“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 said, 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 utensi
ls 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’s 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’s 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.”
“Oh, you’re talking to me,” she fumed. “You are sooo talking to me. You are never going to hear the end of this, do you hear me? I will never, ever forgive you!”
“Yes you will.”
“You! You’re a … ! You’re just plain mean, Abby! You’re a horrible best friend!”
I laughed, causing the man seated beside me to jerk. “Hold still, Mrs. Maddox.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Who was that?” America snapped.
“That was Griffin.”