Page 156 of The Winslow Brothers

Six months later…

Jude

At a little after eight in the evening, I head out of Sophie’s and my apartment in Nolita and lock the door behind me. The place is a stone’s throw from her old place, but it’s bigger, has an even better view, and there’s always a doorman to make me feel okay when I’m pulling late hours working at a club and Sophie is by herself.

That’s right. We are officiallyliving together.

Every morning, I get to wake up to Sophie’s gorgeous face, and every night, I get to hold her in my arms. Not to mention, we’realwaystogether, and I never have to miss a moment when she has a bare pussy. Honestly, I don’t know why more men aren’t considering this important “bare pussy” detail when deciding whether or not to put long-term commitment on their vision boards. And yes, I learned about vision boards from Sophie.

It’s the best fucking time of my life, and I’m a man who isalmostliving the dream. But there’s one thing that still needs to occur to make that “almost” a reality—marrying her.

Laughable, right? I know.

Trust me, our unmarried status has nothing to do with my lack of trying.

Three proposals I’ve attempted so far. The one on her rooftop. One that involved taking her to my uncle Brad and aunt Paula’s lake house and proposing while we were out on the water. And the last one involved showing her how much I love her by surprising her with a fluffy blond ball of Labrador puppy and the engagement ring around his little collar.

You’d think she would’ve said yes to one of those, right?Wrong.Three proposals have only led me to three no’sanda puppy that Sophie named Frankie.

It’s incredibly ironic that I spent so much of my young life running from marriage and am now chasing after it like a dog with the mailman, but now that I’ve given myself over to loving Sophie, I need the commitment.

I need to lock her down, seal the deal, and make it official that she’s not going anywhere for the rest of our lives.

But soon, that’s all going to change.

Once I’m outside the door of our building, I start the four-block walk toward the restaurant where I reserved a table for two. An Italian place my niece Lexi loves and has the perfect intimate ambiance for tonight.

Paesano is a well-known spot for locals in Little Italy, and its quaint charm and romantic vibes of candlelight and wood beams and classical Italian music are exactly what I need to set the mood that ends in Sophie finally sayingyes.

I pull my cell out of my pocket and shoot her a message as I come to a stop in front of the restaurant.

Me: Where ya at, babe?

Her answer comes in a minute later.

Sophie: Running about ten minutes behind. Had some issues getting everything broken down after the event. But I’m on my way! And please please please, tell me there’s no wait because I’m starving!

Little does she know, there’s no line because I’m a man with a plan. A proposal plan, that is. But in the name of taking her by surprise—which is a hard thing when I’ve already done this three times—I send her back a little white lie.

Me: Hostess said there’s only a ten-to-fifteen-minute wait. So, by the time you get here, our table should be ready.

I don’t make a point to lie to my girl, the woman Iwillmarry someday real fucking soon, but sometimes, there’re exceptions, and it goes without saying, tonight is one.

Sophie: Wooo-hooo! Thank everything! See you soon, baby!

I grin and go to slide my phone back into the pocket of my jeans, but when it vibrates in my hand, I lift up the screen to find a few messages inside my group chat with my brothers.

Ty: Starting a pool. $50 bucks to play. Who is betting that Sophie says yes? Who is betting that Sophie says no? Personally, I’m on Team No.

Flynn: LOL. I got $50 on yes.

Remy: Put me down for no. Soph is hard-core. No way she’s saying yes tonight.

I roll my eyes.

Me: She’s going to say YES, you fucks.

Ty: Uh oh…is someone feeling a little nervous?

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