Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91497 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
It’s my turn to assuage his fears. “It’s in your suit jacket pocket, on the inside.”
He pats around and his shoulders slump with relief once he feels it in there. “Right.” Then he continues his pacing and waves his hand in a fast circle. “Someone walk me through the plan again. I’m losing my head here.”
We’ve been through everything half a dozen times. Tomorrow night, Josh is taking Sophia back to the restaurant where they had their first date. He’s going to wine and dine her and then the restaurant staff is going to bring the engagement ring out on a dessert plate at the end of the meal.
Nick was confused when he first told us this earlier. “It won’t be like in the food, right? Didn’t that happen in a movie once and the person choked on it?”
“No,” Josh confirmed. “The ring box will be on the plate. Nothing else.” He tugged the box out of his jacket pocket. Apparently, he’s been carrying it around with him for a while. “You guys want to see it?”
In less than a second, we were all huddled together while he tipped the black velvet lid open.
“Oval cut, just like she wants,” he explained. “Five carats.”
“Damn, dude,” Dustin commented. “I don’t even want to know how much that cost.”
“I do,” Nick argued.
“It’s great,” I assured him.
He closed the lid and tucked the ring back into his jacket. “Yeah, I think so. Anyway, I’m hoping you guys can sneak into the back room of the restaurant along with some of our family. Sophia thinks they’re all flying in to watch the game tomorrow afternoon, but I want to do a little surprise engagement party right after I propose. I ordered a cake and the restaurant will have food and champagne for you guys.”
“Be pretty awkward if she says no and we’re all there with balloons and party favors…” Nick said. When we all glared at him, he held his hands up in innocence. “What? It’s the truth!”
That was the beginning of the end for us. Once Nick put that little seed of doubt in Josh’s head, there was no coming back from it, even now, hours later.
Josh wipes sweat from his brow.
“Okay, first, you need to calm down,” I tell him, slow and patronizing.
Josh ignores me. “I think I should go through it from the top one more time with the mannequin.”
“Bro, I think you need to burn that thing. I feel like her eyes follow me when I move,” Dustin says, which tracks, considering what happened when we first arrived. None of us knew about the mannequin until we walked in here for our “mandatory” planning session with Josh after our afternoon game. She/it/the thing was just standing there in the living room wearing a Pinstripes t-shirt with a fire-engine-red wig and a plastic smile. She looked like she came straight from a department store display case in hell. When Dustin saw her, he let out a girlish shriek. “What is that, man?!”
“Oh, that’s Sophia,” Josh said with a tone that made it clear he didn’t think there was anything weird about having a fake doll he was using as a stand-in for his girlfriend so he could practice his proposal speech.
Nick took one look at it and inquired mildly, “So you fuck that thing?”
Josh doesn’t think we’re allowed to make fun of how he’s handling this. After all, in his words, “None of you have had the balls to propose to a girl before.”
“Au contraire,” Nick says, holding up a finger. “I have to stop you right there, bud. I asked Megan Scott to be my wife in kindergarten. There was a ceremony by the sand pit and everything.”
“Noted,” Dustin says, rolling his eyes before trying to get us back on track. “The point is, Josh, Sophia is crazy about you. You guys have been together for years. Hell, you’re practically married already. You have nothing to worry about.”
Josh looks to me for backup, and I give him a reassuring nod.
Then without a word, Dustin stands, picks up the mannequin, and stuffs her into the hall closet. He wipes his hands as if it’s a job well done. “There, that’s better.”
I’m anxious to wrap this up so I can get to Tate. She’s already off work. We’ve been texting all day. Josh apparently called her around lunch time to tell her his plan for his proposal to Sophia so I don’t have to keep it a secret as I text her back.
Grant: Not looking good over here.
* * *
Tate: Is he still losing it?
His pacing is worse than ever.
Grant: We’re about to have to find a tranquilizer gun. No idea how he’s going to manage to sleep before our game tomorrow.
* * *
Tate: It’s an afternoon game, right?
* * *
Grant: Yeah, I need to be at the stadium first thing.