"Luc, look at the giraffe, mama!" I held my Goddaughter in my arms and pointed to the massive animal that stood barricaded just a few feet in front of us. She clapped and squealed and Alex and I laughed at her reaction. We decided to take her to the LA Zoo for the first time and she was having a blast. She was one month away from her 1st birthday and was now walking, well at the moment it was more of a wobbly trot but walking nonetheless.
"So, back to this ring" Alex said as I placed Luci back in her stroller. On the ride over here I told her about my chat with Gabe, she was shocked to say the least. I had it in my purse so I pulled it out and showed her. "Why are you carrying around a diamond ring in your purse?!"
"Well I stuck it in there yesterday and just never took it out"
"Let me see" I gave it to her and she smirked a bit as she examined it "Seems like yesterday.."
"What does?"
"When he showed me this" she said matter of factly before giving it back
"You saw it?"
"Of course I saw it. You think he'd buy you an engagement ring and not consult your best friend?"
"I can't believe you never told me!"
"It wasn't exactly a topic of discussion. After everything happened you guys needed time to heal...and when it was obvious that it wasn't gonna work out I just never mentioned it...I had no reason to"
"I guess you're right"
"However I have a feeling Prince won't be asking for my opinion or approval on anything" she laughed to herself "He seems like he makes his own decisions without the help of others just fine"
"Wait has he...has he mentioned anything to you?" I asked surprised
"No, but he probably wouldn't anyway"
"...you think he'd ever propose?" My question came out a bit more somber than I wanted it to
"Why wouldn't he?"
"I dunno...we just never really talked about marriage I guess"
"Not at all?"
"I mean a little bit but nothing definite. Half of our relationship has been rocky as hell, these past 6 months have been the best we've ever had but I'm not sure if that's grounds for marriage just yet"
"You never know. Prince seems like the kind of man who knows what he wants when he wants it. When he's ready to take that step I'm sure he won't hesitate." She had a point there "Is it what you want?"
"It is..I just don't think I've ever flat out told him before" suddenly Luci started squealing with joy. I looked down and saw her pointing to the lions we were passing by. I bought her a stuffed lion sometime ago and she's been obsessed with it ever since. This was one of the main reasons we brought her here, so she could finally see one up close.
"Okay baby, cálmate" Alex said as she unbuckled her out of her stroller. She was fumbling and moving around as much as she could to try to weasel herself out of it. I couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was. I took my camera out and started to record her and snap a few pictures. It brought me so much joy to see her so excited and happy and to know that I was a part of that happiness. I knew right then and there that I wanted to have that discussion with Prince. I wanted nothing more than to start a family with him and to be his wife. To share a moment like this with him and our own little Nelsons. I just hoped he felt the same.
-
On the tail end of my flight back to Minni, my mind was flooded with so many thoughts. Everything from marriage, to wanting to start a family, how happy I was that Gabe and I finally had closure, and the ring...speaking of the ring, I never really got a good look at it. After he gave it to me I shoved it in my purse and didn't look at it again until I showed Alex.
I took it out of my purse and gazed at it, really getting a good look. He did good, I would have loved to have worn this. It's amazing how one thing can change your life so drastically and how it snowballs into a completely different chain of events. I couldn't help but wonder what our lives would have been like had Iris lived. We'd probably be married and on baby #2 by now. But I probably wouldn't have the career that I have and I definitely would have never met Prince. He'd still just be the man I loved from afar, my musical love that I knew I'd never have a chance with. My "hall pass" as we called it, mine was Prince and Gabe's was Jennifer Lopez. I laughed to myself, reminiscing on the time I surprised him with tickets to her show one year. "Mi amor, you're my everything but if JLo falls in love with me tonight, I'm sorry!"
I took the ring out of its cushion and held it up, fiddling around with it as the light bounced off the pristine diamond. Curiosity got the best of me and I slipped it on my ring finger, it was beautiful. I just hoped that one day I'd have one permanently.
When I woke up we'd just landed, I didn't even realize I fell asleep. Cass was waiting for me, ready to drive me back to Chanhassen as usual. It wasn't until we were just around the corner from Paisley that I looked down and noticed that I still had the ring on my finger. I quickly grabbed the box from my purse to put it back, but when I tried to pull it off it was stuck.
"Shit!" I cursed myself as I tried my hardest to yank it off "Oh fuck...oh fuck I'm screwed"
"Is there something you need to tell me Ri?" Cass asked as he looked over at me. I froze, fingers still glued to my hand with a look of fear covering my face. He started cracking up but I was panicking.
"Do you have any lotion or anything?!" I begged, digging in my purse looking for anything to help me get the damn thing off.
"Not in this car, no"
I usually always have lotion in my purse but I had just ran out and threw the bottle away the day before.
"Oh my God, he's gonna kill me"
"Stop forcing it, the more you yank and pull the more irritated and swollen it'll get"
"Cass, I need this off before I walk through that door!"
"Well it doesn't look like that's happening, is it even your size?"
"It probably was...5 years ago" I rolled my eyes, pissed at myself for trying it on in the first place.
"Look, just go straight to the bathroom when you get inside. P was in rehearsal when I left, I doubt he's done yet" I tried to calm myself down. Cass was right, no need to panic. I just need to make a beeline for the bathroom before he sees me. I don't even want to know how he'll react if he saw this. God, please don't let him see it.
YOU ARE READING
A Love Renewed
Fanfiction*Sequel to A Love Conflicted* Riley and Prince had only been together for a year, but it seemed like a lifetime. Between the fighting, the misunderstandings and the jealousy, it seemed as if it was going downhill much faster than either of them had...
