Deegie glared at him for a long moment. “I don’t want to,” she said.
“Please? Just for a minute?” Zach held up a box of caramel corn and gave it a shake. “I brought a peace offering.” His smile was wide and earnest, his eyes pleading.
Deegie stepped aside to let him in. “Hurry up,” she said. “You’re letting the bugs in.”
She led in him into the living room, picked up the remote, and aimed it at the TV. Sitcom laugh track stopped in mid-chuckle. She sat on the couch and moved the ice cream carton. She couldn’t look at him. He sat next to her, and she tried to convince herself that his familiar, comforting scent of aftershave and clean shirt didn’t affect her at all. “So talk,” she said.
“Okay.” He put the box of caramel corn on the coffee table and cleared his throat. “First of all, I wanted to address the subject of all my extra hours at work. I was making extra money to buy something from Belinda’s shop, but I lied about it being for my mother.”
“What does that have to do with—”
“Just listen,” said, interrupting her. “I’m going to explain everything to you. Just let me talk, okay?”
She looked at him doubtfully, but didn’t say anything else.
“Belinda had something in that shop that I wanted—no, I needed to buy. She let me make payments on it, because, well, it was pretty expensive. I had the last of the money after I got paid last night, but her shop was closed by the time I got there. I called her and asked her to meet me at Dos Hombres and bring the, uh, the item I wanted so I could give her the rest of the money.” He stopped and slid his hands down the legs of his jeans, swallowed hard, and continued.
“We had margaritas—I didn’t even finish mine—then I gave her a hug for going out of her way for me, and yeah, I kissed her cheek. But it didn’t mean anything, Deeg. I swear it didn’t.”
Deegie studied her lap and picked fuzz balls off of her pajama pants. She was more baffled than ever. Men are liars; you know that. Remember all the bullshit Spencer tried to feed you? All the times he swore to you that nothing was going on?
She struggled to control those insistent, negative thoughts. She imagined them locked away in a strongbox in the farthest reaches of her mind where she wouldn’t have to listen to them anymore. Suppose Zach really was telling the truth? Not all men were as devious and untrustworthy as Spencer had been, and she knew it was ridiculous to think so. Surely Zach deserved another chance—didn’t he?
“Deeg?” Zach cautiously slid an arm around her. “You believe me, don’t you? Please believe me. I would never hurt you, never! I love you so damn much. Can’t you see that?”
Deegie Tibbs, you are an idiot if you let this man go. Let him back in before it’s too late. Contrary thoughts tried to worm their way back in, but she gave a huge mental push and shoved them aside. She raised her head and nodded. “Okay, Zach,” she said. “I believe you. I trust you. And I’m so, so sorry! I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know why I said all those things.” She sagged against him, burying her face in his shirt.
“You got your heart broken by a jackass, and it wrecked your ability to trust,” Zach told her as he laced his fingers through her dark curls. “It happens, but you can get past it. And I’m going to help you. I’ll fix that heart of yours. You’ll see.”
She raised her head to look at him and was dismayed to see unshed tears glittering in his eyes. A few of her own escaped and slid down her cheeks. Zach wiped them away with his fingertips.
“No tears,” he said. “We’ll just get all goopy and snotty, and that’s hardly romantic.” He picked up the box of caramel corn and handed it to her. “Here, have some of this. Let’s see what kind of lame prize you get this time.”
Deegie laughed and took the box from his hands. “I just ate a ton of ice cream,” she said. “I’ll weigh five hundred pounds if I keep eating like this.”
“I’ll still love you,” said Zach. “Go on, open it up.”
“Okay, okay, hold your horses!”
Deegie nestled against him and opened the box. She pulled out the red-and-white paper packet containing the prize and held it in her hand. Whatever was inside was lumpy and weighty, far too big to be the usual sticker or temporary tattoo. “What the heck is this?” she wondered aloud, and she tore the top off the bulging packet.
A gold ring with a light-blue stone fell into her hand.
A gasp of surprise escaped her. She picked up the ring and examined it. “This looks like an aquamarine,” she whispered incredulously.
“It is,” Zach said. “It matches your eyes. And the two smaller stones are diamonds. It’s antique, from the 1800s. Not everything in Belinda’s shop is junk.”
“Wait … you mean you did this? This is what you bought from Belinda?”
Zach grinned. “Guilty as charged,” he said. “I messed up three boxes of caramel corn before I was finally able to slit open the bottom, put the ring inside, and seal it up without it looking obvious. Do you like it?”
“Yes! It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! But why did you … I don’t understand what …” A sudden realization hit Deegie like a slap. She looked up from the ring in her hand and stared hard at Zach. “Is this … is this what I think it is?”
“If you’re thinking this is a marriage proposal, then yeah, you’re right.” He plucked the ring from her palm and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. “So what do you say?”
Deegie’s breath left her in a rush, and her mouth went sticky-dry. She ran his words through her mind again—had he really just said that? The room took on a sudden surreal quality, and she felt oddly buoyant. Surely she’d misunderstood; he must have said something else. She looked down at the ring on her hand, saw it waver and blur from a fresh spate of tears.
Zach blinked at her and smiled patiently.
Bast, watching from the recliner, raised his head and meowed, as if urging her to respond.
Deegie opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and then tried again. “I’ll never doubt you again, Zach! I’m so sorry. I was such a bitch to you, and all this time you were … were …”
“So is that a yes, or …?”
“Yes! It’s a yes!” Laughing and crying at the same time, she launched herself onto his lap and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Zach,” she finally admitted, “I really, really do!”
“Well it’s about time you said so,” Zach said, and he covered her mouth with his own.
Just before Deegie closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Lisbet, hovering in the doorway and stifling giggles with her good hand.