.”

“Ask Andrea. I’m sure she’ll want to tell the story a million times.”

Gigi rushed forward to get a good look at the ring on Andrea’s finger and to ask Andrea to tell what had happened. The guys all sidled up next to him with shots in their hands, clapping him on the back in congratulations, and then they all downed the drinks.

When everyone finally settled down, they had a celebratory dinner. The girls were already scheming, and Clay let them. It was one of the best days of his life. He couldn’t have asked for any of it to go better. The girl of his dreams had said yes, and he was with friends and family. He couldn’t be happier. He had never thought this day would come, but he was glad now that it had.

Once dinner ended, Clay retrieved his fiancée—fuck! his fiancée!—and wished everyone good night. “Let’s go this way.”

“What’s this?” she asked.

“I had a moonlit stroll planned. Thought we could still walk the short path around the place?”

“That sounds wonderful.” She wrapped her hand around his arm and started walking through the darkened trail. “The girls are so excited. They wanted to know everything. Liz had just done this, so she went straight into wedding-planner mode, but, damn, I mean, I never thought this would happen. I don’t even know what I want.”

“Yes, you do,” he said easily.

“Maybe I do,” she agreed with a grin. “I just…well, we should probably think about a date.”

“Indeed.”

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think when it’s warm.”

“So, probably next spring then?”

He stopped them in their tracks underneath a streetlamp and kissed her. “I was thinking a little sooner.”

“But…”

“What about in two weeks?”

“What?” she gasped.

“Why wait?”

Her mouth was agape. “Because…there’s so much to plan. And we just got back together a couple months ago. And…”

“And all things that change nothing. I’m completely dedicated to you. You are completely dedicated to me. We already live together. Plus, we’re already going to be in Hilton Head.”

They’d planned to go on vacation after her gallery opening so that they could have a breather after his grueling work schedule. He might…or might not have had an idea that this would happen, but he obviously hadn’t mentioned that to her.

“Yeah, I mean, we are, but, Clay, I can’t plan a wedding in two weeks!”

“Yes, you can,” he told her simply. “Just think. No stress. No worrying about every little detail. Because we both know you’d obsess about it otherwise. Just you and me, our family, and the exchanging of rings on the beach. Run away with me.”

Her mouth opened and closed. “You really mean it?”

“I’ve had a decade with you already. I know I want this. I’m entirely sure. Why wait?”