Beautiful Disaster 01 (56 page)

The corner of my mouth turned up as I buried my face into his chest. “It’s
us
, Trav. Nothing makes sense unless we’re together. Have you noticed that?”

“
Noticed
? I’ve been telling you that all year!” he teased. “It’s official. Bimbos, fights, leaving, Parker, Vegas…even fires…our relationship can withstand anything.”

I lifted my head up once more, noticing the contentment in his eyes as he looked at me. It was similar to the peace I had seen on his face after I lost the bet to stay with him in the apartment, after I told him I loved him for the first time, and the morning after the Valentine’s dance. It was similar, but different. This was absolute—permanent. The cautious hope had vanished from his eyes, unqualified trust taking its place.

I recognized it only because his eyes mirrored what I was feeling.

“Vegas?” I asked.

His brow furrowed, unsure of where I was headed. “Yeah?”

“Have you thought about going back?”

His eyebrows shot up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea for me.”

“What if we just went for a night?”

He looked around the dark room, confused. “A night?”

“Marry me,” I said without hesitation. I was surprised at how quickly and easily the words came.

His mouth spread into a broad smile. “When?”

I shrugged. “We can book a flight tomorrow. It’s Spring Break. I don’t have anything going on tomorrow, do you?”

“I’m callin’ your bluff,” he said, reaching for his phone. “American Airlines,” he said, watching my reaction closely as he was connected. “I need two tickets to Vegas, please. Tomorrow. Hmmmm…,” he looked at me, waiting for me to change my mind. “Two days, round trip. Whatever you have.”

I rested my chin on his chest, waiting for him to book the tickets. The longer I let him stay on the phone, the wider his smile became.

“Yeah…uh, hold on a minute,” he said, pointing to his wallet. “Grab my card, would ya, Pidge?” He waited again for my reaction. I happily leaned over, pulled his credit card from his wallet and handed it to him.

Travis called out the numbers to the agent, glancing up at me after each set. When he gave the expiration date and saw my lack of protesting, he pressed his lips together. “Er, yes ma’m. We’ll just pick them up at the desk. Thank you.”

He handed me his phone and I sat it on the night table, waiting for him to speak.

“You just asked me to marry you,” he said, still waiting for me to admit some kind of trickery.

“I know.”

“That was the real deal, you know. I just booked two tickets to Vegas for noon tomorrow. So that means we’re getting married tomorrow night.”

“Thank you.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re going to be Mrs. Maddox when you start classes on Monday.”

“Oh,” I said, looking around.

Travis raised an eyebrow. “Second thoughts?”

“I’m going to have some serious paperwork to change next week.”

He nodded slowly, cautiously hopeful. “You’re going to marry me tomorrow?”

I smiled. “Uh huh.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yep.”

“I fucking
love
you!” He grabbed each side of my face, slamming his lips against mine. “I love you so much, Pigeon,” he said, kissing me over and over.

“Just remember that in fifty years when I’m still kicking your ass in poker,” I giggled.

He smiled, triumphant. “If it means sixty or seventy years with you, Baby…you have my full permission to do your worst.”

I raised one eyebrow, “You’re gonna regret that.”

“You wanna bet?”

I smiled with as much deviance as I could muster. “Are you confident enough to bet that shiny bike outside?”

He shook his head, a serious expression replacing the teasing smile he had just seconds before. “I’ll put in everything I have. I don’t regret a single second with you, Pidge, and I never will.”

I held out my hand and he took it without hesitation, shaking it once, and then bringing it to his mouth, pressing his lips tenderly against my knuckles. The room was quiet, his lips leaving my skin and the air escaping his lungs the only sound.

“Abby Maddox…,” he said, his smile beaming in the moonlight.

I pressed my cheek against his bare chest. “Travis and Abby Maddox. Has a nice ring to it.”

“Ring?” he said, frowning.

“We’ll worry about rings later, Baby. I sort of sprung this on you.”

“Uh…,” he trailed off, watching me for the reaction he expected.

“What?” I asked, feeling myself tense.

“Don’t freak out,” he said as he shifted nervously. His grip around me tightened. “I kind of…already took care of that part.”

“What part?” I said, my head craning to see his face.

