Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Luca nudges his grumpy counterpart next to him, Levi. “Back me up, brother. Rome’s acting super weird, right?”
Levi shrugs. “Rome always acts weird to me. I honestly don’t understand him at all.”
We all laugh, even me.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say, realizing I’ve got to give Luca something, or he’s never going to let it go. “I’ve got a business-related question for Marco. He did a deal that’s similar to something I’m contemplating.”
“What deal?” Cameron says, his brow furrowed.
Fuck. In this context, I forgot to think of Cameron as my agent, rather than my longtime best friend. My God, having that ring in my pocket is doing dastardly things to my brain.
“That was a lie,” I confess on an exhale. “I need some relationship advice from Marco, and I didn’t want to say that and have everyone think—”
“You’re already thinking about breaking up with Iris?” Levi whisper-shouts, thereby proving the truth of his earlier statement. He doesn’t understand me at all.
“No, dummy,” Luca interjects, taking the words right out of my mouth. “He wants to propose to her, and he wants Marco’s advice about how to do it.”
Fucking Luca. I look around frantically. “Not so loud, Luc. Jesus.”
Luca gasps. “Oh my God. I’m right?”
I nod. “But don’t tell anyone, especially Mom.” My heart thrumming, I grab Marco’s arm and drag him away, but not before throwing over my shoulder to Luca and the rest, “Nobody follow us. I don’t want anyone else’s opinion about this but Marco’s.”
Thankfully, nobody follows us. For now, anyway. Which means Marco and I are free to grab fresh beers and head into the glorious sunshine on my deck. Once we’re alone, we crack open the beers, plop onto some comfy furniture, and look out at the glimmering ocean.
“Luca was seriously right?” Marco asks, incredulously.
I nod. “I’ve never been happier in my life. She’s the real deal, man. A unicorn.”
“Holy shit. When are you gonna ask her?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Initially, I was thinking about doing it on Iris’s birthday next month. But now that I’ve got the ring—”
“You’ve already got a ring?” Marco palms his forehead. “Holy shit.”
“I got it yesterday. And now that I have it, I’m not sure I can wait a month and a half to give it to her.” I glance toward the party to make sure nobody is coming out here before returning to Marco. “What do you think about me doing it today, either at the party or after everyone leaves?”
Marco frowns. “Don’t you think you’re moving a bit fast here, Rome?”
“When you know, you know.”
“Yeah, I get that. I felt the same way about Nico. But don’t you think maybe you should let Iris get in the swing of the WAG lifestyle before you make her promise to love you forever? Why not ask when the season is over? By then, she’ll know what she’s getting into, and you’ll be better able to assess if she’s really—”
“She is. Whatever you’re going to say, don’t bother. She’s the one, Marco. So, why wait? I couldn’t sleep a wink last night knowing I had that ring in my safe. And having it in my pocket today is practically giving me a heart attack.”
Marco’s eyes widen. “You have it in your pocket?”
I nod. “Just in case.”
“In case what?”
“The perfect moment presents itself.”
“To propose?”
“That’s what we’ve been talking about. Yes.”
Marco looks stunned. “Who are you? The Roman I know doesn’t even like to commit to lunch next week.”
I look toward the party again. “I know this is uncharted territory for me, but I don’t have a single doubt. Not when it comes to Iris. She’s rock-solid, man. She’s The One.”
Marco smiles. “That’s great news, man. Congratulations. But it’s still early days yet, cuz. If she’s The One—”
“She is.”
“—then she’ll still be The One in six months.”
“Six months?” I whisper-shout. “I can’t wait that long. Coach said he’s gonna let me play a drive at our last preseason game in two weeks. Well, when that happens and the cameras pan to the people cheering me on in my box, I want Iris to be wearing my rock. Marco, I want the Runaway Bride to be my fiancée, my future wife, when the whole world sees her.”
“Ah, so that’s what this is really about. When you hard launch her, you want to put an immediate end to all the trolling, once and for all.”
“Exactly. There’s gonna be record eyeballs tuning in to see me in a Thunderbolts jersey for the first time, man. So, it’ll be the perfect time to let the whole world know the Runaway Bride is my future wife—my family—so if anyone’s got something shitty to say about her, they’d better have the balls to say it to me.”
“Hasn’t her viral fame pretty much dried up, though?”