Ready or Not (Ready #4)(80)

Within seconds, Mia and Leah were on speaker.

“Hello?” Clare said excitedly.

“Good afternoon,” Mia said softly. I heard Asher cooing in the background.

“What’s going on? Why are we conference-calling each other? Is someone pregnant again?” Leah asked.

“No, but Liv has some news!”

“I do not!” I squeaked.

“I was just about to hump my husband when Clare texted me, saying I had to answer my phone stat, so spill it, hippie chick.” Leah said, as Clare and I laughed.

“You guys suck,” I lamented, folding my hands over my chest.

“Well, no, not right now I’m not,” Leah chimed in.

Male laughter followed.

“Ew…gross, Leah,” Clare said.

“Hey, you called.”

“It’s the afternoon!” Mia said. “Who does it in the middle of the afternoon?”

“Um…do I need to remind you about the events that took place last April, Mrs. Finnegan?” I giggled.

“Shh…not around the baby!” Mia whispered.

“Wait—I need to hear this,” Leah said.

“Me, too!” Clare agreed.

“Let’s just say, after I was done shopping one beautiful spring afternoon, I decided to drop in for an unexpected visit, and I got quite the eyeful. Mia is one lucky lady. Her man is hung like a horse.”

“Why, thank you, Liv. Hi, ladies,” Garrett deep voice suddenly said, nearly startling me.

Female laughter roared through the phone as I watched Clare’s cheeks go pink with embarrassment as she covered her ears and began to hum loudly. I batted her hands away as she laughed.

“We’ve seriously gone off topic, and shame on you Mia for putting us on speakerphone,” she said, trying to gain control of herself. Tiny giggles still erupted from her lips every other word as she took deep breaths. “Liv, tell the ladies…and my disgusting brother what you told me.”

“Do we really have to do this?”

“Yes. This is what friends do. Share, so we can all squeal like schoolgirls. It’s our God-given right.”

“Okay, but first, let me say, you guys are ridiculous, and this is all a bit premature.”

“That’s what she said,” a male voice chimed in.

“Zip it, Declan.” Leah chimed in.

“Sorry.” He half-laughed.

“You’re on speakerphone too, Leah?” Clare sighed.

Leah laughed, “Sorry.”

She was not sorry. At all.

“Okay,” I started, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. “It appears that I might have, while putting away groceries the other day, found an engagement ring Jackson bought.”

“Holy shit! Are you serious?” Mia yelped at the same time Garrett said, “In the groceries?”

“Yes, I’m serious, and no, it was not in the groceries…well, not exactly. I was helping him put away some things, and I needed to make some additional room in the cupboards, so I started throwing out some of the older things. There was an old canister of oatmeal. I knew it was old because I remembered seeing it there when Mrs. Reid was still up and around baking cookies. For some reason, I opened it before tossing it. It’s a good thing I did because inside was a dark blue velvet box.”

“Who hides a ring in an oatmeal container?” someone asked.

“Jackson obviously,” I answered.

“And when was this?” Mia asked.

“Nearly two weeks ago.”

Silence.

“See? This is why I didn’t want to tell you guys!” I said, throwing my hands up in the air.

“I’m sure he’s just waiting for the perfect moment,” Leah suggested.

“Maybe he has cold feet,” Declan said before he cried out in pain. “Ouch! My nipple is still attached to my body, Leah!”

“Not for long!”

“Oh my God, please stop! Too many images in my head. And maybe Declan’s right. What if Jackson has changed his mind?”

“I think we need another opinion,” Clare suggested, pressing another button or five on her phone.

Suddenly, Logan was joining us. “Hey, babe. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. We’re fine. Say hi to everyone.”

“Who’s everyone?” he asked in confusion.

“Hi!” we all shouted together.

“Oh, okay…so everyone. Is this some sort of club meeting I wasn’t aware of? Can I nominate Declan for President?”

“President of Awesome,” Declan added.

“Oh my God, you guys are children. I called because Liv found an engagement ring at Jackson’s place.”

“That’s great! Congratulations—early, I guess?”

“Well, that’s what she’s worried about. Apparently, she found the ring nearly two weeks ago,” Clare said, looking up at me as she spoke into the phone.

“So?” Logan said. “Do you know how long I had Clare’s ring in my pocket? Months. Sometimes, it’s not a matter of knowing if the person is right, but if the timing is. He bought the ring, so he’s got the first part figured out. It’s all down to timing now.”