Page 32 of The Mr. Right Checklist

As they go over the contract and sign it, I notice Destiny taking an extra moment to look at her new pen. She’s done it a few times while taking notes, and each time brings the sweetest slightly bashful smile I’ve ever seen. I bury the warmth it stirs as she explains to Arjun that she’ll send an invoice for the deposit, along with a copy of the contract by email.

“I’m excited to get started.” She tucks her pen into a pocket in her bag and puts the contract and her notebooks away. “This proposal is going to be everything you and Maura dream of and more. I work part time at Perfect Paws, and I’m booked tomorrow morning, so I’ll start scouting locations Saturday.” Her hand lands on my leg, and she beams at me. “I know you have plans, so I won’t ask you to come, but I promise to send pictures.”

“I’ll change my plans to Sunday and scout locations with you.”

“You will?”

“Absolutely. I can’t have you picking the wrong location,” I tease, earning a chuckle from Arjun.

“You’re the best.” She leans over and hugs me.

“You two make a great team,” Arjun says. “How long have you been together?”

“Oh, we’re not . . . We’re just . . .” She looks at me and laughs softly. “We’re friends . . . and business associates?”

I put my hand over hers, squeezing it reassuringly. “Thank you, Arjun. We do make a good team. We haven’t known each other that long, but Destiny has a way of making you feel like you’re supposed to be in each other’s lives.” How true is that? Now I even sound like her.

Destiny’s smile chases her unsurety away.

“She definitely does. I’m sorry, but I have to run. I look forward to hearing from you.” Arjun pushes to his feet, and Destiny and I rise to ours.

She takes Arjun’s hand. “Thank you for trusting me with your special moment. I’ll send the documents over tomorrow and will get started right away.”

“I’ll be on the lookout for them.” He extends his hand to me. “It was nice to meet you, Fletch.”

“You as well. Have a great night.”

After he leaves the café, Destiny lets out a cheer and throws her arms around me. “We did it!”

I embrace her. “You did it. Congratulations, sunshine. Get the Yes is officially in business.”

“Are we pretending the picnic fiasco didn’t happen?”

I pick up her bag and hand it to her. “You weren’t even an LLC back then. It doesn’t count.” She couldn’t look happier, and I don’t think I could, either. I drape an arm over her shoulder as we head for the door. “What do you say we celebrate?”

“You lead, I’ll follow.”

Chapter Eleven

DESTINY

“I want to start by looking at the places where they like to hike. The overlook he mentioned sounded beautiful . . .” I’m on cloud nine, chattering away about my ideas for a Parisian-themed proposal as we walk to a pub around the corner from the café. I’m glad I get to share this epic moment with Fletch. When I think about how close we’ve gotten, the thoughtful gift he gave me, and what he said when he arrived at my place, about my being born to do proposal planning and my parents smiling down on me, I really do feel like we were fated to meet.

“You’ve got some great ideas, sunshine. I look forward to watching you put it together.”

He holds the door to the pub open for me and puts a hand on my back as we walk inside. It’s crowded and noisy, with enormous paintings of wild animals wearing colorful glasses on the dark wood walls. People are gathered around a couple singing karaoke on a small stage, and I’m immediately enamored with the funky pub.

I take Fletch’s arm, leaning closer so he can hear me over the music. “I love karaoke!”

“Of course you do.” He shakes his head, but he’s grinning.

We spot two high-back stools at the bar and head that way. As we weave through the crowd, Fletch puts his arm protectively around me, pulling me close. I try not to dwell on how nice it is to be taken care of like that and focus instead on the bright green floor, pink tabletops, and eclectic mix of wooden and leather chairs around us.

“This place is fantastic,” I say, dropping my bag to the floor by the bar. I climb onto a barstool, checking out the crowd. Fletch moves my bag from the floor to the back of my chair, just as he did in the café, because You never know what kind of filth you’re setting it in. I’ve never worried about things like that, but I like that he does.

I lean in so he can hear me, resting my hand on his leg. “What’s the name of this place?”

“The Lucky Lizard.”