Chapter 407: A ring to suit each man
Andrew had thought it was spontaneous, but Maxwell had planned it too. He didn’t want to propose over dinner, he knew better, and he was all smiles once they had settled down and Andrew had kissed him enough to appease him.
Maxwell sat down, staring at the ring on Andrew’s finger, a proud, primped look on his face. Maxwell’s chest was fuller, puffed out, like a proud show bird who had finally got the mate that he wanted. Andrew wanted to make fun of him, but he was a weepy mess.
Maxwell had got him good.
The dessert tasted too sweet against his tongue, and the waitstaff were very supportive of everything as well. They brought over a huge bouquet of flowers. A mix of roses, baby’s breath, and hydrangeas, a show that Maxwell didn’t forget Andrew’s roots. It made Andrew cry more.
Maxwell’s smile was wide as he wiped away his tears.
"My big Baby. You should get used to this, now that you’re wearing that ring." Maxwell warned, and the waitstaff who were still near did a double take. Andrew let out a choked laugh.
"You’re going to get my hydrangeas all the time?" Andrew asked and Maxwell’s eyes were warm.
"I’ll get you whatever you want." Maxwell promised and Andrew let out another laugh.
"That’s my CEO fiancé." Andrew joked, and Maxwell laughed. It was a little wet, his cheeks flushed, his happiness shining through his skin.
"That’s right." Maxwell confirmed, and Andrew sniffed, wiping at his eyes, and smiling at Maxwell. The dessert was nice, the evening a great one, and he could tell that everyone would speak about this for a while.
Until the photos from both of their engagements hit the news.
Andrew sniffed.
"I’m so worried that you aren’t going to like mine." Andrew whispered softly and Maxwell gave his hand a squeeze.
"You could propose to me tomorrow morning and I wouldn’t give a shit. Even if I wasn’t in my suit, in your baggy shirt, and I just woke up from sleep. I’m just happy to have you as mine." Maxwell told him earnestly, seriously. He was being sweet, so sweet that Andrew thought he was going to get a toothache.
Andrew squeezed his hand, giving him a serious, slightly angry look.
"Don’t say that. Look at what you just did for me? How in the world could I not match the energy you put into this? You had to call in favours to get this spot tonight." Andrew protested and Maxwell gave him a look.
"You’re worth it." Maxwell said without any hesitation and Andrew felt his eyes widen, before his eyes spilled over again.
"I’m trying to stop crying." Andrew protested and Maxwell laughed.
"Cry as much as you want, Baby. I’ll just kiss it better later." Maxwell said with a wink, and Andrew knew that the people around them were eating it up. Andrew just turned his attention back to the dessert before him, listening to Maxwell as he chuckled.
Andrew was going to devour him when they were behind closed doors.
When Andrew raised his gaze, Maxwell’s eyes widened, before he leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table and smiling at him. His expression was soft, and it was clear that he saw something in Andrew’s gaze.
He raised a spoon to his lips, taking it into his mouth, before slowly pulling it out. Andrew shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Maxwell grinned mischievously. The man was teasing him, and Andrew was falling for it. How was he not going to?
It was Maxwell, the man who had just put a ring on his finger. The man who just told him he loved him, and wanted to create a future with him. Andrew was a goner for anything, especially today.
Andrew pouted.
"You’re working me up on purpose, knowing that I can’t really do anything." Andrew accused, and Maxwell’s smile grew.
"What do you mean that you can’t do anything? I’m not going to stop you." Maxwell said, and Andrew pouted further.
"Tomorrow is a big day. I can’t have you bedbound." You could have heard a pin drop in the restaurant. Maxwell threw his head back and laughed.
"Why not? You could just carry me everywhere. Just think of the headlines we could cause?" Maxwell suggested, wiggling his eyebrows and Andrew’s lips twitched.
"You know I don’t like to do that." Andrew told him, and Maxwell gave him a soft look, his eyes holding a bit of pity.
"Sweetheart, you just got engaged to Maxwell Beckett. You’re going to have to get used to it." He warned, his smile growing to such a bright level that Andrew held his breath. He was breathtaking in his beauty, and Andrew couldn’t resist it.
He stood up, surprising Maxwell, as he leaned over and pressed a tender, soft kiss to his forehead. Maxwell’s ears turned pink, his cheeks quickly taking on the same tone. Andrew stared down at him, his eyes soft, affectionate.
