Page 80 of Marry Me, Right Now

A lanky young man with shaggy hair entered. “Hey Mia, I’ve got the layouts done. I emailed them to Kevin late last night, and he proofed them. They’re good to go.” He handed her a USB key.

“You’re the best!” She turned to me. “Bryce, this is my husband Jacob.”

He suddenly straightened up, shaking my hand rather formally. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Good to meet you too. You must be in a band?” He nodded. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work. Congrats on the office Mia, I really like it.” I gave her a hug, and a quick kiss. “Let me take you out to celebrate.”

“Or we could order in,” she said casually, but I caught the mischievous spark in her eyes.

“Whatever my lovely wife wants.” Clapping Bryce on the shoulder as I went by, I said, “Best of luck with the band.”

“Thanks, man.”

I walked quietly down the stairs, not being able to resist listening in.

“You weren’t kidding, girl,” he said, his voice a bit higher. “He is freaking gorgeous.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” she giggled.

“Are you kidding? My boyfriend would spank me if he so much as caught me glancing at that man. Wow.”

“Yeah, but you’d love it.”

It was extremel

y difficult to hold in my laughter until I was safely out on the street.

JAC OB

>

MIA’S BIRTHDAY

A few days later, I came home from work to find Mia sitting on the couch, writing in her new notebook with a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her.

“Hey, how was your day?” she asked brightly. The way her face always lit up with delight when I came in the room warmed my heart in ways I didn’t even know were possible. She was too adorable to be real.

“Pretty good. Steady.” I dropped my shoulder bag on the floor as I went to the kitchen for a glass of water. “Hey, Mia, were you going to make any updates or changes to the living room or the lounge?”

“Not really. Why?”

“I was thinking of getting a new flat screen.”

“Why do you need to replace the one you have? Did it break?”

“No, but the technology has improved so much in the past two years that we can get something a lot brighter, and a little larger.”

She looked at me like I had three heads. I was beginning to understand that this was her look that said I was a spoiled brat and wasting money, but she was desperately trying not to point that out.

“Are you planning on throwing a film festival here?”

“No. But we both like movies.”

“You have a huge screen that is working perfectly and is only two years old, yet you’re thinking of replacing it because the newest ones are a tiny bit brighter?” She shrugged in that strange way that seemed to signal that she was giving up. “Whatever. Your condo. Do whatever makes you happy.”

“I don’t want to make you unhappy.”

Her lips curled into a gentle smile. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say anything. It’s not my place.” She gestured to the room. “And it’s not my place.”

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