Page 39 of His Dirty Obsession

Now was my chance, it had to be.

“I think maybe we should.” I slid from the bench, one knee on the damp grass as I tried to retrieve the ring from the inside pocket of my jacket.

“Oh, I can’t believe you’re doing this.” Was he joking? Had I just made the biggest mistake of my life?

I finally got hold of the ring to present it to him when I saw him doing the same. Not on one knee but sitting with a ring in his hand, a crooked smile on his face.

“Seems great minds think alike. Do you want to ask, or shall I?”

I shrugged. “We could do it together, I suppose.”

“Will you marry me?” We spoke the exact same words at the exact same time, then laughed. I guess no answer was needed, but we both said ‘yes’ anyway, sealing our engagement with a light kiss. We’d celebrate properly later, I was sure.

“Here, let me slip it on.” I pushed it onto his finger, and he did the same to me. They were both a perfect fit.

“Too soon to leave?” he asked.

“Maybe a little. Let’s leave it another hour, and I think we’ll be safe to leave without arousing suspicion.”

“Ben, Xavier? Are you out here?” Looks like we’d been found anyway, and we walked back into the hotel, hand in hand. Mum was waiting. Aunt Edith was going home and didn’t look happy about it.

“What’s that I see? You boys have been up to something. I see another wedding in my future. Good job I didn’t place any bets.”

“Go on with you. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said, kissing her on the cheek before watching her walk out the door.

“Oh, I got the ring engraved,” Xavier said, slipping it off my finger. “Want to see what it says?”

“I got yours done too. Step over here so we can see better.”

I took his ring off and handed it to him, and we both squinted trying to read the engraving.

I burst out laughing at the same time he did.

“I can’t believe we both did that.”

He shrugged. “It seemed appropriate.”

“It certainly did.” We exchanged rings again and made our way back to the bar.

I signalled to the barman. “Two glasses of champagne, please.”

It was time for a toast.

I looked at his handsome face and raised my glass. Who’d have thought six months ago I’d be doing this? But here I was. I’d sworn I wasn’t the settling down type, but Xavier had changed all of that and I had Ava to thank.

Xavier raised his glass too, and we spoke at the same time, uttering the words we’d both had engraved in the rings.

“To my dirty obsession.”

THE END