I grin. “Sort of.”
“Continue,” Roxy prods.
“What if I could make all her dreams come true?” I muse.
“Like what, you win the lottery and buy her a castle with a real dragon and moat?” Roxy jokes because once, when we were all drinking on the rooftop, talking about our dreams, Carly joked that she wanted to be a princess in a castle with dragons and moats.
“Yeah, Roxy, I’ll just rent a dragon from the local dragon shop,” I say sarcastically.
Gray laughs. “I mean, I could wear a blowup dragon costume if that’s your vibe.”
Fletcher starts laughing and slaps his thigh. “Fuck, I’ll wear one too. This is gonna be epic.”
“Fuckers, I need you to be serious. I don’t want to troll her, I want to marry this woman,” I say and then clench my jaw. What the fuck did I just say?”
Roxy gasps. “OMG! Are you going to propose? Please say yes, please!” she says excitedly.
I throw my hands up in the air. “No, hold up. I…” I trail off as I consider this. I do want to marry her. Why am I waiting? Fuck, should I propose? What do I do?
“Fuck yeah!” Hutch says. “I think we have a proposal to plan.”
“Hell yeah, we do,” Fletcher adds.
“If you think I’m wearing a kilt for this weird-ass princess-and-castle-themed proposal, you are sorely mistaken,” Kasen mutters.
Roxy waves him off. “Don’t be a…what is it you always say, oh yeah, a daft prick,” she teases.
He glares at her, and she smirks.
“Well, shit…OK, fuck it. I don’t want to wait. We need to brainstorm and fast,” I say, because we have less than a week until the next happy hour and I need a plan. But I know I have to do it there. That’s where we first met. It seems right that I ask her to marry me there in front of all of our closest friends.
“We need to call Vito and Drew. You think I can get them to fly out to be here for it?” I ask my friends as I look around at each one of them.
“For sure, I’ll text them now,” Fletcher says.
And just like that, all my friends start formulating to-do lists as I start to explain what I’m thinking. This will take a team effort, but if I can pull it off, it’ll all be worth it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Carly
It’s Sunday night, and I’m grading pop quizzes while Ava is coloring something for a school project, which seems elaborate for a first grader. I can’t believe she’s going to be six soon. She’s the youngest kid in her class, but her teacher assures me she’s one of the smartest. Bray walks in and sits down at the table after kissing Ava on the head. I frown and look at the time.
“You’re up early,” I say with a raised eyebrow.
He shrugs. “I’ve been thinking that I might try the day shift for a while,” he says, and my mouth falls open.
“You…w-what?” I stammer because this man lives for the night shift. I never thought I’d ever hear him say he wants to work a normal nine-to-five shift, although I think it’s actually an eight-to-four shift, but whatever.
He smiles and leans forward, whispering, “I want to be able to see you more, and I can’t do that if I work nights and you work days.”
I glance over at Ava, who is at the coffee table with a movie playing in the background. She’s humming along to a song, so I know she’s not paying attention.
“I…are you sure?” I ask. I hate the idea that Bray would change something so important just to spend time with me. I don’t want him doing things unless he wants to do them. Memories of Chad getting mad at me every time we had to change plans because I needed something. One time, I got my period, and according to Chad, it ruined the vacation because he didn’t get sex and had to stop for tampons. Another time, I really wanted cheeseburgers and stopped by the burger place to get them, but that caused me to be late in starting the dishwasher for him so that he could have his favorite mug with coffee in the morning. How I ever loved that man is beyond me.
“What?” Bray asks as he studies my face.
I shake my head. “Nothing, just…are you sure?”
