“And he waited a minute or two before he answered me. And let me tell you, it seemed like hours.”
“I bet. So was all of his anti-marriage talk a front?”
He nodded, still grinning. “His pride took a hit when I put him off before, so he wanted a little payback. Said he’d always known I’d come around eventually. Wanted to make me work for it when I finally did.”
It sounded like Steven, who was playful and gregarious. “So where did you pop the question?”
He laughed. “I couldn’t do it somewhere with atmosphere, right? Like the candlelit restaurant or the nice dark bar after the show. No, I had to wait until the limo dropped us off at home at the end of the night and we were standing outside our brownstone and I knew I was going to lose my chance. So I just blurted it out right there on the street.”
“I think that’s really romantic.”
“I think you’re a romantic,” he shot back.
“Who cares about wine and roses? Anyone can do that. Showing somebody you can’t live without them? That’s romance.”
“As usual, you make a good point.”
I blew on my nails and buffed them on my shirt. “What can I say?”
“I’ll let Steven give you all the details at lunch on Wednesday. He’s told the story so many times already, he’s got the delivery down pat.”
“I can’t wait to see him.” As excited as Mark was, I was sure Steven was bouncing off the walls. The big, muscled contractor had a personality as vibrant as his bright red hair. “I’m so thrilled for you both.”
“He’s going to rope you into helping Shawna with the planning, you know that, right?” He sat up and set his elbows on the table. “Besides his sister, he’s recruiting every woman we know. I’m sure the whole thing will be over-the-top craziness all the way.”
“Sounds fun!”
“You say that now,” he warned, his dark eyes laughing. “Let’s grab some coffee and get this week started, shall we?”
I stood. “Um, I hate to ask this, but my dad is making an emergency trip into the city this week. I’m not sure when he’ll be coming in. It could be today. I’ll need to pick him up and get him settled when he arrives.”
“Do you need to take some time off?”
“Just to get him situated in my apartment. A few hours at most.”
Mark nodded. “You said ‘emergency trip.’ Is everything all right?”
“It will be.”
“Okay. I don’t have a problem with you taking time when you need it.”
“Thank you.”
As I dropped my stuff off at my desk, I thought—for the millionth time—how much I loved my job and my boss. I understood how much Gideon wanted to keep me close and I appreciated the vision of us building something together, but my work nurtured me as an individual. I didn’t want to give that up, and I didn’t want to end up resenting him if he kept pushing me to do so. I’d have to come up with an argument Gideon would accept.
I started working on it as Mark and I headed to the break room.
ALTHOUGH Megumi hadn’t yet kissed Michael good-bye, I took her out to lunch at a nearby deli with delicious wraps and a decent selection of Ben & Jerry cups. I chose Chunky Monkey, she went with Cherry Garcia, and we both enjoyed the cool treat in the middle of the hot day.
We sat at a small metal table in the back, the remnants of our lunch on a tray between us. The deli wasn’t as crazed during the noon hour as some of the other restaurants and full-service eateries in the area were, which suited us both fine. We could hold a conversation without raising our voices.
“Mark’s floating,” she said, licking her spoon. She wore a lime green dress that went really well with her dark hair and pale skin. Megumi always dressed in bold colors and styles. I envied her ability to pull them off so well.
“I know.” I smiled. “It’s so cool to see someone that happy.”
“Guilt-free happiness. Unlike this ice cream.”
“What’s a little guilt every now and then?”