AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stare at Owen, not able to blink. Not able to think. “Holy—”
“Whoa—family show,” Sid spouts, cutting me off.
“Annie.” Owen turns his whole body toward me, and if I could talk, I’d have a whole lot to say.
“When Ready in Red emailed you and asked for specifics on what he should do to show his best friend he loved her, you gave great tips.”
I did. I gave him some tried-and-true suggestions—privately. Not in a column, but in an email.
“And I took every one of your suggestions.”
How does Owen even—and then the light bulb turns on. “You’re Ready in Red.”
He nods, then reaches out, picking up my hand and slipping his fingers through mine. “I am. And here’s my grand gesture, Annie. I love you. I always have, and I always will. So, maybe the next date you set me up on could be with you?” He grins like all of this is a game. “Just a thought.”
This time, I do curse—Sid is too slow to interrupt me. I tugmy fingers from Owen’s and lunge for the iPad, smacking my finger to END STREAM.
“Annie! In the middle of a show?Dude.”
“Sorry, Sid,” I bark, leaping from my swivel stool and charging for the hall.
“Annie,” Owen calls after me. “Annie, wait!”
The dim hallway has me squinting, and I slip in my heels on the tiled floor. My body jerks to a halt when Owen’s hand snatches hold of my arm.
“Annie, talk to me.”
“I—I—I don’t know what happened in there.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, and on instinct, I pull it out. Kayla is calling me. I hide the thing away. I can’t talk to her right now. I can’t talk to anyone.
“Then let me explain,” he says, his hands cupping my cheeks.
“This isn’t happening,” I chant. I can’t lose Owen—just like every other man I’ve dated. I can’t.
“Thisishappening,” he says, his tone low and earnest. “All because a girl with great advice told me that I might want to make a grand gesture.”
I flick my eyes up to his. “You did not do this because of my advice.”
“Annie, I did this because I love you, and it’s time I told you.”
“Owen.” I moan. Does he even know what he’s saying? What he’s doing? What he’s changing? We both know my history. I puff out a breath, my heart racing so fast it may drop dead altogether. I just need to cool down. I need to simmer things. I need some humor. “Owen, you can’t love me. Grammy already told me I have to leave you alone or marry you.”
The right side of his mouth quirks up in a grin.A grin. Not a laugh, not a scoff, not—just kidding, Annie, GOTCHA.But a sweet, sincere, tender smile takes over Owen’s face.
“Good night nurse, Owen!” I yell, pushing away from himand his embrace. “Don’t tell me you want to marry me! That’s insane!”
“But I do want to marry you. The only insane part of my life has been doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I thought if I could be the best friend ever—”
“You are!” My chest shutters with the words.
“Yes, but I thought one day you’dseehow much I love you. For years, I’ve done the same thing again and again without anything changing. It’s time for me to speak up, to be honest. I love you, Annie.”
“Please, Owen.” My heels click on the hard ground as I walk toward him. I rest my forearms overtop of his, grasping onto him. “Please stop saying that.”
“Hey, guys. Killer show. I did not expect that kind of drama.” Sid exits his office and puffs out a breath like he’s been working out. He walks past us toward the exit, a lilt in each of his steps.
I stare up at Owen, and he stares back. I can see it in his eyes: he won’t be taking anything back.
37
