Page 132 of Who's Your Daddy?

“Does that work?” Peter asks expectantly. “That’s pretty personal.”

“No!” It comes out more like a shout because I’m trying so hard to contain my laughter. “I mean, it’s cute.”

“You’re not impressed?” He looks from me to Dylan. “Yo, Dyl. Show her the rest of the message.”

Dylan lifts the cardboard to reveal the writing across his chest. Now the full message reads:“Marry him, Lia. He loves you...as a whole being person.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m getting all choked up.” Peter pretends to wipe away a fake tear. “Is that good enough for you?”

I’m not sure how to respond to respond because this feels like a prank rather than him genuinely asking me. “Uh...”

He takes note of my hesitation and stands up. “Dyl, cut it. It’s a bust.”

“She doesn’t like it?” Dylan asks.

“No, I do. It’s—”

“What if I grabbed my crotch in front of her? Do you think that will help?”

Peter shoots daggers at him with his eyes. “You just can’t let things go, can you?”

Dylan smirks, winking at Peter before he paddles away.

“So, that was terrible.”

The disappointment in his voice makes me think that this might not be a prank.

But if that was a real proposal...

Well, it wasn’t the worst proposal in the world. It was just unconventional. I guess when I pictured it in my mind, I thought it would be something more romantic than just beingtoldthat we’re getting married. “It was really cute,” I assure him.

“Yeah, but you hated it, otherwise you would’ve said yes.” His dejection is short-lived because he perks up a second later. “Okay, humor me here, so I can make sure I get it right. Would you be more inclined to say yes if I – let’s say – organized a flash mob? I’ll even add in the personal element. The only dance movie we both like is Dirty Dancing, so...what if I played the song at the end of that movie...”

And as if on cue,The Time of My Lifestarts playing.

“Where is that coming from?” I ask, looking around for the source of the sound, but he carries on unfazed.

“And a whole group of highly skilled dancers pop out of nowhere...” As he speaks, marionettes drop on the deck in front of me. “...and do a rendition of that dance routine.”

These six puppets begin their poorly timed dance routine, and I follow the strings. It’s getting dark, but I can make out that it’s Scott and Tommy controlling them from the upper deck. Tommy is the puppet master for the four backup dancers, while Scott is in charge of the two main dancers, who I assume are supposed to be Johnny and Baby. The four backup dancers each have a word pinned on to them:Will You Marry Me?

They might be trying hard to get the routine as close to the original as possible, but the puppets aren’t cooperating. It’s so bad, and Scott’s snickering can be heard over the music. I watch as he tries to get the lift at the end right, but the strings get tangled, and the puppets just sort of fall over onto each other. Quite...anti-climatic.

I look over at Peter, who has his hand over his mouth because he’s desperately trying not to laugh.

“Those are the highly skilled dancers?”

He nods.

I don’t want to be ungrateful. I appreciate the effort (if that was what it was), but this still feels like a prank. “I’m almost insulted because Scott and Catarehighly skilled dancers.AndI watched all of you dance at Dylan’s wedding, so this performance was kinda subpar for me.”

“Subpar? I was in awe. You are impossible to please, woman.” He has the nerve to look at me like he’s offended before his eyes move to the upper deck. “Pack it in, boys. She’s not impressed.” He waits for Scott and Tommy to skulk away.

I’m not sure what he’s trying to do because all of this is so weird. “Peter, what exactly is...all this? Is this a joke? Or are you—”

“Li, you told me to ask you. You said you wanted a personal touch. I did that...twice. And it’s not enough. I’m not sure what you want.”

“I want...” It feels so odd to explain this to him because no woman should have to explain how she wants to be proposed to. If this isn’t a prank, then I’m conflicted about how I should respond. “I just want...something romantic.”

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