“Mike, that’s amazing news,” Leyla said, smiling widely.
He took a deep breath and went to sit down, scooting Leyla over so he could sit next to me. Our eyes met, and once again the room seemed to empty, confirming his words earlier.
“But my fear that something else was wrong was true. She has been hiding a heart condition for months.” Our friends were in various states of disbelief, some gasping, some shaking their heads, all worried.
“I met her cardiologist. He calls it congestive heart failure but says with continued medication, lifestyle changes, and monitoring, she could live for years.”
He said it all, not taking his eyes off me. I hadn’t realized when he’d grabbed my hand. The desire to pull him into a hug was strong, but I sat still, rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. He smiled at me as he held it tighter.
“Then we will do everything we can to make her safe, well, taken care of,” I said, without thinking.
Mike’s smile grew. “I like the ‘we.’”
Yeah, I liked the ‘we,’ too. Somewhere between his crazy proposal, the conversation with his close friends, and now, I knew that if Mike hadn’t changed his mind, I was going to marry this man.
Almost as if he’d heard my thoughts, he leaned over, his clean smell invading my space as he kissed my forehead.
One of the men cleared their throat, and he pulled back.
“Well, I think we should all get home and get some rest. Mike, let us know how we can help. What you and Grammy need. Maybe we can take turns coming up, making sure you have food or shuttling the Granny Squad here,” Miles said.
Niko spoke up quickly. “I’ll be on food duty. Not getting in the car with those crazy women.”
“I’ll save you from their wandering hands,” Leyla said in a voice you’d use to speak to a toddler. He grunted, took her by the hand, and led them out, making Mike stand once more for a last hug.
“Just a phone call away,” Miles said. “Ren, I can take you home if you’d like.”
“Thanks, bro, but I’ll take her,” Mike said without hesitation.
“Is it okay if I tell Vicky about…everything?” Miles asked, looking between Mike and me. I didn’t even know how to answer him because my best friend was going to lose her mind. If shethought the fake dating was a big deal, she was going to lose it when she found out about the proposal.
“If Mike is okay with it, I am, I guess. I know she’s going to be madder if she’s left in the dark. Just tell her I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” I answered nervously, praying for mercy.
“Will do,” Miles said sympathetically as he headed out. “Luke, see you later.”
“I guess I’ll head home and give Sofia the news,” he said, his eyebrows raised. Mike and I chuckled and said our goodbyes.
When everyone had left, Mike looked at me, his smile shy. “Quite a night, huh?”
I huffed out a laugh. “Guess you can say that.”
“Let’s get out of here. Can’t stand this place any longer. I can’t see her again til tomorrow morning anyway,” he said, pulling me up from the atrocious chair.
We didn’t say anything as we took the elevator down and went out through the ER entrance, where Mike had parked. It looked like he had pulled in and rushed out, judging by how he parked sideways in the spot.
“Ren, I’ll understand if you need more time to think about this,” he said as we headed for La Jolla. “I do want you to know I didn’t ask out of duress, as much as I’m sure it seems that way. But I did put you on the spot, so I want you to think about this.”
He looked at me for a moment when he stopped at a traffic light. I didn’t answer, my thoughts jumbled, but I nodded. We sat in silence, the sounds of the road, honking cars, a loud stereo nearby served as our background. Before I knew it, we were in front of the cottage. He turned the car off and twisted to face me, his movements slow and hesitant as he turned on the overhead light so I could see him.
“Mike, I appreciate you giving me the chance to change my mind. That means a lot and shows me what I need to know aboutyour character.” My words seemed to calm him as he smiled, hearing my words.
“Thank you.” He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped. When we made eye contact again, he said, “Everything I said, everything I offered you is what I want. I understand that you’re not in love yet, and that this is very unconventional. But there’s a peace about this. I can’t explain it.”
I nodded. “I know. But I need you to understand something, too. My parents married in a similar way. Their families knew one another and decided marriage would benefit them both. Once I was an adult, my mother explained their strange beginning and voiced her disappointment when love didn’t follow.”
His brows furrowed, and he leaned toward me. “Wow, I didn’t…that must’ve been difficult.”
“You have no idea. I think her resentment made things so uncomfortable between them that even friendship wasn’t possible anymore. They didn’t fight often, and once I was a teenager, it was like they were roommates. Tolerant, cordial, quiet. That’s how I’d describe their relationship. So you see, your similar idea of how this marriage would start off took me by surprise.” I was picking at my nails with nervous energy.
