Dashing Through the No (Summersweet Island 3)

Resting both of my hands on my bent knee, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly as I stare up at him. “You know I really fucking hate this mushy stuff, so this is gonna be quick,” I start, swallowing a few times and pressing one of my hands against my stomach to try to calm the butterflies.

Bodhi’s excitedly flapping hands smack down over his mouth as I continue, but he’s still bouncing up and down on his feet, just making me love him even more than I thought I possibly could.

“I love the hell out of you, and I should have said yes to you the first time you asked,” I tell him honestly, his face suddenly getting blurry as my own eyes fill with tears. “But seriously, man, during a blowjob? You really want to tell our grandchildren that you popped the question while your dick was in my throat?”

The strippers all start cheering, and I shush them with a wave of my hand before bending over, grabbing one of the golden cock rings, and holding it up in front of me symbolically.

Right. Because this is going to be a much better story to tell the grandkids.

Bodhi drops his hands from his mouth to let out another loud gasp, and I grab onto one of his hands and give it a squeeze.

“Bodhi Preston Armbruster the third, will you—”

“Oh good, you used the gold ones I had in my trunk!”

My fingers separate, and I immediately drop the cock ring I’m holding up for Bodhi when Sheldon steps into the doorway next to Millie.

Blowing out an annoyed breath, I look back up at Bodhi, who just laughs and shakes his head at me.

“You’re my best friend, but don’t tell Birdie that. You keep emergency packs of matches in your wallet for me. And you take care of me, every single day. I know I’m not the easiest person to love—”

“Shut up, you’re perfect,” Bodhi cuts me off as I swipe away at a tear on my cheek and he does the same, before I lace my fingers through his and look back up at him.

“Don’t say that.” I shake my head. “I’m not perfect, and I don’t want to be. I just want to be perfect for you.”

“You already are,” he quickly whispers, making me wish I wouldn’t have wasted so much time fighting in the wrong direction.

“Besides, if I were perfect, I’d have nowhere to go but down. And baby,” I tell him, smirking up at the man I love the hell out of, “I just wanna spend the rest of my life getting higher with you. Will you marry me?”

“Awww, you made a weed pun,” Bodhi gushes with a huge smile as he tugs on my hand, yanking me up to my feet and pulling me against his body, making me let out a squeal when he lifts me up and spins me around.

“My answer is yes! Yes, I will make you the happiest woman in the whole fucking world and marry you!” Bodhi shouts, peppering the side of my face with kisses as I wrap my arms around his shoulders and hold on tight as he spins us. “It’s about damn time you asked. Oh my God, it was so embarrassing that all my girlfriends were getting engaged before me!”

All the strippers cheer again, Millie cranks the music back up, and Jason and Allie start popping champagne as Bodhi finally sets me back down on my feet, his arms still locked tightly around me as I reach up and brush his hair out of his eyes.

I open my mouth to tell him my one last surprise, when the sound of his cellphone ringing in his back pocket cuts me off. Bodhi lets go of me and takes a step back to pull the phone out, his mouth dropping open when he turns the screen so I can see it.

Dr. Wright Calling

“I’ll go outside and answer it.”

He starts to turn away, and I grab his arm to stop him as the celebration continues around us, glasses of champagne being clinked together.

“Just answer it.”

Bodhi waits two more rings before he realizes I’m serious and then presses the answer button. Plugging his ear with a finger to shut out the noise, he brings the phone up to his other ear.

I listen to Bodhi’s side of the conversation, watching him nod and say a few yeses and a couple of okays, and my heart starts pounding inside my chest, and I start having trouble breathing. I’m rubbing the heel of my palm against my rapidly beating heart and pressing my hand harder against my stomach to calm the butterflies, but it doesn’t work, and nothing can make me feel calm right now, because I know.

Bodhi’s nodding, and his eyes are getting bigger with every word the doctor says, and I know. I know what he’s telling Bodhi right now as his eyes fly to mine in a panic with something the doctor says, because I’ve known what was “wrong” with me for the last two months. I was just too scared to admit it.