I nod. “Nice everything, right? Think JoJo will like it?”
“Looks like you’ve bought yourself eight thousand square feet of suburban bliss. Domestication waits right around the corner.” He grins.
“Fuck you, man.”
It’s been three days.
Three long, drawn out days of waiting for JoJo to answer my proposal.
I never imagined asking a woman to marry me. I still can hardly believe I’m backed into this corner. But, if there were ever a girl I’d want to marry, it’d be Josephina Jordan.
Her appearance in my life out of nowhere, after all these years, right when I need her, is like Providence smiling down on me.
It’s a sign. She’s the right one for this short-term job.
Now I have to convince her of that.
I tug at the knot at my neck, trying to loosen the noose of my tie. Swallowing my fear and the urge to head for the hills, I press the cheap plastic button.
Stevie answers. “You rang?”
“Is JoJo here?”
“You mean Jo, right?”
“JoJo.”
She steps out onto the porch and pulls the door closed behind her.
She tips the bouquet of flowers I hold toward her, checking the contents of the plastic sleeve. “Piece of advice, Romeo?”
I shrug. “I’m getting it whether I want it or not, I imagine.”
“You want her to marry you, and for convenience—your convenience—not for love or any of the things she’s hoped for since she was six years old and pretended to walk down the aisle with a towel bobby-pinned to her hair in place of a veil. Right?”
Oh, boy. Here it comes. “Yeah.”
“If you want her to say yes, you might want to call her by the name she chooses, not the name you tagged her with when you were ten.” She leans against the door, arms crossed, expression matter-of-fact. “You do want her to say yes, right?”
I look to the ceiling of their tiny porch. “Fine. Is Jo here? I’d like to see her.”
“I’ll ask if she’s available.” Stevie sweeps into the house with a flourish and slams the door in my face.
Two older women speed-walk along the other side of the street, eyeing me and talking to one another out of the sides of their mouths as they pass by.
I wave. “Hello, ladies. Lovely day we’re having.”
A sudden gust of wind grabs the flowers from my hand, beating them into a trail of petals and leaves across the yard. All I can do is watch as Providence stomps on the confidence I had that JoJo would agree to be my wife and solve all of my problems.
“What do you want?”
I force a charming grin as I turn to JoJo. “There she is, the woman of my dreams.”
She props her hands on her hips. “There he is, the man of my nightmares. What do you want, Ty?
I straighten my tie again, holding it against my chest in an attempt to keep it from beating into my face as the breeze picks up. I indicate the smashed bouquet, now trapped in the neighbors’ bushes. “I brought flowers. Sorry. I guess I should have held on tighter.”
She glances at the flapping plastic still guarding the bunch of battered flower stems. “Again…what do you want?”
I take her in. From her thick, black hair to her smooth olive complexion, the delicate shell of her ears to the curve of her full lips. “You look beautiful today, Jo.”
Her eyes narrow. “Jo? Beautiful? Suit and tie? You’re working awfully hard at this.”
“I don’t have to work hard. You know you’re going to marry me. So just tell me yes already, and let’s get hitched.” I step closer, leaning to nuzzle her neck.
“What makes you think I’m going to say yes? Does this look like the face of a woman who wants to marry you?” She pushes me away.
JoJo’s stare would cave in a lesser man’s spirits. Not mine.
“It looks like the face of my future wife.” I grab her hand and drag her down the porch steps. “C’mon, I have something to show you.”
“But I don’t have any shoes on!”
I stop.
Sure enough, her pretty little feet are bare.
She tugs her hand, trying to free it from my grasp.
“No need for shoes.” I sweep her into my arms. “I’ll just carry you.”
Her hands lock behind my neck but her feet flail. “Let me down, Tyson Masters.”
“In a few seconds.” I heft her tighter against me and carry her to my car. Only when she’s been deposited into the passenger seat do I turn her loose. “I told you, I want to show you something.”
“So you’re kidnapping me?” JoJo crosses her arms, frowning at me.
“No. I’m simply taking you for a ride that will end with you saying yes to my proposal.”