Blue Smoke

it open. “Marry me.”
    “Luke.” It was a staggering solitaire. She didn’t know anything about diamonds, but she knew staggering when it was blinding her. “It’s gorgeous. It’s . . . Well, wow, but—”
    “Classic, like you. We’ll have an amazing life together, Cat. Exciting. Rich.” He glanced away from her for an instant, gave a little nod. Then his eyes were back on hers as he slid the ring on her finger.
    “Wait—”
    But the waiter was there with a fresh bottle of champagne and beaming smiles. “Congratulations! We wish you every happiness.”

    Even as he poured there was applause from neighboring tables, and Luke was up and coming around to her to stop any words she might have said with a long, warm kiss.
    “To us,” he said as he sat back down. “To the beginning of the rest.”
    And when he tapped his glass to hers, she said nothing.
    T here was a knot of distress in the pit of her stomach. Trapped, she thought. That was how she felt. Trapped into accepting the congratulations and good wishes from the restaurant staff, other diners as Luke led her outside. The ring on her finger sparkled like a mad thing in the streetlights, and weighed like lead on her finger.
    “We’ll go to my place.” He caught her in his arms beside his car, bent his head to nuzzle her neck. “And really celebrate.”
    “No, I need to go home. I need to be at work early, and . . . Luke, we need to talk.”
    “Have it your way.” He kissed her again. “It’s your night.”
    Far from it, was all she could think. The knot in her belly was beginning to make her queasy, and the leading edge of a tension headache cut at the base of her neck.
    “I’ll take some digitals of the apartments so you’ll have an idea.” He drove with a smile on his face. “Unless you want to ditch work now and run up there with me. Be more fun.” He turned his head, winked at her. “We could go shopping. I can get my assistant to book us a suite at the Plaza, get us some tickets to a show.”
    “I can’t. It’s just too—”
    “All right, all right.” He shrugged a dismissive shoulder. “But don’t complain when I sign a lease on a place you haven’t seen. I’ve got three places earmarked in Lower Manhattan. The one I’m leaning toward is a three-bedroom loft. Realtor claims it’s a great space for entertaining. Just came on the market, so my timing’s good. Close enough to the office I should be able to walk to work in good weather. Price is stiff, but with my new position, I can afford it. And I’ll be expected to do some entertaining. Traveling, too. Going places, Cat.”

    “Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”
    “What I’m best at. Oh, I want to throw a little party before we go. We can make it a combination farewell and engagement deal. If we want to have it at my place, we’ll have to put it together fast. Have to start packing up.”
    Again, she said nothing, just let him ramble as they drove to her apartment over Sirico’s.
    “Let’s hold off making the big announcement.” He nodded toward the restaurant. “I want you all to myself for tonight. You can show off your ring tomorrow.”
    He came around to open her door. It was one of the gestures he always made, gestures she’d always considered sweet and old-fashioned.
    When they were inside, he helped her off with her coat. Nuzzled her neck again. She stepped away, taking a breath before she turned to face him. “Let’s sit down.”
    “Wedding plans.” He laughed as he spread his arms. “I know women like to dive right in, but let’s just concentrate on being engaged tonight.” He stepped forward to trail his fingers down her cheek. “Let me concentrate on you.”
    “Luke, I need you to listen to me. You didn’t give me a chance in the restaurant. One minute you’re showing me a ring, the next the waiter’s pouring champagne and people are clapping. You put me in an impossible position.”
    “What are you talking about? You don’t like the ring?”
    “Of course I like the ring, but I didn’t accept it. You didn’t let me. You just assumed. And I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, Luke, but you assumed too much.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Luke, we never even mentioned marriage before tonight, now suddenly you have us engaged and moving to New York. I don’t want to move to New York, for starters. My family is here. My work is here.”
    “For Christ’s sake, it’s a couple hours on the train. You can