Surviving (Surrender 2)

e kitchen.

We say our goodbyes and head to David’s house. Jimi and Will’s trucks are in the driveway when we arrive. I laid the desserts I brought on the counter and go to set the table. Once we’re all seated, David says the blessing and makes a point to welcome all the new people to our family. I smile because this time next year I’ll truly be a Collins.

Instead of listening to stories of the Collins childhoods and laughing, I’m defending myself. Jimi and I clearly remember things differently growing up. Declan and David encourage him to continue with stories that embarrass me as I argue. I turn beet red when he tells the story of the guys coming to one of our dance competitions. Harper, Kendall, and I were thrown in with a group of more experienced street performers. One of the guys got the wrong idea and grabbed my ass during a turn. Robbie, Jimi, Finn, and Max all confronted him after the dance and explained I was seventeen and warned him to keep his hands to himself. For the rest of the day, not one guy would partner with me. After that, I tried to keep all my performances secret.

Finally, I threaten to talk about the wedding planning and they shut up. When everyone is done eating, and the kitchen is clean we gather in the living room.

Declan motions for me to come sit with him in the armchair, while David hands out presents. I explain to Will and Jimi that the Collins’ are much more polite than our families when it comes to opening gifts. Abbi and Ella go first and show their delight with everything. Declan and I didn’t do a ton of shopping this year, but I did make sure to get each of them something besides a gift card. We all pitched in and got David an eReader. Declan started opening his gifts, and I wait until he’s done to get my last present.

I motion to Jimi, and he pulls the guitar out from behind the couch. The whole room is quiet watching his reaction.

“You never seem to stop amazing me. Come here.”

I land across his legs, and he kisses me quickly. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I like it. How’d you pick it out?”

“I must admit, I was out of my element so Blake helped me.” I tell the group about my shopping trip with Blake and his frustration with my lack of knowledge. Declan holds me close against him as we finish opening presents.

When I think the last present has been opened, I try to get up, but Declan doesn’t let me move. He leans back and pulls a box out from behind his chair.

“Dec, what’s this? We already exchanged our gifts.”

“I had a feeling you were going to pull another stunt like last year, so I held onto this present.”

He hands me the box, and I flip it open. Inside are the most beautiful diamond teardrop earrings I’ve ever seen. I look around the room and see David and the girls smiling at me.

“These were my mom’s. Dad gave them to her their second Christmas together. I thought it would be fitting to give them to you today.”

“They’re stunning. I love them.” I take them out and replace the earrings I have in.

When we are done, I go to the kitchen to get the desserts and coffee ready. I take a quick trip to the bathroom and run into Jimi and Declan in the hallway whispering.

“What’s going on?” I ask them quietly.

“Rave, you have to promise to keep quiet.”

I agree.

“Jimi wants to ask Abbi to marry him.”

I jump around in a circle and do a little dance trying to keep quiet. When I stop, both men are looking at me amused.

“This is great news! Have you talked to David?” I look at Jimi.

“Yeah, he gave me his blessing but I needed to talk to Declan too.”

“When are you going to do it?”

“Not sure, I want to do it when she’s least expecting it. Any ideas?”

“Man, I’m not the best person to ask. I had to do it twice. If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure her answer will be yes.” Declan says with a smile.

Jimi grins and I laugh a little too loudly because Ella comes around the corner and asks what we’re doing. We break apart and go in different directions.

A few hours later, Declan and I pack up our things to leave. We say our goodbyes and I thank David again for allowing Declan to give me such a generous gift. He kisses my forehead and squeezes my shoulder tight. His emotions are written on his face.

When we get on the highway I ask Declan why he chose the earrings and how did his sisters feel about it. He explains that his dad brought out a chest of all his mother’s jewelry and told them to choose. He spent a great amount of time going through each piece and the stories behind them. When he told them about the earrings, Ella actually suggested Declan give them to me. He took them to the family jeweler and had them cleaned last week.