One Moment Please (Wait With Me #3)(74)

“But his middle name could be Gadget!” Kate retorts, and Josh’s face falls.

“I’m so fucked,” he grumbles before taking a sip of his beer.

Miles leans across Kate to get Josh’s attention. “It’s better to just let them have their little rants. They’re impossible to go up against when they’re together.”

Kate giggles and nuzzles into me before shouting, “Let’s get this show on the road, Dean! Your old man balls are starting to show!”

Dean glances at his smart watch. “Max says he’s almost here. Said he’s bringing me a special gift.”

“A gift?” I ask, watching Dean curiously.

He shrugs, and then, all of our attention is diverted to the front of the bus again when Ken doll Max climbs aboard with a pint-sized Barbie in tow.

“Everyone, this is Norah!” Max calls out.

“The Rise and Shine Bakery owner!” Kate exclaims, standing with her jaw dropped. “Your croinuts have changed my life. Seriously, I worshiped the devil before I found your pastry goodness, and now my soul has been saved by Donut Jesus.”

“Thank you?” Norah replies with a polite smile.

“No, thank you…did you happen to bring any with—”

Miles pulls Kate down onto his lap, and she giggles as he pinches her sides.

“Ow! What did I just sit on?” Kate yelps, reaching back to hold her butt cheek. “Is that some sort of tool in your pocket or did your dick morph into a cube shape?”

Miles gets an awkward expression and turns to Sam.

Sam says, “Kate, will you grab me another beer?”

Kate slips off Miles’s lap to head to the cooler. Miles and Sam exchange quiet words, but then the bus moves, so I face forward, enjoying the madness of everyone around me getting drunk. Norah and Max are seated across from Dean who looks decidedly more tense than he did a moment ago. I wonder if something’s happening there?

The bus takes off, and the music is so loud we all have to shout to talk to each other. I smile and enjoy the view of Josh and Kate connecting over Game of Thrones and discussing the finale in vivid detail. And Josh laughs harder than I’ve ever heard him laugh when I tell him the story about how Kate bought a burnt tire candle when she and Miles were in a fight and she couldn’t bring herself to go into Tire Depot to write. Even Dean chimes in on that story, telling Josh that he caught Kate and me wrestling over the candle, and while I thought Josh might get jealous, he actually just shook his head and took it all in stride. Hopefully, my urgings for Josh to give Dean a chance are not falling on deaf ears.

The bus pulls into a parking lot, and I look out the window to see that we’re at Tire Depot.

“What are we doing at my office?” Kate asks with an amused frown.

“I forgot my wallet.” Miles grips the back of his neck with a weird expression. “Dean said the bus could make a quick stop.”

The bus lurches to a halt, and the door opens, causing the smell of rubber to waft in like that awful candle Kate still has.

“Grab me a cookie while you’re in there, babe.” Kate swats Miles on the butt as he stands.

He turns and holds his hand out to her. “Actually, I was hoping you’d come with me.”

She frowns and looks up at him in confusion. “Why?”

He runs a hand over his short, black hair. “I want to show you something.”

She shoots me a look, and all I can do is shrug. He’d better not be taking Kate inside for a quickie because this is supposed to be Dean’s night. Although, glancing over at Josh, all cute in his jeans and casual tee, drinking a beer and making friends, I’d probably be up for a quickie right about now myself.

Kate begrudgingly takes Miles’s hand, and he pulls her off the bus, but instead of heading toward the shop where I assume his wallet is, he walks her over to the Tire Depot marquee located by the curb.

My eyes widen when I see Kate’s name scrolling across the screen. “What does that say?” I ask, turning to Josh who looks as confused as me.

Everyone suddenly turns to look out the bus windows, effectively blocking my view. I stand and carefully make my way off the bus because there’s no way I’m going to sit back and not see what’s happening out there. The entire party ends up following, and by the time I stand in front of the bus bumper, Miles drops to one knee.

“Is he proposing right now?” I shriek, cupping my hands over my mouth to mirror Kate’s reaction as the sign spells out: MARRY ME, KATE.

“He is definitely proposing,” Dean confirms, sidling up next to me with a knowing smirk.

I jab him in the arm with my elbow. “You knew about this?”

He scoffs. “You think I’d actually make Tire Depot a stop on my birthday party bus?”

“Oh, my God,” I exclaim and obnoxiously shush everybody so I can hear what Miles says.

“Kate Smith—” he says, holding a ring box out to her. His lips open to say more, but the sound of a really obnoxious power tool blasts from the shop at that same moment.

“Seriously, who is working on cars at Tire Depot right now? It’s six o’clock at night,” I hiss, shooting daggers at the garage like my sheer rage can will the tool to stop making noise.

Dean cranes his neck forward, turning his head to try to hear. “I can’t hear him at all.”