Package Deal(113)

She put the dishes into the dishwasher. When it was full, she went into the living room. Tomorrow Cece was having a sleepover at Sam’s. That meant she could have a sleepover with Marcus—if he wanted her to, if he was up to it.

The next day, Amanda dropped off Cecelia at Sam’s and drove to Marcus’s house. She approached the front steps and stopped. He was sitting on the porch swing, a bottle of what looked like champagne resting in an ice bucket on a nearby table.

“What are you celebrating? Or is this a late acknowledgement of your publisher’s acceptance of your manuscript, now that you’re not on those pain pills anymore?”

He shook his head. “No. This is to celebrate us.If you’ll come sit down, I’ll tell you all about it.”

She put down her overnight bag and snuggled next to him. “Okay. Tell me.”

“I wrote a letter to Cecelia.”

“Yes, she read it to me. It was very sweet.”

“Ah, but she told me she didn’t read you the whole thing.” He kissed her gently.

Amanda chuckled. “She said she had to have some privacy, and insisted that we mail her answer the very next day, which we did. It seemed to take her a long time, and I was curious about that, but I figured she would tell me what she wrote when she was ready.”

“I think you should read it.” He pulled the letter from his pocket and smoothed out the wrinkles. “Better yet, I’ll read you what she wrote me.”

Dear Marcus:

I liked your letter very much. Thank you for saying those nice things about me. I think you are special, too.

“I had to butter her up, and she, smart girl that she is, just like her mother, did the same to me,” he grinned.

She squeezed his hand.

He cleared his throat and continued.

You said you wanted to be my dad. I’ve never had an alive dad, but I like the idea. As long as you don’t ground me. Sam says her dad sometimes makes her do time outs. I don’t like that part of having a dad. But if you want to make sure my boyfriend is worthy, that’s okay. My mom cried at that part when I read it to her.

“Amanda, what kind of friends does your kid have? Grounding sounds so mean. Do you do that?” He looked at her, a mock serious expression on his face.

“No, well, very rarely. One of the few times was when Cece ran into the street. She was three. I picked her up and gave her a time out for maybe ten minutes. I told her I never wanted her to do that again. You know how well she remembered that lesson.”

“Hmm. No wonder she mentioned it.”

“Is that all she wrote?”

“Nope. The pièce de résistance.”

You asked me if I approve that you love my mom. I know why you are asking me. And, since you saved her, I approve. In fact, I approve even if you didn’t save her. So that means you have to ask her to marry you.

He glanced over at Amanda. “And she ended with a PS.”

P.S. I didn’t read that last part of your letter to my mom. It will be our secret until you can come over and ask her. And if you want me not to be around, I’ll go over to Janet’s, or maybe you could take her to a movie and ask her then.

Amanda sat motionless, unable to speak.

Marcus turned to her. “So, now it’s my turn, now that you know that Cecelia approves.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “Amanda Gardner, I love you with all my heart and I want to marry you.Will you marry me?”

She reached for him and wept in his arms. He held her and rubbed her back before pulling away enough to hand her a tissue.

“Hey, hey, hey. I need an answer before I pass out from holding my breath,” he whispered.

She nodded and blew her nose, and nodded again.

“Nonverbal responses from an English major will not do,” he teased.

“Yes,” she said through her tears. “Yes, I will marry you.”

He clapped his hands. “Great! Now, we have to call Cecelia. I promised her I would let her know your answer as soon as you gave it to me.”

She dried her tears. “You two have been plotting this, haven’t you?”

“Of course! It took the two of us to pull it off. Why do you think Sam wanted Cece to sleep over tonight? We had to enlist her help so you wouldn’t have to get a babysitter.” He smirked lopsidedly at her. “I think your daughter has the makings of an FBI agent. She got that all arranged without ever telling Joan or Sam what I was up to.”

Amanda laughed. “Well, then, I guess we should open the champagne.”

“Not until we call her. I promised.”

“Okay.” She picked up the champagne bucket and he brought in her overnight bag. They punched the phone together.

Marcus pointed to it. “You better tell her—so she knows it’s for real.”