Chapter 38
Mason
With my briefcase in hand, I bolted out of my office without making eye contact with any of the nurses. If I looked at them, they would want to remind me of paperwork I didn’t sign or tell me about the test results of a patient. I didn’t want to be delayed. Not today.
“You’re out of here already?” Junie asked in surprise as I rushed past her.
“Yep, and I’m not sticking around another minute and catching one of those emergency calls. I have to go,” I said hastily.
“What’s the rush?”
I grinned, unable to hide my excitement from one of my closest friends. “I’m going ring shopping.”
She raised one eyebrow. “You’re doing what?”
“I’m buying a ring and proposing marriage to the mother of my child. To my baby mama,” I added, testing the words on my lips.
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding me.”
“About which part?”
“Your baby mama,” she said dryly.
“Nope. Not kidding. She’s pregnant, and it’s my baby. We got it the old-fashioned way,” I said with a wink.
She blushed. “Mason Chambers, you dirty devil. Congratulations! I knew you two would figure things out. I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thanks. Now I’ve got to go buy a ring and then ask her big brother for his blessing. Not that I care if he gives it to me. I’m going to ask her regardless of what he says. I want the woman to be my wife. How weird is that?” I muttered, hearing the words come out of my mouth. “I want a wife.”
“Good for you. I want to see that ring once you pick it out. Don’t deny an old woman these little joys in life. It better be big and sparkly. The woman likes her bling.”
“It will be stunning, just like her. And of course I’ll show you the ring. I wouldn’t dream of denying you anything, Junie.”
“You’re such a flirt. You better tone that down or your wife will be putting you on a very short leash,” she warned.
I laughed and headed out the door. There was a bounce in my step as I made my way to my car and headed for the jewelry store.
The second I walked in, I was targeted by an eager sales person. “What are you looking for today?” the woman asked.
I looked at her, debated the idea of asking the male associate to help me, but then decided she would probably have a better idea about what a woman wanted.
“I need something big, unique, classy, and elegant.”
She smiled. “I can do that. Let’s start over here.”
I looked at her hand and noticed she was wearing a large rock on her finger. That made me feel a little safer. Sally had made me paranoid. I didn’t want to get caught talking to a beautiful woman ever again and give Lara any reason to doubt me.
The woman pointed out several rings, but none of them were what I was looking for. I started to panic at the thought that I may not find the perfect ring. I didn’t want to settle for an okay ring. It had to be spectacular.
“Do you have something with color? She loves bright colors,” I said, hoping that didn’t sound too ridiculous. I wanted big and eye-catching, but not gaudy. It needed to match her personality.
“We have some diamond rings surrounded by emeralds or sapphires,” she said, moving a few cases down.
“Sapphire? That’s blue, right?” I asked, getting excited.
She smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s what I need. What do you have with sapphires?”
“Is this an engagement ring?” she asked.
I nodded. “Is it wrong to get sapphires in an engagement ring?”
“It’s unconventional, but there are no rules these days. You’ve got to get the ring that you know she’ll love. You want her to say yes, right?” she teased. “If she likes sapphires, then that’s what you get. Don’t worry about being conventional,” she said, smiling at the man standing to the side.
“Absolutely.”
She pulled out a couple cases and showed me a variety of rings. None of them screamed Lara.
The man who had been standing back approached. “Babe, what about that new shipment that came in? Wasn’t there a sapphire ring in that lot?”
The rock on her finger made sense now. These were the married owners.
“There is! I know it’s going to be perfect. Sit tight and I’ll grab it,” she said, dashing to the back.
Her husband smiled at me. “It’s tough, huh, trying to find that perfect ring? Trust me, finding the ring that she would go gaga over wasn’t easy. She has seen them all.”
I laughed. “How’d you decide?”
“I just knew. I think it’s the same way when you meet the woman you want to marry. You just know.”
I nodded my head in agreement. I hoped the ring the woman brought out was the one.
The sales lady came out from the back room. “Ready?”
I nodded, holding my breath. When she opened the box, my mouth dropped open. “That’s it. That’s the one,” I said, staring at the ring. “It’s perfect.”
She took the ring out and held it up. “It’s a two-carat, princess-cut diamond in the center with smaller diamonds in the band. Each of the sapphires surrounding the band are a round cut, giving them that stunning appearance. The white gold band makes it really pop,” she said.
She was wasting her breath. I didn’t need her to sell it to me. I didn’t care how much it cost. I was going to have that ring.
