I didn't mind that Owen and I kept quiet about the engagement. We didn't mention it to anyone the whole time we were in California. We had an amazing time and were really in love, but the engagement on the beach remained our little secret.
I did, however, ask Owen to give me the ring pretty much the second our plane landed in Memphis. I didn't care if that wasn't how most people did it. I had been waiting long enough for Owen to be mine, and I wasn't about to let some formality stand in my way.
"I've got to go by the vet's office and get Henry out of boarding before they close," Owen said as we waited for our luggage. "Just get my parents to take you home. I'll get Henry and go by my house to get the ring, and then we'll meet you at your house."
"Sounds like a plan," I said.
I could hardly stand still. I was so excited to put Owen Bishop's ring on my finger that I wiggled and shook as we stood there waiting for the bags. I wasn't even concerned with what the ring looked like—all that mattered was that Owen was the one who bought it.
He smiled as he stood beside me, waiting for our luggage. I knew he could see me bouncing up and down and that he knew the reason why I was so excited.
He talked to his dad about giving me a ride, and before long, everything was situated, we had our bags, and I was piling into the oversized SUV with Jesse, Rose, Ivy, and Wes.
They drove straight to my house. They asked questions about it, and I told them about a few of the improvements or changes I had made in the short time since I had moved in and was planning on making in the future. Wes was the only one who hadn't seen it, and I invited him to come inside, but Jesse and Rose said they needed to be getting home and that he could definitely come back and see it before he went back to London.
They changed their mind once they pulled up at my house, though. Jesse just couldn't bear to leave me home alone without walking through the place first. It was a big house, and I could tell he wasn't comfortable letting me go inside alone—not after being gone for days. I told him that I had security cameras with motion sensors hooked to my phone, which was the truth, but he got out of the truck and did a two-minute walkthrough of the place anyway.
Wes and Ivy wanted to stay longer and check out my gym, but their parents refused, saying everyone was tired and needed to get home. They promised they would come back soon. I wanted them to stay, but it was sort of convenient for me that Jesse and Rose wanted to get home since my man was coming over with my ring.
The first thing I did was take a shower. We had been staying in a gorgeous house, but being on the road always made me feel like I needed to get cleaned up. I washed my hair, shaved my legs, and got completely comfortable.
My house was quiet, and I caught myself feeling like I needed to get a dog. I thought about Henry and how he would soon be mine to share with Owen. I assumed the two of them would move into my house, and I couldn't wait for that to happen.
I looked at my phone once I finished drying my hair and realized I had a text from Owen. It said he would be here in an hour, and I glanced at the clock feeling like that was a lifetime away. I unpacked, put on a little makeup, and when I was done with all that, I still had forty minutes to wait, so I played around on my silks for a little while. I didn't break a sweat or anything, but I had so much pent-up excitement that the physical release did me good.
My phone was hooked to the speaker system and I had music playing while I was working out. Abruptly, during the middle of a song, the music stopped and my phone and began ringing. It took me a few seconds to descend from the silks, and by the time I made it to my phone I had already missed the call. I stared down at the notification, smiling at the fact that it was Owen.
I called him back right away.
"Hey," he said, picking up the phone.
"Hey," I said. I got that same feeling of anticipation at the sound of his voice.
"I'm glad you called back," he said.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'll be there in five minutes. Wait out front."
"Outside?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because I was gonna pick you up and take you for a ride."
"On your motorcycle?" I asked.
"No, in my truck. Yes, on my motorcycle," he said. I could hear his voice change from serious to playful as he delivered those conflicting statements, and it made me giggle. I started looking all around, wondering if I was dressed appropriately for a motorcycle ride. I almost reminded him to bring the ring, but I figured I had mentioned it enough already, so I decided to assume he had that under control.
"Okay, I'm gonna wait out front," I said.
"Five minutes," he said.
"Five minutes. Love you."
"Love you too."
We hung up, and I took off running through my house. First, I went to my closet. I quickly changed into something more appropriate for a ride. I put on jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt, hiking the sleeves up to my elbows. I slipped on socks and tennis shoes, and then I ran to the bathroom where I checked myself in the mirror before tying my hair into a low messy bun. Owen always made me wear a helmet so I didn't have many options for my hair. I stared at myself in the mirror, making small adjustments and trying to look my best when he arrived. I was so nervous and excited that I made little noises and talked to myself as I was going through the motions.
I figured it must've been close to five minutes by the time I finished everything, and I ran toward the front door without even worrying about turning off lights. I locked the front door behind me and put my phone and my keys in my pocket, waiting anxiously for Owen to come down the street.
Within a minute, I saw him.
I blinked as I stared across my front lawn and down the street. There were some trees in the way, but I had a fairly clear view of the road from my front entryway.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
It wasn't just Owen.
He wasn't alone.
