Page 89 of Molly

Waiting for it... here it comes...

“Happy anniversary baby, I love you,” he says.

What the fuck?

???

Dinner is beautiful, and even though I've lost a bit of the excitement I had running through me earlier, I’m still in my love bubble, waiting.

We order pasta, I gush about the new plants I ordered that’ll be in next week, and we laugh like a couple of teenagers on their first date.

He takes my hand from across the table and looks into my eyes.Oh my God, here we go.He leans in, his lips so close to mine I can almost taste them. “My back’s hurting a little baby. You alright if we call it a night? I need to stretch it out. Maybe we can watch a movie in bed, back in the hotel room?”

His. Back. Hurts.

Mood ruined. It might be the hormones, but my excitement about today instantly turns into irrational anger. I throw my napkin down on the table and stand, nearly knocking over my chair in the process.

“Fine. Let’s go to bed,” I snap, turning around and marching my way out of the front door, leaving him to deal with the bill.

???

RYAN

“I'm taking a shower,” she says as she slams the bathroom door.

I chuckle to myself as I walk over to the bedside table and pull out the ring box I stashed in there when Mol was checking out the suite earlier. I knew she'd be grumpy by this point, but I hadn't prepared for the full-on hissy fit she was in the middle of throwing.

Molly’s always a step ahead of me. That's why I had Beckett tattoomarryme?In the middle of my back yesterday. She won’t see it coming, and my back’s relatively ink-free, so she'll be able to read it plain as day.

Now I've just got to convince her to rub my back.

A thud from the bathroom breaks my train of thought. “You okay, baby?” I call out. She doesn't respond, but I hear her moving around, and then the shower turns on.

Jesus.

I take my shirt off, open Spotify, and select the song. I make sure it’s set to repeat before I lay down on my stomach and pull the sheet over me so that Molly won’t be able to see anything when she comes out.

About ten minutes later, she storms out of the bathroom and goes straight to the other side of the bed. “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain plays quietly as she huffs around, pulls the covers back and gets in. She turns away from me and gets as close to the edge as she can.

It’s hard not to laugh, but I manage.

“Baby, can you rub my back, please?” I ask.

“I'm tired, Ryan. I just want to go to sleep. Take an Advil,” she snaps.

I sigh. She’s not going to make this easy. “Please? It's really sore.”

She rips the covers off, sits up, swings her legs over the side of the bed, and stomps around to my side. “Where?” she asks, standing by my head, arms crossed.

I grin into the pillow, and my voice comes out muffled. “In the middle.”

She pulls the covers off of my back, and I turn my head so I can see her face. She’s frozen, eyes wide. She stays silent, and I start to panic. I see a tear trail down her cheek, and guilt washes over me. I push up on my hands and knees and take her face in my hands, wiping the tear with my thumb. She puts her hands over mine, and they're shaking. Her eyes search mine and her mouth opens a little to speak, but I cut her off.

“I love you. God, I love you, Mol. I love the life we've built. I love our kid. I love that you steal all the covers at night and wrap yourself in a blanket cocoon. I love that you sing while you clean and message me every day to tell me you love me even though we live together. I love that you talk to your plants when you water them and smile at everyone you see, even if they look mean. I love that you taught me how to love someone, how to be loved by someone. There is no one in this world like you, Molly Jackson.” I stop to pull out the ring box from under my pillow, opening it. I drop my voice to a whisper, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Marry me. Please?” My voice cracks at the end, my tone going soft.

“Oh my God, I'm such a bitch,” she blurts out before slamming her hand over her mouth. Her face is wet with tears, and her eyes are practically glowing with love.

I throw my head back and laugh, pulling her into my chest. Her arms go around my neck, and she pulls my head down so that our foreheads are pressed against each other.

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