Everybody Knows (Razes Hell 2)

We focused back on the stage, where Ellie had her hands over her mouth again as she stared, not just at their masterpiece, but at the item nestled on the top, where the hole for the vase would have been if they hadn’t made such a mess of it. I couldn’t see it too well from where I stood – and if not for the lights bouncing off the diamond, I wouldn’t have spotted the ring at all.

“Eleanor Jane,” Drew said, taking the ring from the vase before placing the ugly pottery on the floor. “I love you so much. I’ve loved you for a long time. Longer than you know. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. Will you marry me?”

The smile that spread across my sister’s face made my tears fall harder, and she nodded. “Yes. Hell yes!”

Drew placed the ring on her finger to another round of applause and whistles, and I turned to Jason and flung my arms around his neck. His hands slipped around my waist, and he said, “I’m reserving the first dance with you, Luce. So make sure any boyfriend you get between now and the wedding knows the deal.”

His words shocked me so much I jumped away from him and stared into his eyes. He grinned, and I wondered for a second if he was teasing me. But he pulled me back into him, and said, “It’s tradition for the best man and the bridesmaid to have the first dance together.”

I narrowed my eyes sceptically. “You sure about that? Also, you’re assuming an awful lot. What if they don’t pick us?”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to take you as my date.”

My heart shimmied inside my chest, but I still wasn’t sure I should take him seriously. Maybe. His eyes weren’t dancing with amusement the way they usually did when he was joking, but the likelihood of him truly meaning it was slim.

But he was still looking in my eyes as if waiting for an answer, so I smiled. “It’s a deal.”

**

After the post-show routine of showering and changing, we all headed out to the restaurant Drew had booked in advance to celebrate the engagement – nobody could accuse him of not making an effort! The mood around the table was fantastic, and everyone was laughing and joking around as we ate.

“I’ve been thinking,” Joey said, as he finished up the last of his steak. “Proposing with a vase is maybe the gayest thing I’ve ever seen.”

A chorus of laughs burst out around the table, and Drew said, “Cheers, mate. You couldn’t have brought that up before, when I told you what I was planning?”

“Nah. I thought it’d be funnier this way!”

Ellie placed her hand on Drew’s arm. “I thought it was perfect.”

Drew tilted his chin, his face oozing mock smugness. “See? Ellie thought it was perfect!”

“She’s just being polite,” Mack teased. “You should have done something manly like…” When he paused, unable to think of anything, we all laughed again.

“Struggling there, buddy?” Jason asked from his seat beside me. “You might want to take some tips from a real man!”

“Oh yeah? What have you got, Action Man?”

Jason held up his hands shook his head. “Forget it. It would be wasted on you guys.”

“No, come on.” Drew chuckled. “Educate me, little brother!”

&n

bsp; I raised an eyebrow in Jason’s direction and he smirked. “All I’m saying is, romantic stuff is well and good, but women don’t want or need that all the time.”

“For a proposal we want the romantic stuff! No woman wants to be proposed to at the same time as being clubbed over the head and dragged back to the man cave,” I told him as more giggles echoed around the table.

“You tell him, Luce!” Mack said, raising his beer bottle in my direction.

The grin that crossed Jason’s lips set my insides on fire and he winked at me. “You’ve never been to my man cave. You might like it.”

The heat in my cheeks threatened to burn the whole table to ashes, so I whacked his arm and turned my head, but shifted my eyes back towards him, unable to stop myself laughing. “You’re an idiot.”

“But you love me.”

Yes. Yes I do.

I rolled my eyes at him and reached for my glass of champagne. I hadn’t had nearly enough to drink to conjure up another witty response, so I swallowed some more of the bubbly instead.