Blake's laughter disrupts my concentration for applying my lipstick. The pale shade of brown is lightly smudged on the corner of my lower lip. Thankfully, the shade isn't red so I don't look like a clown.

I glare at Blake because it means I'll have to fix my foundation which is more work. That, and I was having the perfect run before he walked in.

"Go away, Blake."

"I'm sorry, let me fix it." He pouts.

Blake grabs my arm and tugs me away from the mirror. He kisses my forehead and reaches for the tube of lipstick. He looks at the shade, then to me with happiness swirling within his green eyes.

"You do know that you're beautiful without this?" 

"Yes." I nod. "Although, I want to look good for you and our parents."

"Just don't forget that you're stunning with or without this." Blake rubs his thumb over the corner of my lip.

He reapplies the brown lipstick before placing the tube on the bathroom vanity. His smile widens as he appears impressed with his handy work.

"Thank you for the help." I grin. "I do not want to look like I rolled out of bed for the pictures I know our mothers will take. If I look like a sloth on Facebook, it'll be there forever."

"Sloths are adorable!"

"And so are you." I plonk my lips on Blake's cheek.

Blake goes to frown, but he smiles instead. He grabs the engagement ring out of his pocket and slips the ring on my finger.

"I got you a present too." I smile.

"Really?"

"Don't be too surprised!"

I brush past Blake and grab his present out of my side draw. He takes the box from my hand and opens it. Inside, there's a silver ring with 'Always' engraved into the band.

"You laughed at the idea, but I still think it's cute." I smile.

Blake hands the ring to me, and puts his hand out. I put the ring on and Blake admires it with a smile.

"This is amazing, thank you."

"You don't have to wear it to work or whatever, but I thought it would be nice. Who says guys can't have engagement rings either?"

Blake pulls me into his arms and we hug.

"We should finish setting the table." I groan.

"Why did we decide to have dinner at our house?"

"Because you wanted something low key."

"Damn, that's right."

Blake wanders out of the bedroom and I follow in suit. Somehow, we put the dishes and plates of food onto the table before the doorbell rings. I let Blake open the door while I finish perfecting the table.

My heart leaps through my chest at the sound of their voices. Blake leads them into the dining room and then moves to stand beside me.

As Blake wraps his arm around my waist, I see my father's face drop. They probably think I'm pregnant again.

"Before we eat, Ava and I have  some special news to announce."

Angel looks like she's about to explode with happiness and the rest of our parents look slightly worried. It's hard to read my mother's facial expression, though.

"We're engaged!" I announce before they flip out.

"Oh, my!" My mother rushes around the table to tug me into a tight hug.

"You had me scared for a moment. I saw Blake's ring and thought you might have eloped without us."

"No, I'd never do that." I shake my head. "Just thought Blake deserved a ring as well."

"Congratulations, hunny."

"I was hoping it was Paris," Angela comments. "But a wedding sounds very exciting too."

Blake rolls his eyes, "There will be no Paris, Dallas or whatever other names you've come up with."

We take a seat at the table and serve the food. Our mother's talk about the engagement party while Blake chats about work with his father.

I take a deep breath and force some mash potato down my throat. All this chatter about parties and the wedding sounds overwhelming. I was not expecting them to chat about it so quickly. 

"What if you kept the engagement a secret and announced it at the party?"

"Kyle would slaughter me if that happened. You know how he gets about secrets." I shake my head.

"You could tell close friends and keep everyone else out of the loop?" Angela offers.

"We'll think about it," Blake says.

"Okay." Angela nods.

"We also want to host a party for Ivan," Blake announces.

I keep my gaze hooked on the plate while I wait for their reactions.

"Really? That sounds like a wonderful idea," Mum replies.

"Thanks." I half-smile.

"We have plenty of time to organise these events."

"Although, we'd need to speed Ivan's birthday party up considering . . ."

"Right, yes, that can easily be managed." Mum nods.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I walk to the hallway and Blake follows.

"What's wrong? Are you regretting this?" Blake whispers. "I can take the ring back and it'll be okay. I promise I won't be upset."

"It's not that, I love it, Blake."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I lied about work, I took the time off because I've been down about Ivan. I keep thinking about his tiny little body and what it would have been like to throw him a birthday party. Maybe the idea was terrible? Throwing the party is just stirring old feelings."

The light from the dining room hides half of Blake's face, but I still see the pain swirling within his green irises.

"I don't know how to fix this."

"Neither do I." I sniffle. "There's something not right and I can't get past this feeling."

He holds me in his arms and I accept the comfort. I stand there motionlessly because I don't know what to do either. Perhaps talking to Charlotte was a terrible idea? It's giving me a false sense of hope that's playing out wrong.

"How about you take some time to decide what's right for you? We don't have to throw any parties if you don't want to. We could go away for the weekend and do our own thing for Ivan's birthday."

"Thank you." I nod. "We should probably get back otherwise we won't get a say in anything."

"That's very true." He chuckles.

Blake kisses my forehead and drags me out of the hallway. We take our seats and I tug on my brightest smile.

I can do this.

Do you think Ava will keep this a secret from Kyle?