“Are you going to stop doing that every time you see me?” she asked, raising herself up on her tiptoes, pressing her palm to the spot where he’d added an LL tattoo over his heart, and giving him a teasing smile. “We do have five more months to go.”
“No.” He dipped his head and gave her a quick kiss. “I’m in awe every time I see you.”
“Well, you better feed me while you stare because this baby is hungry.”
She sat back down, and he followed her lead—right up until she picked up one of the crumb-topped blueberry muffins. Yeah. He was not going to do that. She may be over her morning sickness, but he wasn’t over his muffin sickness.
“You aren’t going to try yours?” she asked.
“I’m kinda full.” And he was never having another muffin again in his life. “We can take it home and you can have it after I get you naked so we can play doctor.”
Even though he’d said it quietly, Fallon’s cheeks turned a vivid shade of pink with embarrassment. He looked around. The bakery was full, but no one was looking at them. In fact, everyone was turned completely away. Since #TeamZuck had turned every Harbor City hockey fan into a matchmaker and the Ice Knights had won two cups, he’d gotten used to people staring, so this was nice but a little weird.
She pushed the plate with the remaining blueberry muffin closer to him. “Just try it, you’ll like it.”
His stomach gurgled. The one thing he’d learned in the past few months was not to argue with a pregnant woman about food, but eating a muffin wasn’t gonna happen.
“Fallon, I love you, but I’m not gonna eat that.”
Someone behind him let out a groan. He turned his head so he could glare at the jerk so obviously eavesdropping, but the guy in a dark hoodie quickly turned away before Zach could get a good look. The hairs on the back of his neck spiked as he took a closer look around at the bakery. The clerk was behind the counter, grinning at them as if watching Fallon scowl at him while she ate her muffin and he refused to eat his was the best entertainment there was. However, no one else was giving them even a glance. They were all glancing away, even if the location of their tables made it a game of human twister to look in the other direction.
“Fallon, what’s going on?” He zeroed in on one guy wearing a baseball cap low and sunglasses—inside—who had the same been-in-one-too-many-fights-on-the-ice nose as his defensive partner. “Is that Stuckey?”
“Eat the muffin, Zach,” she said in that cut-the-bullshit tone that reminded him of that first night when he was sick.
When everyone in the bakery except the clerk continued to keep their back to them, he turned to Fallon. “What are you up to?”
Instead of answering, she tilted her chin toward the ceiling and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Would you just try the muffin?”
“Fal—”
A loud clattering from behind the counter yanked his attention away from the woman he loved, who was most definitely involved in shenanigans.
Lucy poked her head out of the kitchen. “Oh my God, Blackburn, pick up the stupid muffin.”
He turned and looked at Fallon. Her cheeks were red, she was twisting the end of her braid around her finger, and her mouth was uncharacteristically shut.
Welcome to the Twilight Zone.
“Fine,” he said, picking up the muffin closest to him. “I’ll eat the muffin.”
It was almost up to his mouth when he noticed the shining gold ring sitting dead center in the middle of the crumb topping.
“Zach Blackburn.” Fallon got up from her chair and then kneeled beside him. “Will you marry me?”
Okay, that was not how he planned on this whole proposal thing going. He was going to get down on one knee and ask her. She’d fan her face and get a little teary because pregnancy hormones were no joke, then she’d say yes. However, she’d pulled a fast break on him. He really should have expected it.
He helped her up before reaching into his pocket. “Only on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
He withdrew the little black box from his pocket and flipped the lid open, revealing the diamond engagement ring. “You always stay one step ahead of me.”
She grinned up at him. “Consider it done.”
Unable to wait another second, he pulled her close and kissed her, promising all of the tomorrows and forevers he could, as the friends and family who’d packed the bakery cheered them on.
Later, after everyone had given them their congratulations and Fallon’s brothers had shot him death glares of warning to not fuck this up, they stood alone at their table. He glanced down at the muffins and chuckled.