Page 143 of Mr. Picture Perfect
That could be me and Cole.
Then I think about Cole’s parents and the hell they have been trapped in for years, only recently rediscovering their happiness, and even then it’s not a guarantee whether they will stay together and work everything out.
Is that going to be me and Cole someday?
Are we going to be more like my parents, or his?
TJ suddenly hugs me. “I’m so sorry. You were just mentioning Jimmy and Bobby. Now I’m the new Nadine, spoiling the surprise. I was just stupidly rambling about marriages, Billy and Tanner …”
The truth is, I won’t know what Cole and I will be like. I can’t possibly know. The future is a mystery to us all. We can only try to predict it based on our history.
And my history so far with Cole has been only a series of joys.
And a few moments of gut-aching laughter.
And probably way too much heart racing. It’s a wonder mine hasn’t managed to escape the confines of my chest by now, with as many times as he’s made mine gallop with glee.
And no matter what happens, Cole knows what to do.
He knows how to make me smile when I’m feeling down.
Or laugh when I’m on the verge of tears.
He has this strangely accurate sense of when it’s okay to be silly and playful, tackling me to the bed with a tickle attack, and when I need him to be focused and sincere, holding me tightly and asking about my day.
Cole is, in every sense of the word, my Mr. Perfection.
“Uh, what’s going on?” asks TJ, alarmed again.
I look at him. “What?”
“Now you’re smiling.”
“I am?” I bring a hand to my own face, as if to check. “Oh. Yes. Iamsmiling. I think I just realized …” I sigh with relief. “I think I just realized I preferred knowing ahead of time. I do so badly with surprises and spontaneity. It makes me nauseated when I feel out of the loop, like everyone laughing at an inside joke I don’t get.”
“Really?” TJ lowers his voice. “You’re not just saying that? It’s okay that I just spoiled the big moment? I seriously feel terrible.”
“You didn’t spoil it. In fact, I think you helped me appreciate it even more. And it hasn’t even happened yet.” I rise at once from the bench, TJ’s wide eyes following me. “So where am I supposed to go now? When do you bring me out to see him? Am I still being held as a prisoner back here behind the house?”
TJ’s phone dings right then, as if in answer. He looks. “Uh, that’s the cue.” He frowns at me. “This feels … weird now. Are you going to be able to act surprised? Youneedto act surprised, Noah.”
“Y’know what? I’ve never been a good actor,” I admit merrily. “Tried auditioning once. Was a total disaster.”
“Noah, I was, like, the only one involved in this plan to keep you back here and away. If Cole finds out that you know …”
“Then you’ll be the only one to blame, I understand.”
TJ frowns. “That doesn’t seem to concern you much.”
“Everything is picture perfect,” I decide then. I feel downright giddy as I imagine Cole’s emotional face and what he might say. “It is the best day of my life. Nothing can go wrong, even if it does.”
TJ gazes at me like I just said something profound.
Grinning from ear to ear, I stroll out from behind the house with a kind of confidence I doubt I’ve experienced my whole life. The balloons have been expertly hidden behind the bushes, out of sight.Great touch, I note to myself, proud of their efforts.They will be very surprising. I also take note that everyone has suspiciously come out of the house, filling the back patio and surrounding the swimming pool. That doesn’t scare me much, either, now that I’m completely in-the-know. I even feel the eyes of people on me, and at once, I can comfortably contextualize all of the attention with no anxiety or fear of what’s happening.
Is this what I look like when I’m fearless? Is this the new Noah Reed I’ll get to enjoy from this day forward?
I find Cole at the head of the pool. He’s absolutely dashing in a fitted summer shirt and stylish khaki shorts, with his perfectly done hair. Well, I imagine it was perfectly done at some point, until the wind had fun bullying it on his way here. Cole turns, catches sight of me, and his whole face lights up.
