Bait: The Wake Series, Book One(41)

“All right,” he said. “Then I'm taking you somewhere.” He walked into my foyer, sure and calm.

I busied myself with the flowers, looking at my phone on the kitchen counter next to me, the entire time. I wasn't even going to take it with us.

After sorting the flowers and putting them in a tall vase, I grabbed my purse.

He didn't say much, but he held my hand on the way to the car and it felt nice. After the afternoon I'd had, it was reassuring. That was what our love and relationship was, comforting and familiar.

No bullshit. No worries. No girlfriend.

He kissed the tops of my fingers before he dropped my hand to walk around the truck.

I didn't know where we were going, but I didn't really think it mattered. I was where I was supposed to be if I was with Grant. Even my parents thought so. Even Shane.

Before I realized where we were, he was putting the car into park. We were in the parking lot of the gas station where we'd met.

Tonight was the night.

“Blake, I love you. We met here at a gas station on Christmas Eve. I think I might have fallen in love with you that day.” He turned and faced me, his freshly shaven skin looked so smooth. “I know that there's been something on your mind lately. I can tell. But I don't want to wait any longer.”

I didn't know what to say. I was rotten.

He said, “I want to talk to you tonight about our future. Do you want to talk about it? The future? Our future, maybe?” He smiled and it was endearing, full of hope and love and goodness.

“I'd love to talk about it.” I gave him the best smile I had.

“Do you see me in your future?” he asked. Cars drove around us and looked into our windows since he parked in the middle of the lot. Almost the exact same place we’d been standing when he got my number.

I thought about my future. I saw him there. It was peaceful and happy and predictable. In that moment, it felt good. Then, as I did, I put Casey in my future to see what it would look like. My evil imagination tried these men on like jeans in a department store.

In my alternate Casey-future, he would always be gone on business. I’d be stuck at home. And he would cheat on me.

After all, he did admit to cheating on other girlfriends and not just Aly, which created a mental image of flashing red warning lights reading “Danger!”

I didn’t know. Casey’s version was unpredictable, but the future with Grant looked nice, safe, and comfortable.

“I see you in my future,” I said looking at my hands in the streetlight that poured through my side of the vehicle. I wanted to bite my nails badly. When I peeked up at him his face was alight.

“I see you in mine, too. Ours. If you want that.”

“I think I want that.” I didn't want to feel like I had earlier that day. I knew that for sure. “I know I want that.”

“Good, then I have a surprise.” He put the car in drive and we left the gas station where it turned out Grant and I made all of our major plans. First to see each other, now to be together in the future.

We drove through side streets close to where my parents lived. They'd been in the same house since I was small. The neighborhood was familiar and I'd always liked it. I scrolled through my mental map trying to figure out which restaurant we were going to. I came up short. There wasn't a restaurant in that area.

Grant pulled over to the curb and got out. Walking around to my door, he opened it for me. I didn't know what we were doing there. Maybe we knew the people who lived in the house. He grabbed my hand and walked me toward the bungalow's porch. It was a brick house and it had a porch swing, a holstered flag swayed over the front steps and big ferns hung on hooks between the four squared-off, white pillars.

There were a few lights on inside, but looking through the windows it didn't appear there was anyone home.

There on that porch Grant got down on one knee.

He produced a white, velvet box from his pocket and offered it to me for inspection with one hand.

“Blake, I love you. I love everything about you. I always have. I know I didn't discuss it with you and we don't have to stay here long if you don't like it, but I bought this house for us. I want this to be our home. I want you to be my wife and I want to be your husband. Will you please, please say yes and marry me?” He swallowed back some of the nervousness that must have risen to the surface of his throat.

Kneeling on the wooden plank porch, he looked so right. Everything did. The house. The ring. The man. It all seemed the way it should be.