And he admitted to his fling with Betsy.” She rolls her eyes. “I can’t take any woman who calls herself Candy Kitty seriously.”
“And that was that?”
“Yeah.”
“If he had proposed?”
“In that moment, I would have said yes. And I would have told myself I was happy. I would have convinced myself our fairy tale was coming true.” She shakes her head. “We would have ended up miserable and divorced in less than five years.”
I suspect less than two, but numbers aren’t important.
“You probably think I’m psycho.” She tries to lighten the conversation. “Wanting a proposal from a guy I didn’t love.”
“No. I think you were confused.”
“I’m not anymore. Getting away from Thom has been enlightening. Thanks for putting up with me.”
“I’m not just putting up with you, honey. You make me happy.”
She bites that pretty, pouty lip again. “I’m happy, too.”
Yeah, with the status quo.
Maybe it is better that I’ll be gone tonight.
A few minutes later, I drop her and Ranger off at the condo and head to the marina. Terry is nervous but excited. His girlfriend, Ainsley, is younger and very driven. Wednesday was the only night they were both free. But the good news is, the water isn’t as crowded or choppy. With the sky full of oranges, pinks, and purples, my buddy drops to one knee and asks the woman he loves to spend her life with him. I melt into the background as she gasps, cries happy tears, and screams yes. They’re both ecstatic; I can see it.
I want that—and I want it with Masey.
Proposing didn’t work out for me the first time. Wrong reasons. Wrong woman. And I swore I’d never get down on one knee again. But maybe it’s time to get over my abject terror of being humiliated and rejected.
It probably sounds crazy, but do I dare propose to Masey?
Saturday, April 14
The next few days pass in a blur. On Wednesday night, I returned home late. Terry and Ainsley insisted I come with them for a celebratory drink after we docked. I agreed since they were in the mood to party, and I wanted to give Masey time to miss me. But it hurt listening to them make wedding plans. And staying away from her was so fucking hard. Still, I hung out with them until nearly midnight.
When I made it back to my condo, the place was quiet. I palmed my keys so they didn’t jingle. Masey was asleep in my bed, Ranger curled up beside her. The sight of them unraveled my heart.
After dropping a kiss to my son’s head, I scooped him up, warmed him a bottle, changed and fed him, then stood over his crib and watched him fall back to sleep.
With a sigh, I tiptoed to my room and slid in bed, curled Masey against me. I tried like hell to leave her alone, but I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her half-awake, then making love to her—twice—before watching her fall into a sated slumber.
What would happen if I proposed to Masey? After dozing off and on for hours, I couldn’t come up with an answer.
The rest of the week, nothing went as planned. On Thursday morning, I got a last-minute booking. I took it since Masey and Ranger scheduled a playdate with Harlow and Nolan at the beach and the vacationer hiring me offered me a fortune. Plus I hoped some girl time would help Masey envision what living on the island would be like if she stayed.
Thursday afternoon, Masey’s Boyfriend-Does-My-Makeup video went live. Apparently, it racked up views quickly, and the comments were overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to talk much about it, and I didn’t have a chance to look because Ranger started vomiting. Five hours later, we took him to the ER and spent most of the night there, waiting to hear that he simply had a virus—nothing more serious, thank God—that would have to run its course.
Masey was supportive and by my side every step of the way—a helping hand, a shoulder when I got tired, an encouraging word when I was worried and trying to feed Ranger a barium bottle at two a.m. for tests. In short, she was the perfect helpmate.
Twelve hours later, my little guy was eating like a champ again. Go figure.
But Masey and I were exhausted. We slept most of the day in shifts, and that evening, we figured out what to wear to Clint and Bethany’s wedding the next afternoon. One thing I noticed? The minute Ranger