He was riding in the front, but behind him, in a triangle shaped formation, was what seemed like a hundred other motorcycles.
I was instantly overwhelmed.
I covered my face with my hands and began laughing and crying at the same time.
Hot tears sprang to my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I peered through my fingers, feeling utterly stupefied by the spectacle that was coming toward me. There were so many of them, and the sound was astonishing.
It was honestly breathtaking.
My face scrunched up with tears, and I covered it with my hands because I just couldn't make them stop. I could feel myself shaking. I knew why they were following him here, and I was completely overwhelmed by it.
I watched in awe through my fingers as Owen led the unbelievable, awe-inspiring group up my driveway. There was nothing I could do but shake my head and cry as I watched them approach. It felt as though the whole earth rumbled as they got closer. There weren't a hundred bikes—maybe more like fifteen or twenty—but it might as well have been a hundred with how unbelievable the spectacle was. It was truly an amazing sight.
My front entrance had a wide staircase leading to the front door with about ten steps, and I sat at the top of it, feeling like if I didn't sit down I might just pass out.
Try as I might, I could not stop my tears from flowing. I wiped my cheeks trying to get myself together, but the sight of everyone on motorcycles behind Owen like that was really stunning, and tears kept springing to my eyes.
I peered out from behind my hands as I sat at the top of the stairs, watching them come to a stop in the U-shaped driveway right in front of me. Owen was smiling at me, and all I could do was sit there and watch him.
I was shaking uncontrollably.
They parked behind and around Owen, and I briefly scanned their faces. Wes, Ivy, Jesse, Rose, Doozy and Shug, Gray, Jane, Liam, Shelby. Even Jacob and Alice were there, and so were Max and Betsy along with a few others from the shop. I blinked as my eyes kept filling with tears.
Engines were rumbling, but one by one, they parked and turn them off, and before I knew it the air was silent. Owen got off of his bike and stood at the bottom of my stairs, smiling at me and looking like a model right out of a magazine. He was the hero of the story; there was no doubt about it. He stood there, confidently smiling at me and knowing he was my knight in shining armor.
I tried not to cover my face, but I was so touched that it was difficult for me to let them see me. I grasped my hands together and held them in front of my face. I looked straight at Owen, but I could see everyone who was sitting behind him out of my periphery. They just sat there quietly watching us.
"Darcy Meyers," Owen said. "I want to marry you."
I nodded my head because I didn't trust my voice.
"I have a ring for you, but you have to come down here to get it."
I carefully stood up, hoping and praying that my legs could carry me. I started to walk down the steps, and someone yelled out in excitement like they were at a rock concert. Someone else whistled, and three or four more joined in, yelling and whistling sounds of approval at me as I descended the steps.
All I could do was smile and shake my head, feeling like the whole scene was a dream. I didn't stop in front of Owen. I walked right into his arms, almost knocking him over, which caused a whole round of yelling and applause.
He easily regained his balance, and we held each other steady for a few seconds before he turned to face the crowd. He held me close to him, a fact for which I was grateful because I was devastated with emotions.
"Nothing happens to you unless it's your destiny," he said, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear. "And I always knew Darcy was mine."
Someone whistled, and I sank my face into his chest as tears fell.
"I already told her I was gonna marry her, but I wanted y'all to be here with me when I gave her the ring."
Owen held the ring between his thumb and finger and put it right in front of me. I knew he wanted to stoop down, but I was holding him tightly not wanting him to leave me standing there. I stared at it for a second before reaching out with shaking hands.
"She already said 'yes', by the way," Owen said, looking at them, and causing them all to laugh and clap.
I smiled and shook my head at him as I took the ring, stretching upward so that I could kiss him. I gripped the ring in my fist so I wouldn't drop it, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him right on the mouth. I unashamedly kissed him three times in a row, causing the raucous bunch to whoop and holler from their places on the motorcycles.
After the third kiss, I heard an engine start up, and then another, and then another. Soon the ground beneath my feet was shaking with the loud, low rumble of the engines.
I stared at Owen, grinning, and he used his thumb to wipe my cheeks where I'd been crying. "Get on," he said. "Everybody's tired from the trip, but we're gonna take a victory lap before they head home."
"What's a victory lap?" I asked.
"Come on, and I'll show you," he said.
I put the ring on my finger before I sat on the back of Owen's motorcycle. He led the way as we drove down my street and into downtown Memphis. We traveled as a huge group, and people pointed, stared, and waved at us.
We came to the end of Beale Street, and Owen glanced over his shoulder and gave a signal to everyone following us before continuing straight through the light. I looked behind me, and watched as our brigade turned left or right, dispersing behind us and leaving Owen and me alone to finish the ride by ourselves.
I held onto him tightly and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping I would remember every single detail of the last thirty-minutes of my life.