Flynn skimmed his thumb along her cheek. “Then don’t fight it. I meant what I said. A couple of weeks with you isn’t enough. Even if all this hadn’t happened, I’d have been looking for reasons to extend my stay. And I’ve never wanted to do that before. You’ve gotten under my skin. So, we don’t fight it. We let what’s already been happening happen, and that’s why they’ll believe it.”
“And after?” she whispered.
“We don’t think about the after. We take each day as it comes.”
One day at a time. Yeah, she could probably do that. “Okay.”
“I got you something today.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. You made Ari so happy with that fiddle.”
“That was fun, and I’ll enjoy teaching her. But this was actually the whole purpose of our trip.”
Pru heard the faint snap and looked down to see an open ring box in his hand. “Oh my God.”
Flynn plucked the ring out and dropped to one knee. “If we’re going to do this thing, we’re going to do it right. So, will you wear my ring and take what comes, with me by your side, partners ’til the end?”
She didn’t know when the end would be or what it might bring. But she was too far gone to give any other answer.
“Yes.”
Chapter Eight
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A ring made.
Wearing Flynn’s made this whole engagement feel more real. Mistake or not, it was easier to face telling people with it gracing her left hand. Pru had gotten more practice with that when they’d driven to Johnson City to pick up the exception to policy packet Monday morning, explaining her reasons for the request to the woman at DHS. Twenty minutes later, they’d left with the thick sheaf of papers and warm congratulations. They hadn’t run into Lydia Coogan, and that was a blessing. Pru had also gotten more details on Mae, who was scheduled for back surgery at the end of the week. At this stage, they weren’t clear when she would be back to work or whether she would be back at all.
“Do you know if she’s receiving visitors at the hospital?” Pru asked.
“Family only, right now.”
Pru wondered who that would be. She knew from her mother that Mae was long divorced and had no children of her own. It was part of why they’d been friends. Mae took as much joy from helping place children as Joan had from keeping them.
Back in the car, Flynn flipped through the packet. “This is…a lot of material.”
“I warned you, they’ll be going through your life with a fine-toothed comb. I don’t quite know how it will work since your friends and family are in Ireland, but I guarantee they’ll at least call.”
“Then I’d best prepare them.”
She glanced his way as she navigated into traffic. “And how’s that conversation gonna go?”
“Ma, Da, I met a wonderful woman, and I’m sticking around to see where it goes.”
“That simple?”
He picked up her hand, kissed it. “It’s the truth.”
Pru wished it were just that. She wished she were the only reason he was staying. She wished she were the kind of woman who inspired that kind of devotion. “I’d say the truth is a fair bit more complicated, and they’re gonna need some more details to back up our story. The whole engagement and—oh yeah—child make that a necessity.”
“My mother will be so thrilled at the prospect of my settling down and acquiring another grandchild, she’ll go along with anything. The hard part will be stopping her from hopping on the next plane to come welcome you both to the family.”
“That sounds both awesome and terrifying.”
“She can be both. She’s gonna love you.”
Pru didn’t know what to do with the future tense. A man with one foot out the door, with an eye on the eventual end of things wouldn’t talk about her meeting his mother. So what did that mean? Don’t fight it, she reminded herself, running a thumb across the bottom of her ring. Maybe she would meet his family. Maybe in the end this would all work out.
“Where are we going now?” Flynn asked.