“Precisely. So now all of your vacations must be taken with me at your side so you don’t
meet anyone new.”
Holding his face in my hands, I kissed his lips gently. “You are amazing,” I smiled.
“So are you. Now let your friends hug you or they’re going to explode.”
We stood up together, and the cheering was deafening. As soon as Devin released me,
four pairs of arms attacked me, hugging me hard enough to bruise.
“He’s so sweet to you.”
“You two are perfect together.”
“I’ve never seen you look this happy.”
“I can’t wait to go wedding dress shopping with you.”
“Guys, let me breathe,” I squeaked.
They finally released me, giggling and grinning. Their boyfriends all came over, hugging
them in this sweetly romantic moment.
Devin’s arm slipped around me, as he murmured, “Your friends are great accomplices, by
the way. I’ve never kidnapped a girl before. It’s actually rather fun.’
Laughing, I wiped my eyes, then finally took a closer look at the ring. It was a large square
diamond, set slightly off-center. Close beside it was a medium-sized deep blue sapphire,
and above it was a smaller deep ruby. With the three square stones in a block pattern, it
was the most modern, stylish, and unusual engagement ring I’d ever seen.
“Do you recognize it?” Devin asked hopefully.
Blinking hard, I stared, my eyes widening. “Is this an interpretation of the Mondrian painting
we saw in the museum a few months ago?”
“Yes. You gushed about it, and said it was the perfect balance of color weights. You also
said something about the structure, and urban minimalism, and modernism, but I didn’t quite
understand everything. I just took a photo and found a custom jeweler to interpret it.”
I looked up to see Laura practically bouncing up and down. “Paul’s uncle is the most
amazing jeweler, don’t you think?”
“I love it,” I whispered. “It’s so unusual, in the most perfect way.”
“Just like us, baby,” Devin said, kissing my cheek as he held me tightly, wiping the tears
from under my eye with his thumb.