“Uhh.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I can’t get out of that one. But we’ll set an alarm, and we’ll stay for thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes?” She beamed up at him. “Only thirty minutes?”
“Yep.” He nodded.
“What are you going to say the alarm is for?”
“The truth. Sex. It’s the longest I can go without being with you.”
She was laughing and trying to wriggle away from him when his text alert beeped, but it sounded the same as his alarm. “See.”
She laughed harder.
He pulled it out and saw that it was go time. He hoped she couldn’t see that his hand was shaking as he put the phone back in his pocket.
“Okay, one last duty, and then I can get that booty.” He swatted her backside playfully, but he watched as her cheeks flushed and her eyes twinkled, he cataloged that for later. Swat equals flush.
“Shall we?” He offered her his arm.
She slipped her fingers around his bicep, and they leisurely made their way down by the riverside rec area. He kept waiting for her to ask what they were doing, but she was too busy people-watching. It was one of her favorite activities, and the Christmas parade was optimal for people-watching.
It worked out well for him because he was freaking out and wasn’t sure he would have been able to make small talk or come up with a fake story. Luckily they made it all the way to the base of the bridge without her suspecting a thing. It wasn’t until they started walking across the bridge and she saw all the different lights strung across it and the flowers, and the arch above it, that she asked, “What is this?”
“This was my best interpretation of a combination ofallyour pictures.”
“What? How?”
She was looking around, taking it all in, when they got to the center, he stopped, and he pulled out four documents from his back pockets.
“Oh.” She looked surprised, and confused, and he thought maybe a little disappointed, which actually was a good thing.
“Before I ask you what I brought you here to ask you, I wanted to give you these so you know no matter what your answer is, you are and always will be taken care of. Okay?”
Now she really looked confused.
“Okay?” She looked down at them still in Niko’s hand. “Am I supposed to open them?”
“This is a life insurance policy.” He handed it to her, or tried to.
She pulled her hands away. “I don’t want that.”
“Too bad. I know as long as I’m alive I will take care of you, and now I know that when I’m not, I can too.” He handed her the next envelope. And this is the deed to your building.”
“No!” She shook her head. “That’s not…that’s too much. What are you doing?”
“I decided I don’t like being a landlord. It’s not for me.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can actually.” He tilted his head and grinned. “I already did.”
“This is a trust for Pops.” He handed her the envelope. “You are named as co-trustee and beneficiary, but he no longer has to worry about being a burden on you. He is in charge of his own finances.”
She opened that one, and when she saw that it was half a million dollars, tears fell down her cheeks.
“And this is a pink slip and keys.” He handed her the final envelope.
“I can buy my own car,” she sniffed.