"My dear Maxy, I guess I will just have to learn. For your sake." Maxwell’s mouth fell open slightly, clearly not expecting that Andrew would recover in any capacity tonight. Andrew was surprised himself, but then again, it was for Maxwell. Andrew should know that he would rise to any occasion when it came to him.
Maxwell’s hand flew to his forehead as Andrew sat back down, a stunned look on his face. It was cute, seeing him so shocked. It was because it wasn’t a passionate kiss, not in the way that Maxwell had been expecting. It was a caring kiss. A gentle one.
One that Maxwell was still adjusting to.
Maxwell cleared his throat, his face flushed, before he looked down at Andrew’s hands.
"Do you like the ring?" Maxwell asked, turning the conversation to something that he had control over. Andrew, who hadn’t been able to see the ring through his tears in the box and had been distracted since, turned his gaze towards the heavy weight on his left ring finger.
It was a thick, serious ring that was a blend of several different materials. The first, the edge on both sides, was a dark, black shade in the light. Andrew wasn’t sure if it was fully black, or an almost black shade. He had no idea what material it was, but it was pretty. Inside were two rows of materials. There was the main part, but then there was a pretty, thin edge dividing the black material and the main design. That was a gold shade, and the inside?
Andrew swallowed, his eyes watering.
It was a vine design. Simple, not too complicated, but tiny, shimmery jewels were placed in distinctive spots, adding instead of taking away from the design. It wasn’t a manufactured design, not one that could be mass produced. Someone who didn’t know better would think it was a rose plant design, or some other larger leaf plant.
Andrew knew. He knew that Maxwell had made sure to include his Mom, and his promise to him and to her in the ring.
It was a hydrangea plant, but a climbing hydrangea. It was a nearly impossible feat to get that detail in the ring, which explained why it was so thick. Maxwell had hired someone with immense skill to do this, and Andrew turned his gaze up towards Maxwell.
He was smiling at him.
"When did you get the ring?" Andrew asked, knowing that this must have taken a long, long time. Maxwell sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as he stared at Andrew. Andrew had his hands free so that he could examine the ring with both hands, turning the ring so that he could see the full design.
"There is a part of me that wants to tell you to guess, but I do want to brag. It got here right before Amir and Ben’s wedding." That was a while, and Andrew let out a soft breath.
"That’s...Jesus. How much did this cost?" Andrew asked and Maxwell’s smile grew.
"You know I’m not going to answer that. Are you going to answer when I ask you?" Maxwell shot back and Andrew made a face. No, he wasn’t, and Maxwell’s smile grew smug. "It’s interesting. Men’s bands are always cheaper, no matter how hard I tried to make it expensive. The jewels did add a bit to the cost, but not enough. I couldn’t even get it into the $20 000 range." He sounded terribly disappointed, and Andrew tried not to swallow his tongue.
He knew how much the ring he’d made for Maxwell cost, and knew that his ring was well above that. He hadn’t even considered getting him a ’male’ band. Maxwell just didn’t scream that style. He could almost empathize with him.
Maxwell wanted to get a bold, aggressive ring that told everyone that Andrew was taken, that Maxwell had claimed him, and the ring needed to match that energy.
Andrew turned his attention back to the ring, the small pops of colour tucked away into the gems. Blue and amber. Maxwell and Andrew’s eye colours. The man had put a lot of thought into this ring. He hoped that he liked the ring that Andrew had designed for him.
He really, really hoped that he liked it.
"I understand what you mean. It’s hard to design something that you hope the other person will like, while still making it obvious that it’s the ring you gave them." Andrew said softly, and Maxwell blinked. He clearly was a little surprised by Andrew’s words, but not in a bad way.
"Baby, are you worried?" Maxwell asked, and Andrew gulped. He nodded.
"I am. I’ve seen it, of course, but I’m going to worry." Andrew muttered. Maxwell let out a soft sigh, closed his eyes, then opened them. His eyes were lit from within.
"Damn it. I’m trying to be on my best behaviour. I didn’t even book a hotel room here. You need to watch yourself. It’s a crime when you’re so cute and there are too many people around. There isn’t even a closet I can pull you into here." Maxwell warned, his ears pink and his cheeks lightly flushed.
Andrew felt his own face heat, and knew that they had a hard night ahead of them, figuratively and literally.