“What did you tell her?”
Duck’s shoulders sag like she’s carrying the weight of the world on them. “I told her I was having a good time.”
“And that was a lie?” I ask, trying not to let my feelings get hurt since they’re about the only damn things about me that don’t ache.
Eden stares at me and twists her face into a grimace that’s sort of cute. I don’t tell her that since my experience with women has shown they like to think they’re really terrifying when they’re upset.
“No, that wasn’t a lie. The lie was not telling her I’m here with you instead of Justin.”
I open my arms and smile. “Come here, Duck. We can be miserable together.”
She reluctantly walks over to the sofa and collapses onto the cushion next to me. “I’m not miserable, Marius. I just don’t like lying to my best friend.”
Pulling her into me, I hug her. She feels so good against my body that in no time I feel much better than I did just a few minutes ago.
“Let’s focus on the positive. Your black eye is almost gone. Whatever that stuff was that the woman sold you in that store we went to Sunday night is doing the job. We’ve had a good time all week, and we still have a couple days more.”
Eden leans back on the sofa and sighs again. “I guess. I just hate lying.”
I sense she needs something more, so I wrap my arms around her as I think of how to make her happy again. Suddenly, it comes to me.
“What do you think about us getting married at one of those chapels we’ve seen around town?”
Her response is deafening silence. Since I’ve never proposed to anyone before, I’m not sure how this is supposed to work, but I don’t think not saying a single word is good.
“I’m guessing you didn’t hear me?”
Finally, she sits up and looks at me like I’ve grown two heads next to the one I was born with. I wait for her to say something, but she seems stunned or unwilling to speak.
“So is that a yes or no to getting married?”
“Are you seriously asking me to marry you? To become Eden King? Seriously?”
Now I’m not an expert, but I don’t think her use of seriously twice is a good sign.
“Yeah.”
“Do you love me, Marius?”
I see in her beautiful green eyes she thinks that’s going to put an end to this marriage talk, but if she believes that, she’s mistaken. I’ve been in love with her since that first night she stayed here with me. That I haven’t told her that yet is only because I didn’t find a good time to say it.
“Well, yeah.”
“Pro tip, dear. When you want a woman to marry you, you tell her you love her first. Making her ask is just poor manners.”
See that right there? I love when she’s like that. She basically just called me a thoughtless jackass but in a way that sort of cushions the blow for me. How could I not love her?
I sit up, and thankfully, my head doesn’t begin to pound when I lower myself to the floor. I don’t have a ring, but we can remedy that after I get a shower.
“Are you seriously going down on one knee to propose we get married in some drive-thru chapel?” she asks wide-eyed.
Looking up at her, I smile. “I don’t feel like renting a car, but if you’re really into a drive-thru wedding, I can get one. In the meantime, Eden, will you marry me?”
Her mouth drops open like she’s surprised, which seems odd since I’ve already asked her to marry me not two minutes ago. It’s probably the down-on-one-knee thing. It’s a little old fashioned, but I like it.
“Marius, you still haven’t told me you love me.”
I’m really not great at this. Maybe if I had done it a few times before I’d be more practiced, but this is my first time asking anyone to marry me.
