Page 91 of Stone Promises

I smile big. Because she couldn’t have picked a better time to ask that question. Cole pulls into my driveway. I get out and run around the car to open her door. When she exits the car and sees what’s in my front yard, she covers her mouth and squeals. “Chad, is that what I think it is?”

I look at the sign in the front yard. “If you think it’s a For Sale sign, then you’d be right. But I figured with you being a school teacher and all, I wouldn’t really have to spell it out for you.”

She slaps my arm playfully. “Not that, silly. Does this mean . . . ?” She looks at me hopefully.

I nod. “I can live anywhere, Mal. I know I’ll have to be on the west coast quite a bit, but I can crash with my parents. I don’t want home to be anywhere but where you are.”

“You’re moving to New York?” she yells, jumping into my arms.

“Where else would I possibly want to be?” I say right before her lips crash on top of mine.

I carry her to the front door. I have no choice; she’s wrapped around me as snugly as a latex glove. I try to put her down when we get to the door, but she won’t let me. “Don’t you want to carry me across the threshold?” she asks.

“I thought that wasafterwe get married,” I say.

She laughs. “I think you need to practice.”

“You think I need to work out more, babe?” I tease.

“No. I just don’t want you to take your hands off me right now unless it’s to remove every stitch of my clothing.”

I laugh knowing what’s on the other side of the door. “You might change your mind in about five seconds,” I say.

I open the door and walk through, carrying my bride to be. Then she jumps out of my arms, startled when everyone yells, “Surprise!”

“What? What is this?” She looks around my living room. Everyone we know and love is here. My parents and brothers. Megan. Ethan’s wife, Charlie. Mallory’s dad and his girlfriend. Julian and Melissa. Kendra and Ana. Even Hayden and Noreen are here even though we just left them thirty minutes ago at the airport. I also invited some of the crew we hung out with in Sedona. There’s a huge banner hanging on the back wall that reads ‘Congratulations.’ Mallory turns around and looks at me, her mouth hanging open. “A surprise engagement party? Are you serious? When did you even have the time?”

“Kendra and my mom did most of it.” I pull her against me and whisper in her ear. “I’m holding you to what you said earlier, you know. As soon as they all leave, you’re mine.”

I feel a shiver run through her. Then she looks at me and her eyes tell me I’m in for one hell of a night once we’re alone.

Her dad comes up behind her, picking her up and spinning her around. “Congratulations, pumpkin.” She hugs him for a long time, eliciting tears from both of them. Then Richard holds his hand out to me. “I can’t think of a finer man for my daughter.” After I shake his hand, he pulls me in for a hug.

His girlfriend, Denise, congratulates us as well, and then my parents follow suit.

My mom fawns over Mallory’s ring, tears welling up in her eyes. “I must be the luckiest mother-in-law in the world. My sons sure do know how to pick ‘em,” she says. “Welcome to the family, dear.”

We make our way through family and friends, taking time to be congratulated by every one of them. Then the caterers circulate with trays of finger food and champagne.

“I hear you’re a movie star, Mal,” Julian says to my fiancée.

She shakes her head. “I still can’t believe he did that,” she says, elbowing me. “But I can’t wait to see it. I wonder how long it will take for it to be ready.”

I pull a DVD case out of a bag Cole left by the front door. “It’s not a good party without entertainment.”

She covers her mouth. “Oh, my God. Is that it? Can we really watch it? I was so nervous,” she says. “Everything you said was beautiful and perfect, but I can’t remember it exactly, because . . . well, because you were proposing and I was about to pass out from shock I guess.”

I laugh. “You bet your ass we can watch it. We can watch it a million times if you’d like. And whenever you forget how much I love you, I’m going to strap your beautiful behind to my La-Z-Boy recliner and make you watch it over and over.”

After everyone has some food and a few drinks, we get settled and watch the DVD. I normally don’t like to watch myself on screen. But this is one time I don’t mind it. I don’t mind it because it’s Mal and me. And it’s not me I’m watching. It’s her. I’ll never get tired of watching her reaction. Of seeing the excitement on her face. The love in her eyes.

“Well, shit,” Kyle says, when it’s over and all the women in the room are crying. “You’ve pretty much just ruined any chance the rest of us have at an epic proposal. How in the hell are we going to beat that?”

Everyone laughs. “I like to set the bar high, little brother.”

Julian corners me in the kitchen when I’m grabbing a bottle of water. “So I take it Courtney wasn’t invited. What’s going on with all of that?”

I think back over the past eight weeks of filming. How she never even made a pass at me after that very first comment in her trailer. Shehaschanged. And I catch myself hoping she can find someone to make her happy. I know it must have been hard for her to see Mal and me together. And she was conspicuously absent for my proposal. However, she gracefully congratulated both of us the next day.

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