“Yeah?” He smiled.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Then lay your head on my shoulder and I’ll see if the young buck in this movie is doing things right.”
He wasn’t at first.
“What a turkey,” Reggie said.
“If he got it right at the beginning, there’d be no story,” Molly pointed out. “Every relationship has to have a challenge.”
“There’s challenges and there’s clueless, and if you ask me, that man is just plain clueless.”
She paused the movie and looked up at him. “Reggie, were you ever clueless?”
“Probably. But I never found a woman I really wanted to stay with. Not until you.”
She smiled at him. “I feel the same. There’s been no one since my husband. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever find another man I could love. And then you came along.”
“So we’ve each found our someone.”
“We have,” she said with a smile.
“Then how long are we gonna wait to make it official? Life’s short, Molly. I want us to be together while we still got some good years ahead of us. How about I give you a ring for Christmas?”
“Which one?” she quipped, and he laughed.
“Let’s go shopping once you’re well. What do you say to that?”
He was right. They loved each other, enjoyed each other’s company. She knew she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. It was silly to wait.
“I say, let’s go shopping,” she said.
“All right!” he said. “This calls for champagne. Where do you keep the champagne glasses?”
“In the cupboard above the fridge.”
She’d never bothered to store them any place more accessible. She hadn’t exactly been living a champagne kind of life so what had been the point? Except now it looked like she’d be using those glasses more. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, all with Reggie. Yes, it was time to move them to a lower cupboard.
“There’s a step ladder in the pantry,” she said.
“I don’t need no stinkin’ step ladder,” he joked, and proved it by reaching up and pulling down two glasses. “You think Ava will be happy for us?” he asked. “I think she’s starting to like me.”
She should, Molly thought. She would. She’d come around.
He poured champagne for them, then returned to the couch. “Here’s to you, Molly. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
“Here’s to us,” she said.
They clinked glasses just as her door opened. There stood Ava, staring at them with a disapproving look on her face. “I brought you some leftovers from the party. I thought you were sick,” she added accusingly.
“I am,” Molly said. A sneeze emerged in time to prove it, making her jiggle her glass and spill champagne in her lap. “Oh, good grief,” she muttered.
“You probably shouldn’t have company if you’re sick,” Ava said, looking disapprovingly at Reggie.
“Reggie’s not company. He’s my fiancé.”
Ava gaped at them. The bag of goodies she’d brought dropped to the floor. “Your what?”
