He froze where he stood. Had he just... said it? Like that? Damn it -
There was little to do to take it back now, but thankfully, mercifully, God bless her, she had sprung up and clasped his hand as if that was just how proposals were meant to be executed, and spared him having to decide whether to advance or retreat. (And for his part, Evander thought she looked rather elegant in the light blue. Perhaps a little less elegant when she broke into that grin, but her face was so aglow with it that it seemed infectious, an expression he mirrored without meaning to.)
“Of course?” Evander echoed, trying to contain his amazement. But he shook his head a fraction, in haste - he was not asking that - because he already had the answer to it; he had heard it; Caroline had just agreed to be his wife. Which was almost terrifying in itself, but at least it had cleared the cloud of anxiety in his head that had been lingering there for weeks. With a clearer mind, then, he smiled again, feeling as though she had tugged him back from teetering on disaster.
“Wait. What I meant to say was how fortunate I would be if...” The speech he had memorised made much less sense, grammatically, now that he had fucked up the order - was there any of it to be salvaged? More than anything he wanted to kiss her, but really he ought to get down on one knee. What first? In absence of a decision, he merely squeezed her hands back and released all the trepidation from the set of his shoulders, his throat a little hoarse from all the worry. “You - you cannot fathom how happy you have made me.”
There was little to do to take it back now, but thankfully, mercifully, God bless her, she had sprung up and clasped his hand as if that was just how proposals were meant to be executed, and spared him having to decide whether to advance or retreat. (And for his part, Evander thought she looked rather elegant in the light blue. Perhaps a little less elegant when she broke into that grin, but her face was so aglow with it that it seemed infectious, an expression he mirrored without meaning to.)
“Of course?” Evander echoed, trying to contain his amazement. But he shook his head a fraction, in haste - he was not asking that - because he already had the answer to it; he had heard it; Caroline had just agreed to be his wife. Which was almost terrifying in itself, but at least it had cleared the cloud of anxiety in his head that had been lingering there for weeks. With a clearer mind, then, he smiled again, feeling as though she had tugged him back from teetering on disaster.
“Wait. What I meant to say was how fortunate I would be if...” The speech he had memorised made much less sense, grammatically, now that he had fucked up the order - was there any of it to be salvaged? More than anything he wanted to kiss her, but really he ought to get down on one knee. What first? In absence of a decision, he merely squeezed her hands back and released all the trepidation from the set of his shoulders, his throat a little hoarse from all the worry. “You - you cannot fathom how happy you have made me.”
