Page 37 of Followed By the CEO

He laughs again. I will never get tired of hearing him laugh like that. “Are you sure? It’s kind of a big deal.”

“It’s a crazy-fast big deal,” I say with a nod.

“It’s a scorching, crazy-fast big deal.”

“It’s absolutely delusional,” I say, kissing his lips. “But I’d rather live in a delusion that makes me feel the way you do.”

Because truly, reality has never felt this good.

epilogue

Hayden

Eighteen months later

I’ve been waiting for the perfect time and place to pop the question to Mills.

But nothing has felt right.

When Mills first brought me to her hometown in Kentucky to help out with Graham, the infant that was literally dropped into the lap of Mills’ brother Owen, that was not the right time or place. Although I got on with her brother and the rest of her family like a house on fire, everyone was focused on helping Owen adjust to an unplanned fatherhood.

Honestly, I found it to be pretty moving the way that Mills and her mother rallied around their single brother. Even with a frozen yogurt shop in the works, Summer and Harmony stopped in to help whenever they weren’t on the job site.

When we returned a few months later to celebrate the grand opening of the frozen yogurt shop, any ideas about proposing at that time felt like we’d be stealing their thunder.

It’s not until I’m running the trails at Griffith Park one day with Stella’s husband Luke that I receive inspiration.

“Man, I just don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Luke says as we jog side by side. “What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know! I have all these ideas but nothing feels right. I thought about proposing at the Laugh Lodge at the end of her set, but that seemed wrong.”

“Huh,” Luke huffs out, barely breaking a sweat. As we round the corner, with the Hollywood sign in the distance, he asks, “What does Mills do when she’s not working?”

“Hanging out at her house, or my house. Most days I can find her at the dog park.”

Luke is silent for a minute as I list off half a dozen other ideas that I’ve had. A candlelit dinner in Beverly Hills. Santa Monica Pier. A sunset walk in Malibu.

Then it hits me, and it all comes together.

“I think I know what I’m gonna do, Luke,” I say.

We pause for a water break, and he claps my shoulder. “Proud of you.”

“Thanks,” I breathe, chugging my water and catching my breath.

“So, when can I tell Stella? You know I can’t keep a secret from her.”

“Give me 24 hours to pull everything together,” I laugh.

Mills

Susan is acting weird.

The two of us have been on the phone to chat about shooting a commercial for a bigger, national brand. Susan really wants Hayden involved again, but Hayden is still undecided.

“Maybe he’ll say yes if you do,” Susan says.

---