Page 30 of Basket Case

“How much longer?”

“I’ll start with a month.”

His thumbs rubbed across my knuckles. Such a small movement, yet it went straight to my heart. “And after the month?”

“You can ask me then.”

“I will.”

He bent down and cut a thin willow shoot with his thumbnail. The green stem bent easily between his fingers. He split it lengthways, wound the strands together and formed a small circle. A ring.

“If that’s a marriage proposal, the answer is no.”

Aonghus paused. “You have not heard the proposal.”

“I’ve known you for one day.”

“You have known the creel since childhood.”

“I don't really remember it. Gran had lots of baskets. That absolutely does not count.”

His fingers continued working until the ends disappeared neatly into the weave. The finished ring was narrow, green and slightly uneven.

“This is not a request for marriage,” he said. “It is a promise that I intend to remain with you, if you will have me.”

I held out my hand. “Does this promise have an end date?”

Aonghus gave me a stern look. “I have learned from my mistakes.”

“So I can take it off?”

“Whenever you wish.”

He slid the willow ring onto my finger. It fitted perfectly.

I turned my hand beneath the moonlight. “You’re still very good at weaving.”

“I have had considerable practice.”

I snort-laughed. “That’s one way of putting it.”

Aonghus pulled me against him and kissed me beneath the birch trees. His hands settled on my waist, and the badly fitted shirt strained across his back.

“If Gran asks again,” I said against his mouth, “the basket brought me a reasonable amount of joy.”

He kissed me again.

“Liar.”

Want more objects behaving badly?

If Basket Case left you tangled up in knots, there are plenty more shamelessly inappropriate love interests waiting in the Sentient Object Adventures series.

Self-checkout machines, MRI scanners, sailboats, washing machines and cardboard boxes have needs too. Your reading list is already a basket case. One more won’t hurt.

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