Page 157 of The Winslow Brothers

Me: I have no reason to be nervous because Soph is going to say yes.

Remy: I have to hand it to her, she keeps shit entertaining.

Ty: For real. I love that she’s made it clear she wants to marry Jude, but she’s got him proposing all over the fucking city because he doesn’t know when she’ll say yes.

Me: I’ve only proposed three times, dude.

Flynn: About to be four.

Ty: HAHAHAHA

Me: One day, you smug bastards are going to be knocked on your ass by a woman, and I’m going to laugh MY ass off.

Ty: Is this woman knocking me on my ass because she wants to fuck me? Because then, I can definitely get down with that cause.

I just shake my head. He knowsexactlywhat I’m talking about. They all do. But currently, they’re still deep in their ways of noncommitment and avoidance.

I can’t really blame them, though. Not too long ago, Iwasthem, oblivious to what I was missing and the fact that I wasn’t really living by carrying the heavy weight of avoidance.

Thank fuck for Sophie.

I glance at my watch and see I’ve been bullshitting with these assholes for far too long, and I send them one final message.

Me: Whoever put their money on no, be prepared to pay the fuck up.

And then I shove my phone back into my pocket and head inside to the restaurant, where the hostess leads me straightaway to the table I reserved, tucked away in the far corner of the room and already set up for the big night.

Surprisingly, Sophie isn’t far behind me, and in another ten minutes, I spot her gorgeous face walking through the main doors.

I lift my hand to grab her attention, and the second her gaze meets mine, she smiles.

Fuck. I love this woman.

The instant she’s within reach of my arms, I stand up and pull her into a hug. “Missed you so much.”

“You just saw me this morning,” she says through a cute laugh.

“Exactly.” I groan and breathe in the sweet, flowery scent of her hair. “Twelve hours is too long.”

“It’s like you’re obsessed with me or something,” Sophie teases, and I press a kiss to her lips before pulling out her chair and helping her sit down.

“Oh, baby, you have no idea.”

But soon, you’re about to find out.

Sophie

Right after our friendly server drops our meals at our table, I excuse myself to go to the restroom. But the instant I’m safely locked inside the one-stall bathroom, I grab my phone from my purse and call Julie.

It takes her three rings before she answers.

“Everything all set?”

“Uh…almost. How much time do I have left?”

“What do you mean, almost?” I question. “We already have our meals, Julie!”

“Well, Frankie was whining in his crate, and I couldn’t ignore him!” she retorts back, and I sigh. But also, I understand. My little buddy, the one Jude gave to me the last time he proposed, is irresistibly cute. I wouldn’t have been able to ignore him either.

---