Page 115 of The One I Love
He waves me off. “Bug didn’t know what she was saying.”
“Who’s Bug?” Wes asks. “What the fucking hell has been happening this summer?”
“Enough!” I yell. “We will catch everyone up over everything. But first you assholes need to help me get Amelia back, because I’m pretty sure if I don’t figure something out, this is over, and it can’t be over. It can’t.”
Oliver pats me on the knee. “We will. Now, what happened, and how are we going to fix this?”
I fill him, and Wes and Simon, in on the eventsof the past few weeks. Everything since the day of the catering appointment. Wes and Simon knew about some of it, but no one knew about the fight.
And I must say, as I retell it, I’m even more of an asshole than I thought I was.
“Ouch,” Wes says.
“Yeah, man,” Simon adds. “Even I know you’re supposed toaska woman to marry you.”
“I don’t need your smartass remarks,” I say.
“Well, he’s right. Rule number one of proposing is to actually ask her,” Oliver says. “And to make sure she wants to. That’s rule number two.”
“How could I be so stupid?” I yell, grabbing my hair in frustration. “Here I was, thinking that I was helping her, when I was trying to push her into something she didn’t want. Just like our mothers were doing. Just like before. I’m no better than fucking Paul.”
“Hey!” Oliver says. “Don’t talk about my best friend like that.”
“Um—” Simon raises his hand. “You’ve been MIA. I’m the new best friend. But I agree. Don’t talk about Shane that way. I don’t want to punch you. I always want to punch Paul.”
“Enough with the best friend shit,” Wes says. “Shane. What are you going to do?”
I stand up and start making laps around my living room. “I don’t know. That’s why I’ve been going around in circles for the past however many days.”
“What if you proposed? For real?” Wes asks.
I shake my head. “She’s not ready. She has said that multiple times. And she’s right. We’re not. I just got the idea in my head and I ran with it.”
“Been there,” Oliver says.
“Plus, she’ll think I’m doing it just because she said that Ididn’tactuallyask her. I don’t want her to think that I’m doing that just to correct the blunder.”
“That’s fair,” Wes says. “Do your moms know yet that it’s fake? The kids?”
I shake my head. “My mom doesn’t. Which I’m guessing means Tammy doesn’t either. The kids know it’s fake, and they know we’re fighting. Other than that, I think everyone still believes we’re engaged.”
No one says anything for a second. I know I’m racking my brain. I’m sure they are too. I’m in deep thought of what I could do when Oliver literally jumps from his seated position.
“I got it!”
We all look at each other then back to him. “Are you going to tell us?”
I swear to God, Oliver perks up so high I think I see the actual light bulb turn on above his head. “We’re going to do something I never thought I’d do, or help someone do, in my entire life.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re going tounpropose.”
Chapter 36
Amelia
I’ve never beena fan of confrontation.
