Sunset on Moonlight Beach - Sheila Roberts Page 0,56
her own two feet, and for a while, those feet had been planted on her parents’ shoulders, God bless them.
“I think I’m going to bed,” Annie said, picking up a couple of empty glasses. “I have a food truck to run tomorrow.”
“Thanks for taking time off to be at my grand opening,” Courtney said to her. “You’re the best.”
“I’m happy it went so well. You deserve it,” Annie replied.
“Yeah, you do,” put in Jonas.
Annie left, and then it was just Courtney and Jonas. He moved to join her on the couch and she put her legs up on his lap, leaned an arm over the back of the couch and smiled at him.
“You’re still here. My mom hasn’t scared you away?”
“Nope. And your mom’s right, you know.”
“About sex on the beach? Ugh. Sand in your butt crack.”
That was classy. Maybe she was more like her mother than she cared to admit. Well, there could be worse people to be like, that was for sure.
“No, about us getting engaged. What do you think?”
She thought it was a great idea.
“There’s no one I’d rather be with. Not like this though,” she said.
He looked at her, puzzled. “What do you mean not like this?”
She was going to look stupid, but, “I need more.”
“More,” he repeated. Now he looked completely confused.
“You know how my first husband proposed?”
“Uh, no. That subject has never come up.”
“We were at Dick’s Drive-In, getting hamburgers, and he said, ‘Hey, babe, we should get hitched.’”
“Romantic.”
“Yeah, well, dummy me. I said, ‘Okay.’ So we drank our milkshakes, went back to my dorm room and had sex. The next weekend we ran off to Vegas, where we picked up cheap rings at a pawn shop, and went to a bargain wedding chapel called The Love Nest for a cheapo ceremony, and that was that. At twenty it sounded like a good idea. My parents liked him okay so why not?
“Of course, Mom was bummed that I didn’t have a big wedding and Dad wished I’d waited until I was older. After a year and a half, so did I. Starter Marriage 101. I don’t want to do that again. Getting married is a big deal and so is getting engaged.”
“Okay, I get it,” Jonas said, nodding.
“Not that it’s all about the bells and whistles. It’s about matching up with the right person. I know that. But I guess this time around I want a movie moment. I want everything special right from the start. And I don’t want to get engaged just because my mom said something and now you feel like you need to say something.”
He frowned. “You can’t think that’s why I asked you just now.”
“No.” He had a hand on her leg, the comfortable gesture of a man who loved his woman. They were good together. No, they were great. Kind of stupid to make him jump through hoops. “I know it sounds dumb, but I really want something romantic I can tell my kids...our kids about someday.”
Courtney was not shy by nature, but now she felt shy, almost afraid to look him in the eye. She concentrated on that hand on her leg, a strong hand with long fingers, a hand that gave her goose bumps every time he touched her.
He gave her leg a little squeeze. “I get it now.”
“Do you? Really?” She lifted her gaze and saw him looking at her like a pirate would look at a chest of gold doubloons.
“Yeah. And you know what? You’re right. I want a good story to tell our kids, too.”
That willingness to look at life through her eyes, to see her point of view, was one of the many things she loved about him. “You’re the best,” she said happily.
“I know,” he said, all cocky. Then he turned serious. “So here’s the deal. I don’t want to lose you, so figure that you’re taken. Got it?”
Her heart gave a little squeeze. Oh, yes, she got it. And she wanted it. She nodded.
“We’re together. For good. Sometime, before this year is over, I’m going to give you a proposal to remember. You won’t know when it’s coming. It’ll be a surprise. You’ll just have to wait and see what I come up with. Deal?”
“Deal,” she said.
“And tell your mom she’s gonna have to wait, too,” he added, making Courtney snicker.
They sealed the bargain with a kiss. And then a few more, to make sure the agreement was fully cemented.
“I love you, Court,” he murmured, “and I promise you we’ll