Page 66 of True Blue

MARCH

“Okay, let’s book these hotels…”

Teddy pulls me close on the couch, and I open my laptop, smiling automatically at the background photo: us at my party, half drunk and wildly in love, arms wrapped around each other, both of us flushed and grinning at the camera.

But the smile falters as I really look at him, a pang of worry running through me.

He looks exhausted. There’s too much dark under his eyes, his skin looks washed out, and there’s a giant mug of coffee in his hand even though it’s already eight at night.

But Teddy is still Teddy, smiling at me to wipe away my concern. He leans in to kiss me sweetly and then completely takes me off guard with his question.

“How would you want to be proposed to, honey?”

I go still, half expecting that when I turn, Teddy’s face will show that he’s teasing. Instead, all I see is curiosity. My heart stutters in my chest.

Right, this is what adults talk about when they’ve been dating for a while, when they’re doing something as serious as moving cross-country together.

Marriage.

I want to marry Teddy. I want to be his wife. I want the house, the fence, the kids, and life with Teddy.

“Why?” I ask.

Teddy shrugs, grinning. "Just curious. Would you want it public?"

He gets one look at my face and snorts.

“Yeah, thought so. So, private. Intimate. Maybe… under the stars?”

My eyes light up.

“On the beach?” he asks.

My smile widens.

“The sound of waves in the background,” he murmurs, voice dropping lower. “A bottle of wine,” he brushes his lips closer to mine, barely there. “A full moon. I get down on one knee…”

I feel hot, overly so, my body humming with desire and want and need and pure love. Teddy looks at me with soft eyes, a sexy grin on his face, and his hand gently cradles my cheek.

“Keep going,” I purr.

“And I ask you—Indie, will you⁠—”

His phone going off cuts through the moment.

“Shit, it’s my mom—” he mutters, pulling back fast to grab his phone off the counter.

I’m left there hanging with my lips still parted, ready for his kiss.

The whole moment crashes to the floor.

Ever since that dinner I snapped at his mother, I’ve been trying to limit my contact with her and haven’t been to the house since.

Unfortunately, that’s bitten into the time I spend with Teddy, which has already become very limited these days.

Teddy curses under his breath.

“Shit. Dad said she’s having a meltdown—she found one of Nana’s rings in her jewelry box.”