“Next door? There’s no one living there. Besides, it’s a cup of sugar, not salt and pepper, dork.”
I chuckle. “Sure, there is. Just go knock on the door. You’ll see.”
“Fine. Be right back.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
SURPRISE
I pull open the door,making sure the doorknob is unlocked so I can get back into the apartment. I walk next door and knock. Nothing. No sound. No movement. “No one lives here,” I mutter to myself. I knock again and hear footsteps. “I’ll be damned.”
The door opens. “Valerie?What are you doing here? Did you move in here?” I’m confused—surely Sam would have told me that his mom was moving in next door.
I peek around her to see her place. It’s strange. I feel like I’ve seen it before. I blink a few times, and it hits me. “My stuff!” I squeal. “All of m-my stuff is here.” Valerie moves aside as I step into the main room of a place that’s the mirror image of Sam’s. Except this place is totally decorated with all of my favorite things. Pops’s cabinets are hanging all over the main room. The space is four times the size of my apartment, so it doesn’t look exactly like my house, but it’s close.
My love seat sits over in a little nook with my rug, square table, and the faux Tiffany lamp I picked up at a yard sale. I turn around in a complete circle to take it all in. The built-in bookshelves with the secret compartment are now on either side of a large fireplace. I step over to it, remove the items from theshelf, and press on the corner. The door pops down exactly like it’s supposed to open.
I walk into the kitchen, and it’s the same color as my old kitchen; a cheery yellow. The cupboards are all new and white, except for two drawers. Those look exactly like the false-bottom drawers Pops built. I pull them open and move the contents to the side. I slide open the bottom, and there are my hidden treasures. Nothing of any real value, just little things I thought were fun to hide in this spot.
I walk quickly to the bathroom off the kitchen and see my old medicine cabinet in the place where a huge mirror probably hung. I open it up and then pull the back open and see the space Pops designed. I look around the floor, but it’s concrete. So, no hidden box in the parquet floor. I’m so engrossed in my search, it takes me a while to notice the audience standing inside the door. I look up and see Sam. He looks worried. Actually, he looks panic-stricken.
“Sam?” I blink away a tear. “Why did you do all of this?”
He steps closer to me but stops a few feet short of where I’m standing. “I was worried about you living in that neighborhood. I also wanted you close to me. I knew how much your things meant to you. Lauren told me how your grandfather built all of these things for you. I wanted him here with you.”
I let out a sob. I’m not sure where it came from, but it felt like it came from my soul. “You had all of my things moved here because you were worried about me?”
“Yes. And because I love you.”
“Sam, I….” I don’t know what to say. “I can’t afford this place, Sam. It’s completely out of my price range.”
“I own it.”
“I still can’t afford it. I mean… I don’t want to owe you for this. It’s not how you form an equal partnership. I’ll always feel like I owe you.” I’m overwhelmed with all of this and I’m alsoconfused. I look away again. I’m looking at my stuff, but I’m trying to regain my composure. I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around. Sam is holding a wooden cube. It’s made out of six squares of parquet flooring. My mouth falls open. I look at the box and then at him. “Is that…?”
“Open it.”
I take the cube from Sam and lift the lid. Inside the box is a plastic container very much like the one Pops used in the floor at my apartment. Inside that plastic box is a small black box. I reach inside and pull out the smaller box. Sam takes the parquet box out of my hand and sets it on a nearby table. He removes the black box from my hand and kneels in front of me. “Oh, my God,” I whisper. “Sam?”
“MacKenzie. I’ve loved you since the minute you broke the head off that ice sculpture. I’ve loved you since the second you drank straight out of a bottle of Bud at a thousand-dollar-a-ticket New Year’s Eve party?—”
I stare over at Lauren. “A thousand dollars a ticket? Are you insane, Lauren?”
Lauren shrugs, and I look back at Sam. “Sorry,” I say sheepishly.
Sam says with a laugh, “Leave it to you to make my proposal interesting.”
Oh, God. He’s actually proposing.
“I need to start over.” He clears his throat and does just that. “I’ve loved you since blah blah blah….”
I giggle. “I love you, Sam,” I whisper. I remain quiet so he can finish.
“That night at the New Year’s Eve party, I knew you were different—one of a kind. I literally fell in love with you at first sight. Then, when I got to know you, I couldn’t believe I’d found someone who was not only beautiful but also sweet, kind, andincredibly talented. I hit the jackpot with you. That’s why I can’t wait any longer. I need to lock you down, woman.”
We both laugh.
“MacKenzie, you’re amazing and unique, and I want you in my life forever. Will you marry me? Please?”
