55My version of how Dirty Thirty chapter 23 should have gone. Thank you to FakeSmileandDeadEyes for doing the beta work on this one-shot.
The first section in italics is taken directly from Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich. Anything else in italics is taken from the book but may not be a direct quote. There is no intended copyright infringement.
Ranger came home a little after one. I got out of bed when I heard him in the kitchen.
"I didn't expect you to still be up," he said when I walked in.
"I couldn't sleep. Are you having another green smoothie?"
"Mixed berry. Why couldn't you sleep?"
"I have things on my mind," I said. "Morelli is coming home tomorrow."
"And?"
"I'm feeling guilty. He doesn't know I've been staying here."
"Do you feel guilty because he doesn't know or because you like staying here?"
"Both," I said.
"Then I don't see where you have a problem. Give him his dog back and tell him you're living with me."
"I can't do that. I'm in a committed relationship with him."
"Where's the commitment? Is he going to marry you?"
"Maybe someday."
"Maybe never," Ranger said. "And you can do better."
"Really? Who's better than Morelli and is willing to marry me? Name one person."
"Me," Ranger said.
"You're hilarious," I scoffed. "You don't do stupid things like marriage. It's not in your life plan."
"I've learned that nothing ever goes as planned with you. And what if my plans have changed?" Ranger asked.
His question took me aback. I never considered that marriage to Ranger was an option.
"Does this mean you took the time to figure out why you like me so much? Why I amuse you? Why I intrigue you, and you find me so desirable?"
"Yes. It took me all of 20 seconds to arrive at an answer."
"Wow, that's impressive, even for you," I said, unable to imagine what conclusion he could reach so quickly.
"Would you like to know the answer?" he prompted.
No. "Sure, this should be interesting, or maybe enlightening is the better word."
"Because I'm in love with you," he said with no hesitation. And with no qualifiers.
I was gobsmacked. I knew Ranger loved me; that was no secret. I knew I loved Ranger. Again, no secret. I was even willing to admit that I was in love with him. But to hear him say he was in love with me was enough to leave me speechless. Not an easy feat.
"You're in love with me?" I asked, my voice raising an octave. "You know that's more than just loving me in your own way, right?"
"I'm aware, Babe." He was watching me with an unnerving intensity. "Panic was not the emotion I was hoping for here. Is the idea of marrying me that scary?"
Scary, no. Terrifying, yes.
"No, of course not. If I did want to marry you, how would you want to do this?" I figured I was safe here. Morelli and I had been dancing around the idea of marriage for years. A nice long engagement would let the panic settle and my mother drink herself into a stupor. Yes, this could work.
"Saturday," he said. "You and me. Vegas."
"I can't do Saturday. I'm a bridesmaid in my cousin Loretta's wedding." That seemed like a legitimate reason to delay a Vegas wedding in two days.
I could see the almost smile and imagined Ranger was thinking of the almost nipple-baring pink monstrosity I wore for Amanda and Kinsey's wedding.
"Do you have a date for your cousin's wedding?" he asked.
"No, I wasn't planning on attending at all. But then one of the bridesmaids burst her appendix, and I was the only one left with any hope of fitting in the dress by Saturday," I said.
Ranger was looking at his phone as I was explaining about the last-minute substitution, and I was feeling a little put out by his lack of attention.
"Am I keeping you from something?" I asked with a tiny bit of snark. Okay, maybe it was more than a tiny bit.
"I'm checking the late-night flights to Vegas on Saturday. There is an 8 o'clock flight out of Philly or an 8:45 flight out of Newark on Saturday night. Or, we can leave Sunday morning and be in Vegas by noon. You could be Mrs. Ranger by midafternoon Sunday," he said.
"You're serious, aren't you," I said. It wasn't even a question.
"I wouldn't joke about something this important, Babe. Will you marry me this Sunday?" he asked.
Holy shit! Ranger Manoso asked me to marry him. Batman asked me to marry him!
"Okay…um, yes. Yes!" I pinched myself hard, just to be sure.
That got a full-on Ranger smile. "We have an engagement. Would you like a ring?"
"I know I told you every girl in my high school wanted an engagement ring from Plover's, but I think I'll pass on that."
Ranger moved past me out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. Curiosity had me following him through the bedroom and into his dressing room. The safe was built into the wall of the walk-in closet. Ranger punched in the code, opened the door and reached deep into the dark interior. When his hand came out, he held a small, black velvet box.
Without a word, he handed me the box. The intensity of his gaze would have been unnerving if I wasn't on the verge of another panic attack. I knew there was no way to tell one black velvet box from another, but I knew without a doubt where I had seen this box before.
He handed it to me, and I slowly opened the lid. They were the rings I had worn in Hawaii. The engagement and wedding ring were nestled together, just as beautiful as when Ranger slipped them on my finger all those years ago.
"I thought you borrowed these," I whispered, staring at what had to be at least 5 carats of diamonds. The pear-shaped diamond in the engagement ring's center had a halo of small diamonds that continued down the band. The diamond encrusted double wedding band framed the engagement ring. The rings were gorgeous.
Leaving the rings on the bedside table had been more emotionally painful than stunning Ranger and Morelli. It had been so easy to buy into the lie we were living during those days in paradise, pretending to be husband and wife while not trying very hard to track down The Rug.
"I did. But something changed when I slid those rings on your finger. That time we spent together in Hawaii made me rethink what I thought I wanted. It just took me some time to restructure my life to align with those wants," he explained, taking the box out of my hand.
I watched, mesmerized, as Ranger pulled the engagement ring out of the box. He moved slowly like one might when approaching a wild animal. Or an emotionally stunted woman. Taking my left hand into his, he slid the ring on my finger. No surprise that it was a perfect fit.
He pulled me against him and lowered his mouth to mine. His kiss was filled with the heat and passion I was used to, but there was something more. That piece of himself he'd always held in check. The love.
He ended the kiss and pulled back slightly. Hands cupping my face, he looked me in the eye.
"We're going to do this, Babe. And it's going to be good."