“Oh God, no. It terrifies me.” I removed my glasses, tossed them on the table, and rubbed my eyes with my palms. “What happens when he realizes that this is my life? That there willalwaysbe canceled dates and bedtime schedules and a five-year-old who needs me more than anyone else ever will?”
“Has he given you any indication that he’s not okay with that?”
I thought about Chinese takeout and Disney movies and the way Jeremiah had held Debbie while she slept—and the tear on his cheek when she’d chosen to trust him with her dreams.
“No,” I admitted. “Just the opposite, actually.”
“Then maybe,” Mateo said gently, “you’re borrowing trouble.”
Before I could respond, Mateo straightened in his chair, his expression shifting to something that looked like barely contained excitement.
“Not to change the subject,” he said, “but since we’re talking about relationships, I have an announcement.”
Mike immediately started bouncing in his seat like an overly caffeinated teenager. “Oh my God, finally! I’ve been dying to ask, but you really needed to tell us yourself even though we all knew it was coming at some point—”
“Shane proposed,” Mateo said simply, but his smile could have powered the entire school, maybe the whole Atlanta school system.
Mike actually squealed. “I knew it! I knew it! Tell me everything. Where? How? Was it romantic? Did you cry? Didhecry?”
“Okay, okay.” Mateo laughed, a rumbling sound filled with ancient cobblestones and freshly baked bread that somehow warmed my soul. He held up his hands. “So, you know how Shane is all stoic and manly and acts like emotions are a foreign concept that deserve to be whittled out of wood or banished from existence?”
“The strong, silent woodworker type. He’s definitely that.” Mike nodded sagely.
“Right. Well, apparently he’d been carrying the ring around for weeks, waiting for the perfect moment. Some romantic sunset or fancy restaurant or whatever.”
“This is gonna be so good!” Mike chirped.
I couldn’t hold back a grin. They were both too damned cute for words.
“We were at Pizza Hut—”
“Wait, what?” Mike held up a palm. “Pizza Hut?”“Just listen!” Mateo snapped. “It’s the last one in town, you know, the one by the mall? I was kicking his ass atMs. Pac-Man, and he just . . . dropped to one knee right there beside the machine, right as I took over the high score.”
“In Pizza Hut? You’re serious?” Mike looked delighted . . . and mortified.
“His lip was quivering and everything. Mind you, he had a little dried tomato sauce stuck to his lower lip, but that only made him cuter, more Shane. This big, tough guy who builds furniture with his bare hands was shaking like a leaf. And get this . . . when I said yes, he actually cried, right there next to a dying Blinky and the never-ending salad bar.”
Why was I suddenly misty-eyed? It was a Pizza Hut proposal, for Pete’s sake.
“That’s . . . actually really sweet.” Mike sniffed.
“It was perfect,” Mateo said softly. “Completely us. No fancy restaurant needed.”
“When’s the wedding?” Mike demanded. “Sisi can’t be your flower girl. Promise me. That’smyjob. And tell me there will be an open bar. With Mrs. H off her leash, we’ll all need to be good and smashed.”
He chuckled again. “We’re thinking two months from now, right before Christmas break so we can go on our honeymoon while school’s out. And yes, you’re invited, both of you,” he added, looking at me.
“Both of us?”
“You and Jeremiah. Sisi was already planning to invite him, and it would be weird if his boyfriend wasn’t there, too.”
“Boyfriend?” I nearly choked on my Diet Coke.
Mike grinned. “If he’s not your boyfriend yet, he will be soon. Trust me, I’ve seen the look in his eyes when he talks about you.”
“How? What look? What are you talking about?”
“Like you hung the moon and painted the stars,” Mateo said simply. “And shit, when he talks about Debbie, it’s like he’s describing his first sunset or something.”
