Alex (Cold Fury Hockey #1)(111)

"I know but you're always plying me with chocolate. I'm going to look like a hippo if you don't stop."

An image comes to my mind of Sutton pregnant, her tummy round and her walk bordering on a waddle. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and I hope she wants more than one kid. But no time to think of that now. I have to get Sutton back on track with my plans today.

"Baby," I say as I lean in close to her ear, my voice dropping low so the waitress can't hear me. "One slice of your favorite dessert in the world isn't going to kill you. Besides, I'll help you work it off tonight. You can be on top."

Sutton's eyes go wide, her nostrils flare a little and her mouth opens on a soft gasp. I don't give her control often so this is indeed a special day.

"Okay," she says with rough desire, and fuck, I want to haul her out of here right now and take her home.

Turning to the waitress, I hold up two fingers. "Two slices of your chocolate cake."

The cake is brought out quickly and the waitress shoots me a sly wink as she sets Sutton's down in front of her. Then I tell her all about my conversation with my dad this morning. He's back in rehab, but this is a good thing. He's entering his third month and he's committed to completing the program. He understands that by leaving early the last time, he left a lot of helpful coping skills and tactics behind that he had not had a chance to learn. Sutton and I are planning to fly up in a couple of weeks to see him.

I notice Sutton has only a few more bites left of her cake, and she's so engrossed in what I'm saying, she's not really paying attention.

"So we're still a go for visiting him week after next, right?" she asks and then takes the last bite of her cake, barely glancing at it as she scoops it with her eyes pinned on me.

I nod assent to her question but then shoot a pointed look at her plate. "You scarfed that down."

She grins at me guiltily and then looks down at her empty plate. This is the moment I've been waiting for, and Sutton's eyes fill with tears as she stares at the crumbs she left behind. Because the plate has a message for her. It's a very simple question, really.

It says, Will You Marry Me?, and I can't help but hold my breath until I get the answer.

Her eyes lift to mine and a single tear escapes. I smile at her softly and wipe it away.

"Yes," she says as she nods. She stands up quietly from her chair and my heart is beating so hard, I'm sure everyone walking by on the street can hear it. Walking up to me, Sutton turns her body and sits down on my lap. My arms go around her waist as her face tucks into the crook of my neck. 

"I love you," she says with so much happiness in her voice, I almost start crying. "Being your wife would make all my dreams come true."

I hold her for a few seconds and try to get my raging emotions under control. I listen to her breathing and smell her sweet shampoo. We share a quiet moment together … just me and her.

Finally, I give her a little push to sit up on my lap so she looks at me. "We need to go ring shopping. I want you to pick out what you want."

Grinning at me in excitement, she says, "This weekend?"

"Nope. Now," I tell her and turn her around in my lap so she looks across the street.

Finneman's Jewelers is directly across from where we sit, and Sutton's jaw drops open when she sees the huge banner that is displayed. It wasn't there as we walked up to the restaurant earlier, but it was surreptitiously hung while she was eating her cake by the wonderful owner, Mr. Solomon Finneman.

The banner says, Closed to Public-Private Ring Viewing

Sutton turns her head slowly to me, her mouth still hanging open. I push my finger under her chin to close it. "Careful … a bee might fly in there."

"We're going ring shopping now?"

"Yup. You can pick out any ring in the store that you want, although I've had Mr. Finneman pull several that I like. But completely your choice."

"Right now?" she says, still in bewilderment.

"I did just ask you to marry me and you said yes, right?"

"Right," she affirms.

"Then let's go," I tell her as I stand up, gently setting her feet to the ground. I don't need to pay as I had arranged all of that ahead of time with the restaurant. Instead, I step up to the iron rail that separates the outdoor seating from the rest of the sidewalk and step over it. No problem for my tall frame. I lean over and pick up Sutton, careful so her dress doesn't ride up and lift her over to the other side.

I grab her hand and we wait for a break in traffic, completely jaywalking our way over to Finneman's. She still has one more surprise and this is going to be my favorite by far.

As we step inside, Mr. Finneman is waiting for us. He's impeccably dressed in a charcoal gray suit with a bow tie. He's a third-generation jeweler, or so he told me when I came in to see him yesterday to make sure everything was set and to pick out some of my favorites so he could display them together.