“Stop stressing. It’s not like she’llsayno.”
“Really? Because I’m not so sure about that. I don’t have a whole lot toofferher.”
“How do youfigure?”
Kyle motioned toward his entire self. “I think this speaks foritself.”
Maybe a few years ago I would have agreed with his self-deprecating assessment, but Kyle was not the same lazy doofus he’d once been. Of course, what kind of brother would I be if I didn’t bust his balls? And this really was the perfect opportunity. “No one said she hadtaste.”
“No.” He acknowledged with a chuckle. “Thankfully, Kenzie doesn’t have a sophisticatedpalate.”
“Yeah, well, you picked a girl who has her priorities straight. She’s not after money andpower.”
“Thank god, or I’d bescrewed.”
“For sure. Anyway, as I was about to say… you give Kenzie something no one else cangiveher.”
“Obviously,” Kyle said, jokingly pointing towards his shaft and boys. “But I wasn’t talkingaboutsex.”
“Neither was I.” I laughed as well. “Shit, if that was the criteria, I’d be scared rightnowtoo.”
Kyle flipped me off, the grin on his face dying off as he gave more thought to his impending proposal. I remembered the feeling well and had been as nervous as my brother was now. I imagine there would be nothing quite like getting turned down by the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Still, Kyle had nothing to worry about. Kenzie was hisCasey.
“What if I get out there and get so nervous that I crap mypants?”
I winced at the mentalpicture.
“You’re nothelping,Jake.”
“You’ll be fine,” I placated him. “Just focus on her face… andbreathe.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right,” he said, dipping down into a crouched position as he took long, ragged breaths. Looking up at me, he asked, “What can Igiveher?”
“Huh?”
“You said I could give her something no one else could. Whatisit?”
“You make her happy, idiot. And trust me when I tell you – that’s all thatmatters.”
* * *
The plot was in place,and Casey and I were its supporting characters. It actually came as a surprise to me when Kyle told me he was going with the grand romantic gesture for his proposal and not something more laid back, like laying an engagement ring in the middle of a pepperoni pizza and yelling, ‘Surprise!’ You know the whole rallying cry – ‘Go Big or Go Home’? Well, Kyle was the guy that gladly went home… and took a nice, long nap once he gotthere.
Yet here he was ready to put himself out there in the biggest way possible – in front of a crowd of thousands. If she said no, there’d be no coming back from the humiliation. Not that it seemed likely Kenzie would refuse him, given the fact that she was fully expecting a proposal out of him. Two and a half years was a long time to date without some sort of long-term commitment. At some point, women get tired of waiting, as Keith could readilytellyou.
Step one of the plan was to keep Kenzie away from the concert… or at least until I’d had time to prep the audience. Thankfully, talking someone’s ear off was Casey’s specialty, so I had complete faith in her abilities to stall Kenzie’s arrival as well as to make up some excuse why Kenzie had to be looking camera ready. A fake party immediately after the concert had beentheploy.
Step two was getting the audience to do what I’d ask them to do at the exact time requested. I waited until the end of the second song to address the crowd. After going through the standard greeting, I filled them in on Kyle’s proposal idea, and not only was the audience game to play along, but excitement buzzed from every corner of the stadium. After they’d participated on the television showMaroonedtogether, Kyle and Kenzie’s love story was fairly well known, so getting the crowd enthusiastic for their proposal was no issueatall.
And finally, step three was getting my little brother engaged. In my opinion, there was no one more deserving of a good woman and a great life than Kyle. He was loyal to a fault. If he deemed you deserving, even if sometimes you absolutely were not, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for you. I’d been on the receiving end of that devotion my whole life, so I could attest to Kyle’s exceptional character. It made me happy to see that my brother had found someone who could finally turn the spotlightonhim.
While performing, I kept an eye out for the cue from Casey. She loved being a part of this – not because she wanted her hand in everything but because Kenzie and Kyle meant so much to her and their love story was something we could both get behind. The go-ahead was delivered to me by way of a schoolyard chain of communication passed from one band member to the next until my guitarist leaned over and whispered, “It’stime.”
I glanced toward where I knew Kyle was hiding with Sean on the opposite side of the stage. Even though I couldn’t see them, I trusted that my manager would get Kyle onto the stage even if he had to drag him out there himself, so I wrapped up the song I was performing and carried the microphone toward the front of the stage, clipping it in the stand before addressing thecrowd.
“Lights!” I called out, and like magic, the stadium went black. Seconds later, the glow from thousands of cell phone lights illuminated the darkness and the theme song fromThe Blue Lagoon, a throwback to their reality show days, began to play through the speakers. A spotlight clicked on, showcasing Kyle as he made his way to the center of the stage. Cheering him on, the crowd waselectric.
A second spotlight switched on, illuminating Kenzie, who appeared stunned as she stood on the sidelines with her hands clasped over her mouth and eyesopenedwide.
