Annabelle's Angel (9 page)

She looked up, eyes wide. Eyes he could drown in. Eyes he wanted to smile into for the rest of his life.

“I really enjoy dancing with you,” he said. He bent close. He didn't mind sharing his actions with the others, but not his words. “I'm sorry we don't have any more practices.”

She dimpled. “Me, too. They've really been fun.”

“Yeah, well, I was thinking.” He fumbled in the pocket, fought down a threat of panic, and pulled out the box. “This isn't what you're thinking—probably what everyone else is thinking. It's a promise ring.”

He opened the box, and Annabelle gasped when she saw the sparkling snowflake.

Rick gasped in a breath and then made himself say, “It means I promise to be true to you until we know each other well enough to get engaged. It means I promise not to hurt you or pressure you.” He leaned closer, his voice going lower. “It means I want the same promises from you.”

The joy on her face would have been answer enough. Her squeal, though, and the way she held out her left hand for him to slip the ring on, was better. And her whispered, “Now I want you to kiss me,” said everything.

When they pulled apart, all of two inches, he noticed applause. He ignored it.

“One teeny little problem, though,” Annabelle said. “If you want me, you have to take six more kids on. I'm not leaving them, not for anything.”

“Yeah, but that's OK. I need a family. I've sort of made up with mine, but they still all live a lot farther away than I like.”

“You don't have to wait, either.” Annabelle burst out laughing as Brody slammed into Rick from behind, and Mattie climbed up his arm.

“You gave her my ring,” he yelled in Rick's ear. “A'belle, I picked it out. It's my ring.”

With two kids wrapped around his waist, and a third hanging off his left arm, Rick grinned at Annabelle. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

And without asking, he took his next kiss.

 

 

 

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