She stared at the box in her hand. Do I look? No. I shouldn't look. Oh, but I really want to look. What he doesn't know won't hurt him right? I have to know.
She opened the little ring box to the most beautiful oval rose quartz ring with small diamonds to embellish the criss cross motif on each side. Tears came to her eyes, happy that he remembered her saying many years ago that if she were to ever get married she didn't want a traditional ring, and would prefer something like rose quartz which symbolized love and devotion.
The door to Luke's apartment opened and shut, and Penelope quickly put the ring back in the box and hide it in the tank top drawer where she found it along with the green tank so he didn't suspect anything.
"Love?" Luke called.
"Struggling to get dressed," She called from the bedroom.
"Maybe I can help?" Luke said suggestively as he entered the room. Penelope rolled her eyes at him with a smile.
"We're meeting the team for dinner, what should I wear that keeps me cooled down but not slutty in front of our friends?" Penelope rummaged through her dresser again.
"Maybe this?" Luke opened his sliding closet and pulled out an off-white summer dress with pastel pink, blue, and green floral designs. Then he pulled out a pair of tan wedges with pastel pink straps to match and a transparent matching shawl. "With these?"
"Luke!" Penelope exclaimed, grabbing the dress and quickly sliding it on. "I love this."
Her mind quickly thought back to the ring. Ringbox hidden in the dresser, plus new outfit, plus dinner with their family. What does that equal? Surprise engagement party, Penelope deduced. Her nails were already done in the matching colors from her salon date with JJ a few days before. Luke planned this out, and she was impressed, but no one can keep surprises from Penelope Garcia. She is the queen of happy surprises.
Penelope tapped her finger anxiously at the dinner. JJ and Emily had ordered her each a drink from them and Luke and Dave were discussing home improvement techniques. Luke and Penelope had briefly discussed purchasing a house within Dave's ear shot, warranting an "experienced homeowner" dad discussion.
"Penelope there's something I want to say to you," Luke grabbed her hand from across the table, all of their friends to see. "You are the most amazing person to come into my life, and I want to take the time to acknowledge our friends' roles in bringing us together. If I had never joined the BAU, I never would have met you. So thank you, Emily and Dave for bringing me onto this team JJ, for being our biggest supporter. Tara for always giving me the best relationship advice, and Matt and Spencer who unfortunately couldn't meet with us today but have just as much hand at fostering our family."
This is it, Penelope thought, her heart racing and palms getting sweaty. Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a little pink gift bag.
Tears welled in her eyes, but confusion replaced instead when the box in the bag was much larger than a ring box. She pulled out the large flat box and opened it to a beautiful rose quartz and diamond necklace. It matches the ring.
She quickly masked the disappointment on her face, because she did love the necklace, but the absence of a proposal left a little bitter taste in her mouths. She's in a room full of profilers though, and they all noticed. Luke frowned for a second until meeting Penelope's bright eyes.
"I love it. Will you put it on me?" Luke's shining smile quickly returned and he clasped the necklace around her neck. The brush of his fingertips still sending chills down her spine.
"Happy almost anniversary babe," Luke kissed her sweetly. Almost anniversary. Their one year anniversary was coming up. Of course! How could she be so blind? The celebration with family, the outfit to spoil her, show her off to friends and strangers. All for their anniversary to make her feel loved and desired. And she did, she felt loved and very desired by the way Luke's eyes drifted down her body. "I'm glad you like the outfit, it looked so good on you."
After a round of celebratory drinks, Luke, Tara, and Dave went to order a round of shots for the table.
"JJ will you accompany me to the bathroom," Penelope asked. JJ followed in suit. Once in the bathrooms Penelope quickly turned back to JJ.
"So what did you take me to get my nails done?" Penelope interrogated.
"I needed someone to come with me," JJ replied innocently. "I had the extra money and wanted to treat one of my best friends."
Penelope narrowed her eyes.
"So the ring box in Luke's dresser had nothing to do with it?"
JJ froze, then sighed and shook her head with a smile.
"You really do discover everything don't you? Don't let him know you know. He's really excited." JJ took her hand. "He loves you so much."
"I know, but damn it, I thought he was proposing tonight." Penelope whined. "I am so ready to be Mrs. Penelope Grace almost-Alvez nee Garcia."
JJ laughed and pulled Penelope into a hug. She took in a deep breath.
"I'm envious of your love life."
"How's life post-divorce?" Penelope gave her a sympathetic look. "Do you need anything?"
"No," JJ sighed and checked her phone time. "We should get back before Luke gets suspicious."
"What about things with Emily?" Penelope smiled. "Are you guys…going to get together now that you're a free woman?"
This brought a small smile to JJ's face along with a blush. But she brought her finger to her lips, and gently "shushed" the tech analyst. Penelope winked before pushing JJ out the bathroom door.
"There's my girl," Luke wrapped his arms around Penelope. "Will you dance with me in the parking lot?"
"I think you're a little intoxicated love." Penelope stood on her tip toes to kiss his nose. "But I will always dance with you in the parking lot."
Once the team paid their tabs and dispersed with goodbyes, Luke turned up the radio on his car with the car door opened and took Penelope's hands in his. He spun her around before pulling her close as Taylor Swift's "lover" played.
"I meant what I said. I can't imagine how I ever lived my life without you, and now that you're in it I can't imagine a future without you," Luke said in a hushed voice as he looked into Penelope's eyes.
"Then why didn't you propose back there?" Penelope couldn't help herself. Luke cringed.
"You know? Gah, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret from you." He smiled sweetly and twirled her again.
"You knew I would find it?" Penelope studied him quizzically.
"Of course I did. I tried to keep it a secret but figured it would only last so long. I guess it's lasted longer than I thought." Luke pulled the rose quartz ring from his shirt pocket. "What do you say Penelope? Will you marry me?"
Penelope felt the happy tears stream down her face as she pulled him into a tight kiss. Luke slide the ring on her finger and kissed her hand.
"I'm sorry for ruining the surprise," Penelope half-smiled.
"I was actually going to propose to you when we got home because I figured you would kill me if I made a scene in the restaurant."
"Maybe a little. Though I do like public declarations of love, there were a lot of people in there," she laughed. "I even interrogated JJ about it."
"You did?" Luke chucked. "Did she keep it a secret?"
"Well no, she caved pretty fast, but I am persuasive." Penelope kissed his jaw as they danced.
"You certainly are." Luke bent down to kiss her again.