Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Carole interrupts us. “Are you talking about when you’re going to propose? Do you want to do it in front of everyone? That’s what Dax did.”
Yup, everyone knows my plan. Efa warned me that she couldn’t live with secrets and she’s always true to her word.
“No offense, Carole, but I’ve only just met you and—”
“Tish tish! We’ll be family by the time John pours the second glass of malbec. But propose how you wish, just don’t leave it until Sunday. We want time to celebrate with you both.”
“You like malbec?” I ask. “I know this great little vineyard in Argentina. Finca Colo. If I’d known, I’d have brought some.”
Dax laughs and so does Carole. “Vincent owns that vineyard. We have plenty of the stuff.”
“Yeah, don’t ever buy it. You’re just making a rich man ever richer,” Dax says.
I get the feeling no one in this family is going to care who my mother was, or that I’m rich and successful. They just care I make Efa happy. I take a deep breath. I think I’m going to enjoy it here in Norfolk with the best skies.
“You okay?” Efa asks as she comes up beside me.
“I hear I’m proposing to you this weekend.”
She grins at me. “Well, aren’t you?”
“You don’t think it would be nice to have a surprise?”
“Bennett, I’ve known you were going to propose to me from the minute I saw you on the cover of Forbes. It’s not a secret. We don’t have those, remember?”
This is why Efa needed me to announce to the world that I was Ben Fort. Because she can’t help but be exactly who she is. She’s authentic to her core. It’s only one of the reasons I love her.
“Do you want to see the ring in advance?” I ask her.
“Don’t be silly,” she says. “I know whatever you’ve picked will be incredible.”
I’m a little concerned that it will be a little too incredible. Efa’s not a showy person, yet there’s no doubt the ring I’ve picked is… noticeable. I just want to give her the best of everything. The ring is a symbol of my desire to make our life together as special as I can.
“I hope you like it.”
“I love it already,” she reassures me.
“So let’s have dinner tonight, then go sit under the stars and I’ll ask you officially to be my wife.”
“I like that plan,” she says. “I like every plan that means you and I are together.”
I have no doubt how Efa feels for me. But if I ever wanted confirmation, I can just listen to the way she talks about her love for me or her need to be near me. She’s unabashed. And she’s home to me now. And whether we end up in New York or Norfolk, as long as I’m with her, life will be perfect.
Every day I fall a little more in love with her. No doubt I’ll keep falling for the rest of my life.
A Month Later
Efa is pacing in front of me and it’s setting me on edge. We’re still at the Mandarin Oriental—Efa refused to go back to The Avenue and have Marcella service the suite for her. Instead we tip a full day’s wages to a woman we don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense, but as long as Efa’s happy.
“There are too many decisions to make,” she says. “Brownstone or apartment. Which dress to wear. And who of your five best friends will be your best man? And then there’s the flowers, the cake—I’m overwhelmed right now.”
“I’m not having a best man,” I say, a little confused. “Why are you worrying about all these things?”
“Because we have so many decisions to make.”
“We really don’t. I don’t care where we live—”
“Exactly! You’re leaving it all up to me.”
I get it now. I thought me telling her I’ll go along with whatever she wanted was for the best. But that’s not what she wants. That wasn’t partnering her, it was leaving her with all the decisions.
“I think we should live in an apartment, because it’s easier to leave when we go to London.”
“Okay,” she says. “I just don’t want to feel… cramped.”
“There’s one overlooking the park on the Upper East Side that’s ten thousand square feet. You’re not going to feel cramped.”
“You’re right,” she says. “But don’t you think kids need a garden?” She’s overthinking this. But that’s alright. I’ve got her.
“We’re not having kids anytime soon,” I say. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We can move, or the park will be across the street.”
“Okay,” she says on an exhale. As she moves, her hair shimmers and I wonder if she’s actually mine. “Apartment overlooking the park. Good.”
“And I like all three of the dresses you showed me online. Take them all.”
She swipes me on the arm. “It’s just wasteful. I think the gowny one is a little over the top for a registry office,” she says.