Page 76 of Can't Win 'Em All
Cherise’s eyes went wide. “That’s a bit of overkill don’t you think?”
I shrugged. “That’s the point. I’m wooing my woman.”
“You did not just use the word ‘woo.’” She looked appalled.
“I did, and I stand by it.”
“Fine. It’s your money.” She shook her head. “Which balloons do you want?”
I wandered over to the wall to take a look. The flowers were going to be impossible to ignore. I had every intention of having them delivered when she was at the ice cream shop, so everybody would know what I was doing.
It had been weeks of me giving her daily gifts at this point. We’re talking candy, spa visits, scrubs, lotions, perfumes, another Charlie Bear, a tiara to signify she was my princess, and a pretty locket so she could put a picture of the baby inside when Rexanne was born. So far, all of those gifts had been delivered to her suite.
I hadn’t asked her out again, but it was coming. At thirty-one weeks, Ruby was coming in on the last two months of her pregnancy. I wanted her firmly in love with me—or at least in solid like territory—when the baby arrived. The weeks after that would be chaos. That meant I had to create the foundation of our relationship now. Even though Ruby was a person, this gift was going to be public, because I had every intention of asking her out in front of other people.
And what if she turns you down?I wasn’t an insecure guy, but I recognized that was a real possibility. I had to take the risk. Sitting around and waiting for her to give in without prodding was no longer an option. I had to push her.
“Give me three of the hearts.” I pointed toward the huge red hearts. “Give me two of those smaller pink hearts.” I cocked my head. “Throw one of the storks in there for a joke. Give me two four-leaf clovers.” That left three. “Give me two of the diamond ones and one of the ‘just say yes’ balloons, please.” I beamed at her.
Her eyes went wide. “You’re not proposing.”
“I am in a way. It will be fine.”
“Okay. How many roses do you want?”
I considered it. “Three dozen.”
“Holy crap. Do you want them long-stemmed?”
“Yup, and in a crystal vase.”
“Jesus.” She started punching in numbers on her calculator. “That’s about four-hundred and fifty bucks.” She waited for me to cut the order in half.
“That’s good.” I handed her my credit card. “The delivery is going to be precise. You can’t drop it off at the front desk. I want it delivered to her in the ice cream shop at three o’clock specifically. Actually, five minutes after three o’clock.”
Cherise shook her head. “You’re going all out. Do you think she’s worth it?”
“Yup.” There was no hesitation when I bobbed my head. “I know she’s worth it. She’s always been worth it.”
Cherise’s lips curved. “You have it bad, don’t you?”
“I really do.”
“Do you think she has it bad?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think she trusts herself to allow herself to act on the feelings. I need to push her a little bit.”
“And what if you push her too far?”
I didn’t want to think on it too long because then I would second-guess myself. “I have faith that she’s going to say yes.”
“To dating you?”
“Yup.”
“Why not just ask her to marry you? I mean … you are having a kid together.”
“Because she’s not there yet.” I smiled when I said it. She said I wasn’t ready for a relationship. She was wrong. I was ready. I had been ready for a long time now. I just hadn’t realized it. She was the one who was relationship adverse. Her father had put ideas in her head that were wrong. Very wrong. She wasn’t just a pawn in a business deal. She was so much more than that.
