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“I’m thrilled to hear it,” I say. “Are you sure?”
She smiles and nods. “I wouldn’t want a quickie wedding. I’d want to be engaged for a while, since I’ve promised to live with Maddy for the foreseeable future.”
“Fine by me.”
“But I’m not scared of marriage anymore, Henn. I’m not even neutral about it. I’m excited to get engaged when we get back to LA, and then marry you one fine day.” She lifts her head. “Is that what you want, too?”
“You know it is.”
“Just checking.” She smirks. “To be clear, I’m not hereby proposing to you. I’m asking you to propose to me, if that’s what you’d like to do.”
I laugh. “Thanks for the clarification, but I figured that out. If what you’re really saying is you’d prefer for me to do it right—with a ring and all the bells and whistles—then don’t worry, that’s exactly what you’ll get.”
Hannah squeals. “Really?”
“Yep. And then, I’ll be perfectly happy being engaged for a while. No rush.”
She kisses my cheek. “Thank you! This way, I can get settled in my new job and have fun living with Maddy for however long, and then we’ll start thinking about planning a wedding and moving in together.”
“Awesome. When we get back, I’ll start looking for a house in earnest, like we talked about. Something you’ll love as much as I do. And you’ll have a standing invitation to move in with me, whenever you want.”
“But first, you’re going to propose to me.”
“Right. I got that part.”
“Thank you.”
I laugh. “No, thank you.”
Hannah beams a breathtaking smile at me. “My life feels like a dream.” She runs her fingertip across my lip. “I love you so much. Thank you for always being so understanding, Henny.”
“Who the bollocks is Henny? I’m Bond. James Bond. And like I warned you, Zelda, you never stood a chance.”
35
HENN
“How many cards, Zander?” Josh asks, chewing on the end of his cigar. Besides Josh and the Morgan’s honorary brother, Zander, our group for poker tonight is comprised of Jonas, Reed, Ryan, a couple fraternity brothers, and me. We’re playing poker in Josh’s bungalow on the night before his big wedding day as a spontaneous bachelor party of sorts. It’s hard to say this is the bachelor party, however, since the whole week in Maui has been one long, amazing party.
“Three,” Zander replies, tossing his cast-offs toward Josh, our current dealer.
“How are you feeling on your last night as a free man, Josh?” Jonas asks.
Electricity shoots through me. Now that Hannah’s told me she’s ready to get engaged, any mention of marriage—which happens a lot during a destination wedding—hits me like a thunderbolt. I can’t wait to get home and start planning my proposal in earnest. Should I do it at The Griffith Observatory, where they filmed Lala Land?
“I’m feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve,” Josh replies to his brother. “Oh, hey, by the way, Kat doesn’t want me to see her on our wedding day till she walks down the aisle in her dress, so can she sleep with Sarah tonight and you sleep here?”
“Yeah, Sarah already told me,” Jonas says. “It’s fine. I mean, not sleeping with my wife tonight is a huge sacrifice, but I’ll consider it one of my wedding gifts to you.”
Josh scoffs. “It’s your wedding gift to Kat and Kat alone. I don’t want these stupid sleeping arrangements any more than you do.”
Jonas chuckles. “Happy wife, happy life. It’s the key to the kingdom.”
Wife.
There it is again. That same thunderbolt of excitement and anticipation.
“Yo, Henn, it’s your bet,” Reed says, yanking me from my thoughts.
I look down at my cards for the first time. “Yeah, yeah, I know—I’m thinking.” Damn. My cards suck. “Why’d you have to deal me such shitty cards, Joshua? I’m out, thanks to your piss-poor card dealing.”
Reed shoves a stack of chips into the pot with a gleeful smile. “Looks like Mr. Faraday dealt me all your good cards, Henny-Baby.”
“Bah, you’re bluffing,” Josh says. “I can read you like a book, Rivers—and it’s clear to me you’ve got nuttin’.” Josh shoves a bunch of chips into the kitty to match Reed’s. “You might have a Midas touch when it comes to selling music to the masses, but you’re about to become my little bitch when it comes to cards.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough who’s the little bitch, won’t we?” Reed quips.
My mind races back to the Faraday brothers’ exchange a moment ago—the one about sleeping arrangements for tonight—and I’m reminded of something Hannah told me: she’ll be spending all day tomorrow dressing and primping with Kat, Kat’s mom, and the other bridesmaids before the wedding at sunset. When Hannah told me that, I figured I’d go snorkeling or kayaking with Reed and whoever, since getting ready for me will take all of twenty minutes. But suddenly, I’m realizing tomorrow would be the perfect opportunity for me to buy a ring for Hannah and pull together a proposal for tomorrow night. There are lots of stars in the sky here in Maui on a clear night, and we’ve already re-enacted Lala Land in Seattle. So, why not seize the opportunity to give Hannah a romantic proposal under the stars on a tropical beach?
