Page 64 of Unfriend Me
Waldo moved with the speed of a youthful lion, grabbing my hands and squeezing them tight. Whoa. A few gasps from fellow patrons enjoying the show could even be heard over the roaring in my ears. Since when did the chief hold hands with his daughter’s boyfriend in the coffee shop?
“You listen here. The Lord gifted me with five incredible daughters and not one son. I’ve not only resigned myself to that fact, but I’ve come to realize it’s a goddamn gift. But when you and Amelia started dating, I got my heart set on you being my new son.” The man’s eyes got suspiciously shiny. Or maybe that was moisture from my own eyes. “So, whatever this thing is between you, don’t you give up just yet. Try one more time, son.”
I froze, emotion choking whatever I could have said in return. All this time, I thought the chief merely tolerated me, associating me with my deadbeat brother, but here he was, calling me son in front of everyone. He wasn’t ashamed of me at all.
He patted my hand and then stood, exiting the shop without his usual breakfast order. He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, those words were powerful, indeed. I blinked at the empty chair across from me, replaying everything until it sank in.
“Here’re the donuts and coffee, T. I threw in a few extra shots of espresso. Looks like you’re gonna need ’em.” Lukas plunked down my order and winked at me, obviously having overheard the conversation just now.
It was the splash in the face I needed to wake the hell up. Lukas was right. Chief Waldo was right. Bain, Jayden, Rip, and Charlie were right. I was such a dumbass. Amelia didn’t break up with me over that conversation with Jazzie. She was running scared, which was something Amelia didn’t do. Like, ever. She ran straight into the fray with a smile and usually got herself in trouble.
So, why was she running scared now?
I shot up from my chair and grabbed the food, ignoring everyone’s stare. I’d need the sustenance while I tried to work out the Amelia-sized puzzle in my brain. There was life in my step for the first time in almost two weeks as I made my way to the work site. If Amelia was scared of being with me, that meant she cared. In fact, it meant she cared so much she’d blow everything up before we really got started. Maybe she did love me. Maybe her breaking up with me had more to do with some dumbass idea in her head that was all wrong. Like my dumbass idea about the chief not approving of me.
Charlie greeted me at the jobsite, a green-smoothie mustache painted across his face. He looked at my donuts in disgust. Right back atcha, buddy.
“Ready to get started?”
I jammed an entire donut in my mouth and nodded while I chewed. We got busy putting up the first pieces of wood to start framing out the bed-and-breakfast. Charlie whistled a tune while we worked, ignoring my frequent breaks for another donut. The poor health nut couldn’t fathom ingesting that much sugar in one morning, but my system was used to it. One day I’d start to put on fat and I’d cut back. But for now, age and metabolism were on my side.
“This sure is a big house for one single guy,” Charlie said innocently, staring at the plans laid out across the makeshift table Amelia had knocked over the night we fought.
Using the nail gun to secure the last board of what would be the future kitchen, I pulled off my safety glasses and smiled at him. Dude wasn’t subtle.
“Yeah, I know. I had it designed to be a bed-and-breakfast. One Amelia could run while we lived here together.”
Charlie nodded. “And now?”
I shrugged. “It’s still for Amelia. Just because we’re not together doesn’t mean I don’t love her anymore. She still deserves to have her dream come true and I’m the man to give it to her.”
“Is that true, Titus?” Amelia’s voice came from behind me.
I spun, seeing her eyes well up as she stood in the dirt twenty paces away from me. She looked good. Tired, with dark lines under her eyes, but she looked beautiful to me. Her long dark hair fluttered in the morning breeze, an oversized sweater slipping off one shoulder. She shifted in her boots, looking uncertain.
“Seems like this ‘grand gesture’ thing is going to be easier than we thought,” Hazel whispered loudly to Amelia.
Shit, I hadn’t even noticed her friends, clustered around her like some kind ofCharlie’s Angelssquad. Things got even stranger when Poppy, Yedda, and Polly stood behind the cluster of girls. Chief Waldo and Susie strolled down the sidewalk to join the growing group.
“What’s going on?” My gaze went back to Amelia. I couldn’t care less why all those people were here on my property. I just wanted to talk to Amelia. See if we could work things out. I itched to walk over there and touch her skin. Tug that hair behind her ear and watch the way her eyes would melt when I got close. Fuck, I wanted that so badly I’d embarrass myself in front of the whole town by dropping to my knees and begging her to reconsider. Begging her to tell me what was wrong so I could fix it.
In fact, that was exactly what I should do. My feet started moving, and before my brain caught up, I was standing toe to toe with her, my work boots kicking up a fine layer of dust to coat her shiny Dr. Martens.
“Titus,” she breathed.
Her cheeks turned pink before my eyes. I lifted a finger to stroke across her velvet skin, but she dropped to one knee before I could reach her. She looked up at me, her eyes begging me for something. Silly girl. Didn’t she know I’d give her anything she wanted? The beginnings of the house behind me was my entire life savings and I’d already decided to give it to her, even knowing we couldn’t be together.
“Titus. I’ve loved you as my best friend for longer than my feeble memory serves. You’ve been my sidekick through everything, but you’re so much more than a sidekick. You’re the guy who always stands by my side. You calm me down with a simple hug, you stick up for me in all those stupid fights I’ve gotten into, you make me feel better just by smiling. Everything about my past is colored by the presence of you. It’s always been you. You have been my foundation for as long as I can remember. It just took me a really long time to see that. I love you, Titus. Not just as my best friend but as my boyfriend and hopefully one day, my husband. Will you forgive me and promise to give me another shot?”
Amelia whipped out a gold band from her pocket and held it up, the midday sun gleaming off the shiny surface. My heart, the organ that had skipped a beat the second she started talking, stuttered over the sight of that ring.
“Are you…? Proposing to me?” In hindsight, that was a stupid question. Of course she wasn’t, but my brain needed time to catch up. The thing about eating so much sugar, your brain cells aren’t the sharpest.
Her lips tugged into a smile, the desperation not leaving her eyes. “I’m proposing a redo. A take two. A give-Amelia-another-shot-because-she’s-a-dumbass.”
My heart soared and I knew everything would be okay. More than okay. Perfect.
I reached down and picked her up under the armpits. Swinging her around, I put her up on the makeshift table, right on top of the construction plans. Nobody puts my girl in the dirt, not even my girl.