“That’s the one. I’ll take it,” I said, reaching into my wallet and pulling out my credit card.
The husband and wife team were beaming. I knew I had just made their day with the sale, but they also appeared to be genuinely happy for me.
With the ring safely tucked away in my pocket, I called Brian and asked him to meet me at my place. He said he could stop by for a few but then had to get home to Kali. They had dinner plans.
I only needed five minutes. It was a cursory call anyway. If he didn’t like my plan, it was too bad.
He was right on time.
“What’s up?” he asked, clearly in a rush.
“I’m going to ask Lara to marry me,” I said, not wasting any time on small talk.
“Oh.”
“Oh? Is that a good oh?”
“I’m surprised. Well, maybe not. I think I knew this was coming,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You should. I know she’ll say yes.”
“I hope so.”
“You got a ring?” he asked.
I grinned. “Yep.”
“Let me see it. You know I have to compete with you now? She’s going to show Kali and then Kali is going to expect me to do the same. I need to know how bad this is going to hit my bank account.”
I chuckled and pulled the ring out of the drawer and handed him the box. He opened it and gave a low whistle.
“Damn,” he said, staring at the ring. “That’s a pretty big rock. Why blue?”
“Have you seen her bathroom?” I asked.
“Can’t say I have, but I know she’s always liked bright colors. Nice ring. Don’t tell me how much it cost, but at least tell me the size of that stone.”
“Two carats,” I said as if I were telling him it was sunny outside.
“Holy shit. I’m going to have to take out a loan.”
That took me by surprise. “Are you going to ask Kali to marry you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Not today, but I think soon.”
“Wow.”
He laughed. “Wow is right. I didn’t expect this to be happening, but here we are.”
“Here we are.”
“Okay,” he said, handing me the ring back. “I better get home before Kali gets cranky.”
“Thanks for the, uh, blessing, I guess,” I joked.
“You got it. You two were meant to be together.”
It felt good knowing I had his approval. I didn’t want any animosity between us. Now all I had to do was get Lara to say yes.
I put the ring back in the drawer and headed into my living room. I stopped, seeing my home through fresh eyes. My apartment was cold and lifeless. Not only did I need to ask Lara to marry me, but I needed to ask her if I could move into her place. Her house was better suited to raising a baby.
I wanted our child raised with vibrant color and a warm, homey place. Lara had created that in her condo. I could put my apartment on the market. I knew it would sell quickly. The money could be used as a college fund or to pay for a big wedding.
I called Lara just to check in. She was working late tonight and was going home after work. I would miss having her in bed next to me, but I knew that one day soon, I would never have to sleep apart from her again.
“Hi,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Hey. You’re not working too hard, are you?”
“Nope. Sitting on my ass going over the monthly report. What are you doing?”
I looked at the drawer where the ring was stashed. “Nothing. Watching TV.”
“I miss you,” she said in a husky voice.
“I miss you, too. I can meet you at your place.”
“That’s okay. I’m going to be late. You don’t have to wait around for me.”
“Fine. Did you eat?”
She giggled. “Yes. I ate a big salad for dinner. It was healthy and yummy.”
“Good. Okay, I’ll let you get back to work so you can get out of there. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered and then hung up.
I held the phone in my hand, wishing it was her I was holding. I made something to eat and then watched television for a bit before heading off to bed. I was bored, and lonely. I missed spending the evening with Lara in my arms.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling and my mind began to drift into a daydream. It wasn’t long before I fell asleep and my thoughts of Lara spurred a lovely dream. It started out like many of my dreams about Lara did. Usually, it was us having a grand time and ending up in bed. The dreams tended to be erotic, always leaving me hard when I was startled awake.
This dream was a little different. It transformed at some point from hot and sexy into sweet and full of hope. In the dream, I stumbled into the nursery to find Lara asleep in the rocking chair, holding our sweet baby. She looked like an angel. My heart felt full and filled with a warmth I had never known as I watched mother and child sleep. When I went to her and lifted the baby from her arms, I felt so much love in my heart, it seemed as if it would burst.
When I woke, my arms were folded against my chest as if I was still cradling my baby. I had the feeling of being wrapped in a blanket of love. It was what I had been searching for all my life. I prayed I could make that dream a reality. I wanted Lara to be my wife. I wanted to spend every minute I could with our child. Hell, I hoped we could have several children.
The future looked very bright. Tomorrow I was going to do it. I was going to ask Lara to be my bride. My stomach fluttered with about a million butterflies as I thought about popping the question.
“She better say yes,” I mumbled into the dark room.