He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. “You’re going to freak out.”

“Travis….”

I frowned as he pulled one arm away from me, reaching for the drawer of his night stand. He felt around for a moment and I blew my damp bangs from my eyes.

“What? You bought condoms?”

He laughed once, “No, Baby.” His eyebrows pulled together as he made more of an effort, reaching farther into the drawer. Once he found what he was looking for, his focus changed, and he watched me as he pulled a small box from its hiding place.

I looked down as he placed the small velvet square on his chest, reaching behind him to rest his head on his arm.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“What does it look like?”

“Okay. Let me rephrase the question….when did you get that?”

Travis inhaled, and as he did, the box rose with his chest, and fell when he pushed the air from his lungs. “A while ago.”

“Trav…,”

“I just happened to see it one day…and I knew there was only one place it could belong…on your perfect little finger.”

“One day when?”

“Does it matter?” he rebutted. He squirmed a bit, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Can I see it?” I smiled, suddenly feeling a bit giddy.

His smile matched mine, and he looked to the box. “Open it.”

I touched it with one finger, feeling the lush velvet under my fingertip. I grasped the golden seal with both hands, slowly pulling the lid open. A glimmer caught my eye and I slammed the lid shut.

“TRAVIS!” I wailed.

“I knew you’d freak out!” he said, sitting up and cupping his hands over mine.

I could feel the box pressing against both of my palms, feeling like a prickly grenade that could detonate at any moment. I closed my eyes and shook my head. “Are you
insane
?”

“I know. I know what you’re thinking, but I had to. It was The One. And I was right! I haven’t seen one since that was as perfect as this one!”

My eyes popped open and instead of the anxious pair of brown eyes I expected, he was beaming with pride. He gently peeled my hands from the case and pulled the lid open, pulling the ring from the tiny slit that held it in place. The large round diamond glittered even in the dim light, catching the moonlight in every facet.

“It’s….my God, it’s amazing,” I whispered as he took my left hand in his.

“Can I put it on your finger?” he asked, peering up at me. When I nodded, he pressed his lips together, sliding the silver band over my knuckle, holding it in place for a moment before letting go. “Now it’s amazing.”

We both stared at my hand for a moment, equally shocked at the contrast of the large diamond sitting atop my small, slender finger. The band spanned the bottom of my finger, splitting in two on each side as it reached the solitaire, smaller diamonds lining each sliver of white gold.

“You could have put a down payment on a car for this,” I said under my breath, unable to put any strength behind my voice.

My eyes followed my hand as Travis brought it up to his lips. “I’ve imagined what this would look like on your hand a million times. Now that it’s there….”

“What?” I smiled, watching him stare at my hand with an emotional grin.

He looked up at me. “I thought I was going to have to sweat five years before I’d feel like this.”

“I wanted it as much as you did. I’ve just got a hell of a poker face,” I smiled, pressing my lips against his.

EPILOGUE

Travis squeezed my hand as I held my breath. I tried to keep my face smooth, but when I cringed, his grip became tighter. The white ceiling was tarnished in some places by leak stains. Other than that, the room was immaculate. No clutter, no utensils strewn about. Everything had its place, which made me feel moderately at ease about the situation. I had made the decision. I would go through with it.

“Baby…,” Travis said, frowning.

“I can do this,” I said, staring at spots in the ceiling. I jumped when fingertips touched my skin, but I tried not to tense. I could see the worry in Travis’ eyes when the buzzing began.

“Pigeon,” Travis began again, but I shook my head dismissively.

“All right. I’m ready.” I held the phone away from my ear, wincing from both the pain and the inevitable lecture.

“I’m going to
kill
you, Abby Abernathy!” America cried. “
Kill
you!”

“Technically, it’s Abby Maddox, now,” I said, smiling at my new husband.

“It’s not
fair
!” she whined, the anger subsiding from her tone. “I was supposed to be your maid of honor! I was supposed to go dress shopping with you and throw a bachelorette party and hold your bouquet!”

“I know,” I said, watching Travis’ smile fade as I winced again.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” he said, his eyebrows pulling together.

I squeezed his fingers together with my free hand. “I know.”

“You said that already!” America snapped.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”