Page 86 of Broken Hero
I shrug, “Because I've moved on. I've been to see a grief counsellor a few times these last couple of weeks and talked everything out. I've blamed myself for a long time, felt like I wasn’t allowed anything good, but talking it through, I realise it was an accident and it isn’t my fault.” I take a slow breath out. It's still a lot to get my head around saying that. But It. Was. Not. My. Fault. I believe that now.
“It’s good you did that, Dec. Really it is, and I just want my friend to be happy, but I don’t know, I'm scared for her.”
“You don’t need to be. Don’t you see? I would never have gone to a grief counsellor if it wasn’t for her, seriously she’s made me a better man. she needs to be in my life, and I need to be in hers. I can make her happy, Mia.”
“She’s a mess since things ended with you. Do you promise that she will better with you than without you?”
“I promise.”
She sighs and comes and sits down at the counter with me. She places her elbows on the counter and leans forward. “fine. This is your last chance, though. You hurt her again, and I will personally hunt you down and cut your balls off while you sleep.”
I raise my eyebrows at that comment. A little too graphic for my liking. “I hurt her again I will hand you the knife myself.”
“Fine. What's the plan?”
“Okay, so we're all going to Vegas. I want to ask her to marry me when we get there.”
“It’s quick though, to get engaged.”
I shrug. “I've come to my senses. I'm not letting her get away. Plus, if I propose, she’ll know I'm for real. That I want to commit.”
“That’s not why you're doing it, is it?”
I roll my eyes. I can't help it. “No, Mia, I'm doing it because she’s the best fucking thing that ever happened to me and I want it forever.”
“Okay, okay. So you're going to propose?”
I give a small laugh. “Um, kind of. I've booked a chapel too. We’re in Vegas, right? Might as well go for it.”
Mia's mouth drops open. “Oh my God. You don’t do things by halves, do you?”
“I just figure why wait? I want her for my wife. Do you think she would go for it?”
Her eyes go soft. “I think she would.”
“I was thinking that she’ll want to celebrate here too, after Jack’s wedding, I can arrange something, a blessing here, so that her dad can take part.”
Mia swallows and looks down for a while. Eventually, she looks up at me. “That would be lovely, Dec.”
“So you're on board? You’ll help?”
She nods. “I’ll help. What do you need?”
“What about shopping for a dress?”
Her eyes light up. “I get to pick the dress?”
“You know what she’ll like.”
She claps her hands together. “Yey. What's the budget?”
“There isn’t one. She needs a dress and shoes and anything else you think she’ll need. I have the chapel, and they do a package with everything included, like flowers and a photographer. I am organising the rings – Robyn knows her size, and she’s helping me pick the engagement ring.”
“Cool. This is so exciting.”
I smile. The relief I feel that I have Mia on my side is immense. If I have her on my side, I've won. Almost.
“I've okayed all this with Jack and Robyn, by the way. I know this is their gig, but they're happy to let me do this. I've arranged to stay longer so we can have a honeymoon. The wedding, if she says yes, will be the night after we get there, then we can get down to making sure Robyn and Jack have their time.”
