“Is that a yes then?”
Maddy looked at him a long moment, her pulse fluttering at the sweet hope on his face. She gave a nod. “That’s a yes.”
Chapter 24
Connor felt ridiculously nervous as he raised his hand to knock on Maddy’s door. His muscles were twitchy, and his mouth was dry. He felt like a seventeen-year-old boy asking a girl to prom.
But Maddy already meant a lot to him. She drew him. She intrigued him. She was all kinds of special. Chances with women like her didn’t come around often.
God, please don’t let me blow this.
It was his last thought before the door swung open, revealing a beautiful Maddy. She wore a halter-style black dress that made the most of her subtle curves. Her shiny hair cascaded in waves over her bare shoulders. Her skin glowed in the evening sunlight, and her brown eyes were as inviting as melted chocolate. But it was her lips, painted red and perfectly lush, that stole the show.
“Wow,” he said. But what he thought was,You are so out of your league, Sullivan.
Her lips curved. “Wow, yourself.”
He didn’t hold a candle to her in his black pants and button-down shirt.
Her sisters had made themselves scarce, and Maddy already had her purse, so he escorted her to his car and opened the passenger door. He watched her long, lithe legs disappear into his Infiniti and swallowed hard.
They’d decided on supper at a restaurant in Wilmington. The thirty-minute drive and leisurely meal would give them plenty of time to talk. Not that they hadn’t done some of that as they’d worked on the house this week. But for the most part he’d been perched on a ladder, painting the exterior.
“So give me the full scoop on the proposal,” Maddy said once he’d backed from the drive and they were on their way. “‘She said yes’ isn’t going to cut it, in case you were wondering.”
“The kid stopped by the marina today, over the moon. Apparently the night started a little rough—trouble getting her there on account of some reservations she’d made. They nearly got into an argument over it on the way to the marina. But then she saw the setup, realized what was about to happen, and all was forgiven.”
Maddy laughed, the sound filling his car like a rich melody. “Did she cry?”
“That’s not a question a man thinks to ask. But he did send me a few pictures.” He handed her his phone and directed her to the texts.
“Aw, it’s beautiful. Who knew a marina could look so romantic.”
“Hey,” he said teasingly.
“There are so many lanterns and twinkle lights. He obviously put a lot of thought into it. What a blessed girl.” When she finished thumbing through, she set his phone down.
“I think they’ll be very happy together,” Connor said.
“It was nice of you to help make their moment special.”
“It was fun. I offered to get it on video for them, but he wanted it to be private. I don’t blame him. I don’t care for those public proposals either.”
“How did you ask your late wife to marry you?” she asked, then quickly added, “Sorry. You might not want to talk about that.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He thought back to that day. It seemed so long ago. “There was this park we went to a lot. I asked her there. I probably didn’t do it up as much as I should’ve, but she really wasn’t the grand-gesture type.”
“I’m sure she loved it. She said yes, after all.” Maddy gave him a warm smile.
“That she did.” He didn’t want to go on about Annie. He was no dating expert, but that definitely seemed like a first date no-no.
“Tell me about Nick. What first attracted you to him?” Then he winced because he’d just brought up her ex.
“His ’67 Mustang?” she joked, then made a face. “No, honestly, looking back, I really have to wonder.”
“You don’t have to talk about it. That’s probably not first-date material either, is it? I’m a little out of practice.”
She shrugged. “It’s our date. We can make it whatever we want. Nick was nice looking, so that didn’t hurt. I think I was flattered by his persistence. He was very charming, and I admired his confidence—although I have to say I see it as arrogance now. Hindsight.”
