I stop outside Cristy’s Cupcakes and Coffee and take a deep breath. This is it.
“Okay. We are here.” I squeeze her hand. I can’t wait to see her face when she realizes where we are.
“Where are we, though?”
“I’m not going to tell you that yet.” I peer through the door, and my heart expands with love. I see Gina’s parents, her grandparents, and her sister. I see my grandparents and Emma. I see Ginny and Otis and a couple of other friends and family members all waiting there. And then, on a table right at the front, I see the most perfect part of all.
“Now I’m going to take you to our final destination. Tell me what makes you smile.”
“I don’t know. You make me smile.”
“You make me smile, as well, darling.” I kiss her cheek. “Do you remember the first time we met?”
“You mean when I was running?”
“Okay, the second time we met.”
“Aha. When we were in the coffee shop? How can I ever forget?” She giggles.
“Well,” I say, “I wanted to remind you of the best day of my life.” I open the door.
“Take a step, darling.”
“Okay.” She steps inside, and I press my fingers to my lips to tell everyone to keep quiet.
“I’m going to take off your blindfold in a couple of moments, and I have three gifts for you.”
“Ooh, exciting. It feels like my birthday, even though it’s not. And it’s not Christmas. Oh, boy. Hunter, what did you do? Am I going to be mad at you about something?”
“No,” I say. I can see Emma trying not to laugh. Louise is standing next to her and offers me a small wave. She’s such a sweet lady, and I wave back at her.
“Now, the first thing I’m going to give you—I’m going to tell you before I give it to you, okay?”
“Can I see it?”
“You’ll see it when I take the blindfold off, but I want to tell you about it before I take the blindfold off and put it on you.”
“Put it on me? You’re not going to undress me and put me in a negligee, are you?”
“Oh no, no, no. Nothing like that,” I say quickly. I hear a laugh in the background. Gina’s parents look taken aback, and I can see my grandfather grinning as I shake my head. “So, this is something I got for you all the way from DC.”
“Oh, okay. What is it?” I place the black cap on her head.
“A cap?”
“It’s a special FBI cap.”
“Are you kidding me right now, Hunter?”
“What? When I first met you, you told me you were in the FBI, so I figured I would get you something to always remind us of that day.”
“Really?” She giggles. “Can I take the blindfold off now?”
“Yes,” I say. I pull the blindfold off her, and she blinks.
“Darling, what the—” She looks around and gasps. “Oh my gosh. What is going on? Why is everyone here?” She startsfanning her face. She’s turning red, and I can’t help but smile. “Hunter, what is going on? Why are we in Cristy’s Cupcakes and Coffee? And—hi, Emma. Hi, Louise. Oh my gosh. Preston, Enid. Hunter, my love. What is going on?” I grab her hands.
“Take some deep breaths.”
