had somehow materialized out of nowhere. Kenny was there too. And Simon, my clumsy props guy. Thomas, the epitome of British decorum even at the age of fifteen. And Meagan with her dancing eyes. Seth—solemn, peaceful Seth—standing just a tad too close to his feisty, untamable Kate. All my actors were present, lined up and waiting, exchanging the kinds of knowing glances that convinced me that I was the only one in the dark about what was going on here.
“Scott,” I whispered, though in the hushed room, my words reached to the balcony. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you certainty, I hope.” He paused, arresting my thoughts with the temerity of his gaze. “And storming the barricades. I’m multitasking.” He cast my actors a conspiratorial half smile.
I glanced at my daughter, up way past her bedtime, and all I could think of was that she’d be a monster tomorrow. But when I looked from Shayla to my brother, I saw a family there that took my breath away. Trey, the defender to whom I owed my life in so many ways, and Shayla, the daughter of the bitter, violent man who had devastated my childhood but gifted me with the miracle of motherhood.
Scott’s hand on my arm brought my attention back to him. He stood in front of me with so much earnestness and determination on his face that I felt a giggle bubbling to the surface. “What—are you going to make a speech or something?” I asked, distracted from my gratitude by a sense of impending significance. He nodded, and I felt the air constrict a little around us. “Really?”
When he spoke, his voice was soft and uncharacteristically unsteady. “I’m not sure if this is the right way to do this, Shelby,” he said. “I mean, I know you’re a pretty private person, but the private approach hasn’t been working, so I thought . . . I thought maybe I’d . . . storm the barricades with a little public humiliation.”
“For you or for me?”
“Probably for me.” He smiled a little crookedly and added, “I’m the guy with a killer case of stage fright who’s trying to come up with the right words and pretty sure he’ll fail. And all you have to do is stand there and watch me suffer.”
“Sounds equitable to me,” I said. Something weird was going on with my lungs.
He cleared his throat—again—and looked down, gathering his thoughts. “Here’s the deal,” he finally said, his eyes rising to connect with mine, capturing my mind with their bold and gentle intensity. “I am convinced that nothing in our lives happens by chance and that the best things in life require taking a risk. So this . . . this is me taking that risk.”
I glanced at Trey, my Huddle Hut chef, and began to suspect a conspiracy.
But Scott wasn’t done yet. He took my hands in his and pulled me closer, linking his gaze with mine. There was a muscle working in his jaw and a sheen of sweat on his forehead. My skin felt electrified with apprehension. I tried to think happy thoughts of cows coming in from pastures and dolphins frolicking in the waves to calm my nerves and still my fear. But the cows ended up herding themselves over a cliff and the dolphins, in their enthusiasm, beached themselves on a rugged shore, so neither was exactly helping.
“On the first day I met you,” Scott said, nodding toward Gus and Bev, who waved when I caught their eyes, “Gus introduced you as my future wife. I didn’t take it too seriously, as he’s a bit of a . . . how should I put it? A creative thinker.”
“Ain’t that the truth!” came Bev’s happy voice. She did a high five with Shayla and there was a little laughter from our audience, quickly hushed by anticipation.
“Scott . . .” There was fear in my voice as a burning panic moved from my stomach to my throat.
Concern flashed across his face. “This isn’t what you’re thinking,” he said, holding my hands a little more tightly.
“It isn’t?”
“It’s not a proposal. You know that’s what I want—sometime—but not yet. Not until we’ve gotten this other thing straight.”
“And thank your lucky stars for that,” Kate said with the certainty of experience. “This guy proposes like a hippo does ballet.”
Scott shrugged and smiled. “So I’m not an actor.”
“No, but you’re turning into quite the public speaker,” I said a little hoarsely, unaccountably disappointed that this wasn’t the proposal I so