Will continued to ignore her as he addressed the group. “As you all know, my Brynny here has made some recent changes in the past couple months.”
“Cheers to that,” Sophie added.
“…she no longer has to consult a chart to decide what to wear each Monday, she’s no longer collecting brochures for her post-sixty Alaskan retirement cruise…”
“Only ’cause you made me,” Brynn hissed. “That cruise is supposed to be a spectacular treat for the elderly…”
Will put a hand over her face, playfully stifling her. “Anyway, point being, our little planner has taken great strides in embracing spontaneity.”
Brynn rolled her eyes, even as she flushed with pleasure at the pride in Will’s voice.
“But…” Will said, holding up a finger.
Brynn’s smile slipped.
“…our girl’s been hiding a dirty little secret under the mattress in the guest bedroom.”
Her face went hot as she grabbed his arm. “Wait, I can explain…”
“No need, honey, I think most of the women here will be able to relate…”
He moved toward one of the side tables, pulled a thick notebook out from under a bowl of chips, and held it up for everyone to see.
Sophie cried out in glee. “Oh, Brynny, it’s your wedding notebook.”
Marnie turned to her husband. “I have about six of those for each girl…of course, Sophie had to go and elope…”
Brynn’s dad and Gray each put a hand on Marnie’s shoulder and pressed. Hard.
“I thought we said no planning,” Will said with a teasing smile as he dangled the book in front of Brynn’s face. “But flipping through this, it looks like you’ve got quite a few things figured out.”
Only since I was six, she thought.
“Oh, that thing’s still around?” Brynn asked, her voice too high. “It must have escaped the shredder. Here, give it to me, and I’ll get rid—”
Will lifted the book higher and out of her reach before handing it to Sophie for safekeeping.
“I think maybe this is one of your planning notebooks that we’ll keep,” Will said, hooking a hand behind her neck and tilting her face up to him.
A few months ago, Brynn would have been mortified at such a blatant show of affection in front of so many people.
But now? Now she couldn’t care less who saw them together.
“I’ll get rid of it, really. It’s silly, and I don’t care about any of that—”
He stamped a hard kiss on her lips. “Yes, you do. And so do I. I may not have a wedding notebook, but I’ve been carrying something around with me since I was old enough to afford it.”
“So he was like twelve,” she heard Gray mutter.
All of the chattering around her turned to a dull hum as she watched Will drop to his knee.
“Will…” she said in a warning voice.
He shook his head. “We’re doing this the old-fashioned way. You’re not the only one who’s had a few dreams tucked away for future use. This is mine.”
Her eyes watered when he pulled out a perfect small, unmistakably sized jewelry box.
She opened it with shaking hands, her hand covering her wobbling lips at the perfect ring.