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I placed my hands on Joanne’s shoulders and slowly spun her around to face the front of the shop. “Are you ready?”
Joanne nodded silently, but I hesitated. Suddenly—and for the first time since I’d come up with the surprise plan—I was nervous.Reallynervous.
What if it was too much?
Or… not enough?
It was going to be a big day, and the sign was just the beginning… but had I skimped too much on the things I planned later—the traditional flowers and chocolates and dinner date—since I’d put so much effort into this part?
Should I have spread out the surprises?
Would Joanne… understand the sign?
Was it too much?
The last thing I wanted was for Joanne to feel overwhelmed, to not know what to say or how to react. Or, God forbid, to feel like shehadto say or do something in order to protect my feelings.
Fuck.
Maybe the whole idea was stupid.
Fuck.
All the optimism and excitement I’d been filled with evaporated in a last minute flare of nerves. Joanne was too important. I had almost lost her once, and the idea of fucking anything up a second time around suddenly had me breaking out in a cold sweat.
But… it was really too late now, wasn’t it? The sign was up for the whole world to see, and the rest of my plans were already set into motion, too.
I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a useless attempt to calm down. Worrying now was sort of pointless, but that fact didn’t help settle the acrobatic butterflies that had suddenly taken over my stomach.
Not one bit.
“Brady?” Joanne asked, her voice laced with laughter. "Can I open my eyes yet?”
I took one last breath and… went for it.
Chapter Forty-One - Brady
“Yep, sorry, open up!” I said, hoping like hell that my voice sounded more confident than I actually felt. But even when the nerves flared even higher, I couldn’t help but smile again. Sure, I might actually throw up or pass out or fall over dead if Joanne didn’t love it.
But Joanne would love it.
Shehadto.
I had poured my heart into it… and my heart belonged to Joanne.
I had to have faith.
Joanne opened her eyes and blinked, then squinted against the morning sun. Then she sucked in a sharp breath as her mouth fell open. Her eyes flicked from the new sign to my face, then back again—surprise, confusion, happiness, disbelief—all playing across her face.
“Oh my God, Brady.” Joanne’s voice was a whisper, barely audible over the passing traffic on the street behind us. “You shouldn’t have done—oh myGod. Is this real? Are youserious?”
Joanne was shaking her head and her mouth was still open in surprise, but she wasn’t smiling anymore.
Why wasn’t shesmiling?
“Is it… too much?”
My stomach clenched into a tight knot as I tried to read her expression.
