Page 114 of Show Off
She rolls her eyes mid glass-clink. “Such a romantic.”
“I try.” And I’m about to try even harder. Setting my flute down, I feel flutters of nerves in my stomach. It’s not like we haven’t discussed this, but still.
A guy only gets one shot at popping the question to the girl of his dreams.
With a nod to Ji-Hoon, I fish one hand in my pocket. At the table behind us, my brother taps his glass with a spoon. “Could I get everyone’s attention? There’s only one thing that would make this happy day even happier.” He gives me a wink as Korain folds his hands on the table. “Dal? You want to take it from here?”
Lana blinks as I stand up and grab the mic from my brother. “Hey, everyone! Let’s start with a toast for our bride and groom.” I hold up my glass, watching the crowd follow suit. “My whole life, I’ve looked up to Ji-Hoon. He’s funny and wise and way smarter than me.” With a glance at my brother, I continue. “And I couldn’t have picked a better match for him than Rosa. A round of applause for the bride?”
Glasses clink and I swallow hard. Love shines in Lana’s eyes as I tip the mic to my mouth. “When you’ve got a big brother like Ji-Hoon, you grow up chasing greatness. Be kinder, be braver, be a better human and hope to achieve even half of his awesomeness.” My throat feels dry and I long for a big sip of water. “So when Ji-Hoon tells me to do something, I listen.”
I look down at Lana and she tilts her head. I haven’t prepared her for any of this, so as far as she knows, this is just a wedding toast.
It’s about to get better. “In Korean culture, we have a tradition ofhahm. It’s a special gift exchange from the groom’s family to the bride. Now I’m sure most of you have gathered that this isn’t a traditional Korean wedding. We’ve got mostly Western traditions here, which Ji-Hoon and Rosa wanted. But we wanted to add this one little gift from our family.”
Fishing in my pocket, I pull out the ring. Lana gasps and brings her hands to her mouth. “As most of you heard in the ceremony, our late mother’s ring is the one on Rosa’s hand now.”
The bride flashes her jewelry, beaming as she kisses my brother.
I keep going in spite of the lump in my throat. “It was always our mother’s wish for her eldest son to someday give her mother’s ring to his wife, and Rosa wears it beautifully.” I roll the other ring in my hand, holding it up to the light. “This is not that ring.”
I look to Korain, who smiles and bows his head. “This ring I’m holding belonged to ourfather’smother. It was passed to my uncle Korain, who passed it along to me.”
Now’s the moment. My heart thuds in my chest as I turn to face Lana and drop down on one knee. “My whole life, I’ve hoped for a woman who’s smart and lively and kind and beautiful and selfless. Someone who lit me up from the inside the way my parents did for each other.” Swallowing hard, I hold out the ring. “And I knew when I met her, when I someday asked her to be my wife, the right ring would come along. Lana Judson—” I swallow hard as her eyes fill with tears. “Will you make this wedding day more amazing by agreeing to take part in another?”
My uncle guffaws at the end of the table. “Ask her for real, you idiot,” he mumbles.
So I do. “Lana, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You keep me humble and keep me working to be the best possible partner and friend to you. Your kind heart is something I’ll never take for granted. I love your passion for potatoes and Nutter Butters. I love the sound of your voice and the freckles on the bridge of your nose. I love every last thing about you, and I’m in awe that you’ve chosen to spend time with me. And if I’m very, very lucky, you’ll agree to spend the rest of your days as my wife.” I swallow hard, watching the light in her eyes. “Lana Judson. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” With a sob, she throws both arms around me. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Kissing her softly, I find her hand and slip the ring on her finger. A perfect fit. I knew it would be.
“Congratulations.” Ji-Hoon speaks low in the mic. “I know that’s kind of a weird way of doing it, but my brother and I, we’ve been through a lot together. When he asked what I wanted for a wedding gift, this was it.” He smiles and waits for applause to die down. “To know someone as cool as Lana would be daft enough to shackle herself to this loser.”
A ripple of laughter rolls through the hall as Lana admires the ring. Sliding my hand into her hair, I kiss her softly to more applause.
“Wow,” she says, rolling her hand to watch the ring sparkle. “So beautiful.”
“You are,” I agree, kissing her again. “And you’re mine.”
“You think so, huh?” She pretends to consider that. “I don’t know, Dal. Maybe I need more persuading.”
I know what she wants, and I’m glad to oblige. Leaning in close, I let my lips brush her ear. “Good girl,” I whisper, and she shivers. “The very best girl in the whole world.”
She shudders again, then laughs. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
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