All or nothing (Love in chaos #1) - Missy Johnson Page 0,70

luck.”

“Actually…” I jump up and race to my office, returning with my laptop. “I did some work for an upscale jeweler and he owes me a favor…” I grab Jake’s phone and call his cell, praying he’ll answer. When he does, I nearly pass out with happiness.

“Anton, hi. It’s Ben Tyler. I need a massive favor…”

“This is a one of a kind, two carat, princess set diamond from our top of the line range.”

The moment Anton places the ring on the little black mat in front of me, I know it’s the one. Claudia gasps over my shoulder, while Jake wanders around looking totally out of place.

“It’s perfect,” I mumble, carefully picking it up. Not quite as perfect as the one I designed, but still stunning.

“She is one lucky girl,” Claudia murmurs. “A ring like that would be reason enough to convince me to get married again.” She glances back at Jake. “How about it, sunshine? Want to make an old girl’s dreams come true?”

Jake looks mortified until Claudia erupts into laughter.

“Relax, I’m kidding. You’re way too uptight for me, anyway. Besides, this is all too fancy.” She winks at me. “You know you can’t afford something when you have to ask the price.”

I smile at Claudia. “Go pick out a necklace.”

Her eyes widen, and then she shakes her head.

“What? No, I couldn’t do that.”

“This was your idea, and it is your birthday,” I encourage her. “I’d really like to buy you something special.”

Claudia’s face lights up with a wide smile. “You don’t need to tell me twice.”

I place the ring back down and nod at Anton.

“I’ll take it.”

He boxes the ring up, along with the pearl necklace Claudia chose, and we quickly make our way back to the party. Liv is waiting outside when we pull up. She races over and throws her arms around me, then slaps me on the arm.

“Where have you been?” she asks, her eyes full of worry. “You’ve been gone for nearly two hours.”

“I’m sorry, it was an emergency,” I soothe her. “Let’s go back inside first—”

“No. Ben, you're acting weird. Tell me what took you so long?” She glances at Jake, no doubt wondering if he had anything to do with it.

“It was my fault, darlin’,” Claudia butts in. “I—”

“Claudia, it’s okay,” I murmur as I straighten up and look at Liv.

God, she looks gorgeous.

She's so perfect that any ring I could buy would pale in comparison to her. I clear my throat and take both of her hands in mine as I get down on one knee.

“Liv.”

I stop and laugh nervously, because I’m shaking like a damn leaf. How does she always do this to me? I look up and see Mom and Pam walking down the path toward us, then I turn my attention back to Liv. Her eyes shine in the moonlight, like she senses what’s coming. My heart races and my hands go clammy as I take in a breath.

“Liv,” I say again. “I swear to God I had the perfect ring made for you, but then I lost it, because I'm an idiot.” Her eyes widen as her breath catches. “So, I went to buy another one and while it’s just as beautiful, when I got back here and saw you, I realized it didn’t matter.”

“Ben,” she says weakly. “What are you saying?”

“I'm asking you to marry me,” I tell her, smiling. “In a really confusing, roundabout kind of way.” My heart feels like it's in my throat as I reach into my pocket and retrieve the box. She gasps when I click it open and take out the sparkling diamond. “No contract, no company on the line. Just… will you marry me?”

She laughs shakily as I slide the ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit.

“You always know the perfect thing to say,” she whispers.

“Is that a 'Yes'?” I ask, squeezing her hands.

She rolls her eyes as she helps me to my feet, throwing her arms around me.

“Of course it's a yes, you idiot,” she replies, pulling me into a kiss. I laugh into it, holding her tightly. “It was always going to be a yes.”

LIV

Cheers erupt around us and I pull back, embarrassed to find the whole party has moved outside into the parking lot to witness Ben’s proposal. For once, it doesn’t bother me that I’m the center of attention. All I care about is the man in front of me is going to become my husband.

People come at us from all angles. It’s a

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