Otherwise, this will be my second broken engagement, butall those damn Andersons’ fault.
Shit. We really are going to have to get married.
I lift a shoulder. “Better before an actual wedding. And at least I was boring enough to propose on a private boat cruise instead of a sports event where she could’ve told me how much she didn’t want to marry me while we were being broadcast on the jumbotron.”
She stares at me for a beat, and then she cracks up. “Sorry. Sorry. Not funny.”
But she’s still giggling. Waving her arms like she’s trying to stop. Rocking the boat just enough that Chili lifts his head and snorts at her like he’s sayingdump me in this lake and I’ll dump something on you in the middle of the night.
“It’s just—here you are, again, about to not have a wedding, and it’s so unfair.” Her cheeks are flushed. So is her chest above her swimsuit.
I shake my head, but I cannot help smiling when she’s laughing like this. “You laugh now. Wait until I make you go through with it because we haven’t fully ended the feud by Monday and I don’t want to have two failed engagements on my hand.”
“I’m sorry,” she says again. “It’s not funny.”
“So long as you don’t dump me because I’m boring, I think I’ll live.”
“You arenotboring.” She fans herself. “Not in the least.”
“I can be.”
“Did you work late every night?”
“Few times a month. Not every night. Not even close. I travel about a week a month, but it was less when I was with her.”
“And could she take herself to her favorite restaurant?”
I blink.
Then blink again.
She finishes off the last bit of her fruitcake. “Honestly, just because people are a couple doesn’t mean they can’t have their own likes and interests. Or maybe I’m the weirdo for believing that. But if you love someone but want to do something they don’t like, why not do it on your own? Or with a friend?”
“I . . . don’t know.”
Chili makes a noise like he, too, wants to know why I hadn’t considered that it wasn’t my job to like everything my girlfriend liked.
I look down at him, andoh shit.
That’s not the noise he’s making.
He’s making themy fur is wet and I don’t like itnoise.
There’s a layer of water in the bottom of the canoe.
And we’re in the middle of the lake.
It’s not a huge lake, but we’re not exactly a stone’s throw from shore either.
“Why’s there water in the bottom of the canoe?” Amanda whispers.
“Leak.” Only answer.
Chili rises all the way to his feet and shakes, making the canoe tip back and forth, which makes Amanda shriek and grab the edges.
And then she throws her head back and laughs again. “In case you were wondering, I’ll never be upset that you like to swim for exercise.”
I grab the oars and start paddling, and as I do, I realize I’m smiling.
