7
September
What in the fuck am I doing right now?
Instead of finishing my two hours of ice time with Connelly, I’m sitting in a jewelry store beside the rookie looking at engagement rings while my leg bounces incessantly.
“You alright, Cap? You’re looking like you might be sick,” Connelly supplies.
“I’m fine. I just didn’t realize there were so many options to pick from. Why can’t it just be as simple as ‘I want a diamond ring, she’s got skinny fingers,’ they tell me what they think will look best, I purchase the damn thing and walk outta here?”
He nervously chuckles beside me. “Yeah, that’s definitely not how this works. Didn’t you do any research first? Also, why didn’t I realize you had a girlfriend? Was she at the family skate?”
“She was,” I say curtly without elaborating.
Connelly’s brows wrinkle in confusion. “Oh, I don’t remember you bringing anyone.”
“Didn’t realize you watched my every move, rookie,” I retort, quirking a brow. God, I’m an ass, but I don’t have it in me to care right now. I’m too busy freaking the fuck out because I’m sitting in a jewelry store prepared to buy a ring to propose to a woman I’ve known for a month.
“For a guy about to propose, you’re especially grumpy today.”
“Why did I bring you again?” I ask gruffly.
“Good question. I think you just forgot to drop me off at my place before you came,” he replies before shaking his head. “That’s got to be it, otherwise shouldn’t, like, Jax be doing this with you or something?”
“Shit. Should I have brought her with me? Are women supposed to have a say in the ring?” I ask, pulling the collar of my dress shirt from the sudden bout of claustrophobia.
“Nah, I think if you wanna go about this the traditional way, you’re supposed to pick out the ring so it’s a surprise—she’s not supposed to see it coming. Haven’t the two of you discussed getting married? What kinda ring did she say she wanted? Oh, does she have Pinterest? My mom and sister are constantly on Pinterest. What’s her name? Let’s look her up,” he suggests as he pulls out his phone, but I rip it from his hand.
“Not happening. I doubt she’s a Pinter girl.”
“It’s Pinterest,” he corrects before grabbing back his phone. “Come on, just look her up,” he says as he opens the app and hands the phone over to me.
The salesperson helping us excuses himself, so I grab the phone and type her name in the search bar.
“How many siblings do you have anyway?” I ask him as I wait for the results to load.
My eyebrows do a shit job of containing my shock at seeing her profile appear in the search results.
“Two, a younger brother and sister. Did you find her?” he asks, trying to look over my shoulder but I turn the phone away from him and nod in response. “Cool, cool. Scroll through her boards and see if she has any wedding ones or ring ones. Sometimes my mom calls them weird names, but as long as she doesn’t mark them as private, you should be able to see if she has any rings pinned.”
Sure as shit, Scarlett has dozens upon dozens of boards that I scroll through. She’s got a board for just about everything except wedding stuff. She’s got one for pretty much every room in her house. A whole board dedicated to crafting ideas for Gunner. One titled ‘healthy but fun snack ideas,’ and another called ‘date night ideas for someday.’ I make a note to come back to that one later when I can download the app on my phone.
“I’m also the oldest with a younger brother and sister,” I tell him as I continue to scroll.
“Really? I always thought you and Jax had a younger brother.”
“We’re not too keen on the team knowing we’ve got a younger sister. She doesn’t need to be around all you assholes.”
He scoffs, seemingly insulted. “How am I an asshole? You barely know me.”
I’d hate to break it to him, but my baby sister would chew him up and spit him out.
“You’re a hockey player. Enough said. We’re all assholes. No one is good enough for my baby sister, but especially not a hockey player.” I look over and narrow my eyes at him to be sure he gets my message.
Connelly lifts his hands in surrender. “Easy there, Cap. I’m not interested in anyone’s sister. My sole focus is hockey. Swear to god.”
I fight back a smile at his scared shitless expression and focus back on his phone. Just as I’m about to give up on finding anything ring related I stumble upon a board titled ‘Forever & Always’ that’s filled with all sorts of wedding ideas.
