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I’d told Shelby it was risky to rehearse for Roxy’s own flash mob proposal in the same studio where she worked, but Shelby had waved it off. Roxy knew Shelby used the studio for her flash mob business, so it wouldn’t be a big deal unless we made it one. And since I’d only come to that last rehearsal yesterday—when I knew Roxy had a nail appointment—it wasn’t like she’d know it was for her. And Shelby hadn’t even told the dancers until last night, just in case.
“How was your day?” Roxy asked.
I sighed, picking up my fork and poking at my food. “It was pretty rough.”
“Really? What happened?”
“I won’t bore you with the details, but basically, it felt like I broke a mirror or something.”
Roxy laughed as she finished the bite she’d just taken. “Oh, I hate days like that. When it feels like everything that could go wrong does.”
“Yes, exactly,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Then by the end of the day, you’re practically begging the universe to give you a win.”
Swallowing, I met her eyes then, my chest warming when I registered the kindness there. “Yeah, for sure.”
I definitely needed a win today. And I really hoped the answer to my big question was going to be that win. But before we got there, I still needed to figure out how to give her that out and see if she took it. It almost felt wrong, but at the same time, I didn’t think Roxy would want to be embarrassed with a big public proposal if she didn’t want to accept it. So I was doing us both a favor by making sure I was asking a question that I already knew the answer to.
“Well, when I have days like that, you’re always the thing that makes it better.”
Hope stirred within me. “Yeah?”
“Definitely. I remember last summer I wasthis closeto quitting at the studio because I got screamed at by an angry dance mom. Then everything piled on from there. I stained my favorite leotard because I apparently had a hole in my lip when I sipped my coffee, got the worst paper cut of my life while writing my overpriced rent check, and had a busted pipe under my kitchen sink. All in the same day. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah.” I grinned, remembering the way she’d called me and told me all about it, the ridiculousness of the day making laughter crack through her tears. I’d been on my lunch break since Hawaii was six hours behind South Carolina, and I recalled wishing I had some kind of fancy teleportation device so I could magically appear right in front of her and give her a hug. And I’d told her as much.
In fact, she hadn’t known it then, but talking to her that day actually helped me through my own bad day. At the time, I’d been on recruiting duty, and that was a notoriously hard thing to go through in the Marine Corps. Between the long hours and constant stress, taking a break to talk her through her bad day had actually done wonders for the rest of mine, too. And that happened a lot on that duty, and it really made me feel close to her even though we were far apart. I needed to remember that now rather than letting nerves get in the way.
“When you said all that silly stuff about teleportation thingies so you could instantly come and give me a hug, I swear it was like the whole day had been worth it. I smiled for days after that.”
I reached over and took her hand, every word she spoke bolstered me in what I was about to do. “There were a lot of times I wished I could have been there for you instantly like that. But I really love that we don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
“You’re right. It is good. This is better.”
Swallowing, I realized this was my chance. It fit with the conversation and it was a completely valid thing to ask given what I was about to do. “So, you’re sure you don’t want to go to Texas for that job? Take us back to the long-distance thing again?”
Roxy let go of my hand, which I would have taken as a bad sign if she hadn’t reached for her wine glass and held it between us with a smile. “Let’s toast.”
“To what?”
“To new beginnings and seeing where life takes us. Besides, you’re a Marine, right? We’ll probably have to deal with distance again one way or the other. At least we know we’re great at it.”
Relief flooded me, and I picked up my glass, gently tapping it to hers before taking a sip. It wasn’t exactly what I expected her to say, but if I read between the lines, it seemed like she was speaking of a future together. So, okay, done. Mission accomplished. Just like we’d discussed when I was still living in Hawaii, we were going to have an amazing future together, and now was the time to get it started.
For the rest of our dinner, we kept chatting about funny bad days, big moments in our relationship, and even future vacation plans. I couldn’t have planned for a better string of conversations to preface this proposal. Sure, my day had started out really horribly, but like Roxy had said about me, it seemed like being here with her was making my bad day better, too.
As dinner wound down to dessert, and the dessert was just about complete, I knew it was finally time for me to get that big win I’d needed all day.
Then the first notes of “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers started up from a sound system nearby, and my heart about pounded out of my chest. This was it. It was go time.
Roxy’s face lit up as she clapped her hands. “Oh my gosh, I love this song.”
“I know,” I said, nodding to the courtyard as people appeared, jumping in one by one or two by two to join the mob.
Roxy watched the scene with a huge grin on her face, dancing in her seat. My blood thrummed so fast and hard through my veins, knowing where this was going. It kind of felt like a freight train. Now that it was rolling, there was no stopping it. Which was good, I supposed, since I’d already established that I was doing the right thing. This was good. No overthinking, just go with it.
When my cue came, I held out my hand to Roxy across the table. “Come here.”
