Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Joanne was still giving me a funny look, but she wasn’t arguing, and at least she was finally—slowly, but finally—moving to get dressed. I helped as much as I could, setting out her shoes and calling out encouraging words after her as she disappeared into the bedroom.
I restrained myself from following her inside to be even more helpful, though, suspecting from much experience that that kind of “help” only delayed things.
In a fun way.
A really fun way.
But… no. I refocused, not even my libido was enough to pull me away from the excitement I felt at showing Joanne my love this way.
“I’ll get your coffee going while you get dressed,” I called out. “We won’t be long, then we can come back up here like normal.”
Joanne poked her head out of the hallway. “So… I don’t need to fix my hair?”
“Nope,” I said promptly, widening my eyes in an attempt to look believable. “What’s wrong with it? I love it.”
The look on her face told me I might be overdoing it, just a little. But it was true.
I loved everything about Joanne, and that included her unruly bed-head. If I was honest, I found it fucking adorable.
Joanne ran a hand through the floppy tangle, opening her mouth as if she was going to argue the point, and I knew I had to take more decisive action. No way did I have the patience for twiddling my thumbs for twenty minutes while she did whatever-the-hell it was with the assorted hair products she kept in the bathroom.
“Here,” I said, crossing the room quickly and grabbing a hat. “You look amazing—” I leaned in for a quick kiss before relinquishing the hat, because it was true “—but you can wear this if you don’t believe me.”
Joanne hesitated for a second, then jammed the cap onto her head with a smile. “Well, if you’re sure we’ll only be gone a few minutes…”
“You have my word,” I said solemnly.
“Okay,” she said, laughing. “Then let’s do… whatever it is you’re so impatient about.”
Impatient? No.
I had waited a year for this. A lifetime, really, even though I hadn’t known what I was waiting for until I’d finally found it. And once I was finally ushering Joanne out the door of our apartment and down the stairs? Yeah, that smile that had been hurting my cheeks somehow got even wider.
Joanne stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around the shop as if she half-expected something to jump out at her.
“Keep going,” I said. Then I thought better of it and took her hand. “Actually, I’ll lead the way. You should probably close your eyes.”
“Close my eyes?” she asked, blinking at me in confusion. “What? I thought you wanted to show me something. I don’t think—”
“Just trust me, babe,” I interrupted, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got you. Now, close your eyes and don’t open them until I say, okay?”
“Fine.” Joanne sighed dramatically, but I could see the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. “Don’t let me bump into anything.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, holding the door as I finally led my love outside. “Almost there, babe.”
I placed my hands on Joanne’s shoulders and slowly spun her around to face the front of the shop. “Are you ready?”
Joanne nodded silently, but I hesitated. Suddenly—and for the first time since I’d come up with the surprise plan—I was nervous. Really nervous.
What if it was too much?
Or… not enough?
It was going to be a big day, and the sign was just the beginning… but had I skimped too much on the things I planned later—the traditional flowers and chocolates and dinner date—since I’d put so much effort into this part?
Should I have spread out the surprises?
Would Joanne… understand the sign?
Was it too much?
The last thing I wanted was for Joanne to feel overwhelmed, to not know what to say or how to react. Or, God forbid, to feel like she had to say or do something in order to protect my feelings.
Fuck.
Maybe the whole idea was stupid.
Fuck.
All the optimism and excitement I’d been filled with evaporated in a last minute flare of nerves. Joanne was too important. I had almost lost her once, and the idea of fucking anything up a second time around suddenly had me breaking out in a cold sweat.
But… it was really too late now, wasn’t it? The sign was up for the whole world to see, and the rest of my plans were already set into motion, too.
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a useless attempt to calm down. Worrying now was sort of pointless, but that fact didn’t help settle the acrobatic butterflies that had suddenly taken over my stomach.
Not one bit.
“Brady?” Joanne asked, her voice laced with laughter. "Can I open my eyes yet?”