Page 33 of Undoing the Grumpy Guy

“I enjoy being here with you,” I assure her.

“But your house is so big and nice. And you got better water pressure than my dinky shower has.”

She’s right about the water pressure, but wrong about the rest. Dropping the crust on my plate, that I refuse to eat, I wipe at my hands and mouth before saying, “I like your apartment. It’s cozy and sweet like you are.”

Winnie’s tongue darts out to clean off the dab of red sauce clinging to the corner of her mouth while her gaze narrows on me. “Like me? I’m small and cramped?”

“When you’re full of me, you are.” I waggle my eyebrows and blow her a kiss. It’s so easy to be playful around Winnie. My mood is always light. We’ve tried sex without my pill and even when I go soft she never pouts or makes a big deal out of it. I’m starting to halfway believe that it really isn’t an issue for her.

“You’re so bad,” she says, grabbing my crust and nibbling at it.

“You like me when I’m bad.”

Her gray eyes roll as she laughs. “Cheesy too. Honestly, Reed, when we met, I never thought you would be so corny.”

Reaching out, I smooth away the sauce on her lip that she missed. “First, I’m cheesy and now I’m corny? Should I be zesty too? How about a ham? A good balanced meal is important.”

Laughing, she pelts me with the rest of the crust. “Stop!”

“Never,” I declare with a grin and then tackle her to the couch, where I kiss her senseless.

We’ll sell my house, I decide suddenly one morning four weeks into dating. And together we’ll buy a different home, one that Winnie can put her personal stamp on. But first, I want my family’s ring on her finger.

Later that morning, I put a call in to Elliot asking if I could go over some legal documents with her. Crafty sly woman that she is, she catches on immediately.

“Why don’t we just meet at the bank so we can get the ring out of the safe deposit box together?”

Chuckling, I don’t even try to argue, and we agree to meet at the bank in an hour.

The ring is a solitaire in a platinum setting that was Elliot’s that she passed down to her oldest son, my Uncle Sterling, when he proposed to his wife, Rachael. Rachael decided that she preferred the ten-caret rock that he gifted her after the birth of their son and returned the ring to Elliot, who’s been safeguarding it for me all these years.

I don’t understand the logic behind the when or the why she decided that I would be the one to need the ring, but when I think about proposing to Winnie, I know that’s the ring I want to do it with.

After meeting Elliot at the bank and promising her I’ll let her know the moment after I propose and Winnie accepts, I take the ring to one of the local jewelers to get it inspected and cleaned. It hasn’t been out of that safe deposit box for at least twenty years, and I want to make certain it’s looking its best when I propose.

Mr. Martin, the owner, assures me it’s as flawless as the day it was crafted and whisks it away to clean. I’m killing time on my phone when a familiar voice has me lifting my head.

A heavily pregnant redhead is yanking on her finger, trying to get off her ring while one of Mr. Martin’s assistants is attempting to calm her down. The assistant leaves to get something and at that moment the redhead turns and I’m staring at Christina, one of my exes that cheated on me.

“Oh, Reed,” she exclaims, coming over and smiling up at me. “How are you?”

A polite professional smile pinches up my lips. “I’m well, Christina. You?”

Laughing, she pats at her large, distended stomach. “Oh, been busy.”

“Congratulations,” I say stiffly.

Not seeming to notice or care about my lack of genuine interest, she lets out a high-pitched giggle. “It was a surprise, to be sure. But a good one!” Her long lashes flutter as her green eyes trail over me. “Besides, after the week Grant and I had, I would have been shocked if I wasn’t pregnant when we got back from Europe.”

Mockingly, she puts a hand to her cheek and gives a little pout. “Oh sorry, Reed. Didn’t mean to bring up any hard- oops, I mean difficult subjects.”

“You didn’t.”

“Your ring is ready, Reed,” Mr. Martin says from behind me. Christina’s eyes widen as they land on the open ring box in the jeweler’s hand, the shine from the brilliant solitaire sending a prism of sparkles dancing around.

“Thank you.” I accept the box from him and give Christina a tight nod.

My shoulders are stiff as I exit the store and drive home instead of going to Winnie’s, like I’d planned. I’m pulling into the driveway when Winnie calls.

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