The Happy List (Better With You #1) - Briar Prescott Page 0,1
the whole problem with the proposal is the fact that I’m too much of a macho douchebag to put up with the fact that she’s the one doing the asking.
“Cee.” My voice is so low that I’m practically whispering.
Her hands move to her hips.
“We’ve been together for two years, Grayson!” she snaps.
I guess having this conversation in private is out of the question. I glance to the side. Everybody is staring at us. Everybody has identical scandalized expressions on their faces. Everybody, except for my grandmother, that is. She observes the whole thing with a sardonically raised eyebrow. She’s also the only marginally friendly face in the crowd.
There are a lot of people here. Cecilia has a large extended family and a hell of a lot of friends. If this debacle of a proposal here doesn’t end up as a YouTube clip, I’ll be very surprised.
Cee’s father takes a step forward.
“Maybe you two should go and talk in private,” he suggests.
“Yes!” I say too loudly, inviting even more stares. We Quinns are not known for our social skills. Case in point, Con looks like he’d find it infinitely more preferable if the floor would swallow him whole, and he’s not even the one who’s getting the full attention of every living soul in this place.
“If you’ll excuse us,” I add in a more subdued tone as I grab Cecilia’s hand and pull her toward the small hallway that leads to the bathrooms. We’re followed by murmurs and whispers the whole way there.
“Jesus Christ, Grayson.” Cee pulls her arm free from my hold once we’re hidden from the view of our families. She crosses her arms on her chest and starts tapping her high-heeled shoe on the marble floor. “What is the matter with you? You embarrassed me in front of everybody we know!”
“I’m sorry.” I rub the back of my neck. “I’m just… Marriage, Cee? I thought we agreed that it’s not something we’re pursuing.”
The sentiment falls on deaf ears as Cee steps closer and places her palm on my forearm.
“It’s normal to feel nervous about big life changes.” Her tone is placating. Sweet, even. It’s the tone of a mother calming her child down before a meltdown.
“We’ll just have a longer engagement to give you time to get used to the idea.” She smiles as if everything has been decided with that one sentence, and then she’s turning around on her heel, ready to get back out there to receive all the congratulations and wave off the little blip that was my initial refusal to say yes. I’m already hearing jokes about cold feet in my head.
I shake my head, stopping her. “I don’t want to get married.”
It’s a fucking surreal feeling to have a very sudden and clear realization like that. It feels as if a wall has tumbled down. The idea of marriage has been hovering somewhere in my mind, but I’ve always postponed thinking about it because that was clearly the job for future Gray.
Cee blinks rapidly before she puts one hand on her hip and waves the other one impatiently in the air. It’s like I’m a toddler that refuses to cooperate.
“Then what, Gray? What’s the plan? We’ll just go on like we used to, not moving toward anything? What about when we have kids?”
“I don’t want kids.”
The conviction in my voice surprises even me. The bombs of truth are exploding between us with deafening clatter.
I don’t want to get married.
I don’t want to have kids.
I don’t want the life Cecilia has clearly planned for us.
I don’t want the white picket fence and the house in the suburbs. I don’t want couples’ nights with our neighbors that would inevitably follow. I don’t want the two point five kids and a golden retriever puppy. I don’t want a goddamn minivan. I don’t want any of it.
“I don’t understand,” Cee says, looking genuinely confused. “It’s what people do.”
“I’m sorry.” I’m unable to think of anything better to say. I don’t think there’s any way to lessen the blow. That’s what I get for lying to myself and by extension, everybody else.
I am an asshole. A coward. Vermin at the bottom of a thick layer of mud. I should have been honest. I should have told the truth. I should have realized the truth sooner. I should have never started a relationship with Cecilia.
It seems we’re on the same page because she raises both her hands in the air.
“Well, then what’s the point of even being together if