“So what would you like for dinner?”
“It’ll have to be some place quiet. It’s Saturday night, and we don’t have reservations. You know how rough that can be at the hot spots.”
Mick made a face as he turned off their street. “No joke. Have you been craving anything? Mexican? Thai? Indian?”
Whitney’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not sure I’m up for all that spiciness tonight.”
“What about that yummy burger place that does the upscale sliders?”
“Oh! The place where Eddie took us, right? Oh my god. They had the best beer there!”
“It was Czech I think.”
“Sorry you’re driving tonight.”
Mick laughed. “Yeah, sucks for me.”
“Too bad Eddie had that training thing this weekend. He’s going to be so pissed when he finds out we ate at his fave burger joint.”
Mick shrugged. “So take him next week. I switch to nights on Monday, so he’ll have you all to himself most nights for the next few months.” He reached over and held Whitney’s hand. “I’m glad we’re getting out tonight. Kind of a last hurrah.”
Whitney pouted. “I wish you weren’t switching around your schedule.”
“Maggie’s baby is due in the next five weeks, and I feel like it’s the right thing to do to give her days for a while. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier for her and Charlie to deal with daycare and all that if she isn’t on nights.”
Although Whitney hated the wrench this new scheduling would throw in their routine, she secretly was happy Mick had stepped up to help out his colleague. A lot of men probably wouldn’t have given up their cushy day schedule that they’d earned via seniority for a new mama. It spoke volumes about how much Mick valued family.
Mick eyed her as they sat at a red light. “What you thinking about, Whit?”
“You. Chivalry. Kindness.” She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. “Stuff like that.”
“Aw,” he said with a playful gleam in his eye. “I’m touched.”
She snorted. “You’re a dork.” She pointed to a side street. “There’s better parking on that side, remember. Eddie even found a space for his truck.”
“The man is like a walking GPS. Knows every street, every shortcut, every construction zone.” Mick shook his head as they looked for parking. “Don’t know what we’d do without him.”
“Get lost. A lot.” She spotted an open space. “There’s one!”
Mick hit his blinker and scooted into the space. Whitney checked her lipstick as she waited for him to come around and open up her door. It was one of those things that it seemed only Mick and Eddie did. In all her years of dating, no other man, save those two, had opened her car door.
His hand settled in the small of her back as they headed into the cozy little place. There was a mixed crowd, mostly dates it seemed, and most dressed to head out for dancing or a movie or maybe even the theater. They were seated in a corner booth and ordered their drinks, peach iced tea for Mick and a beer for Whitney.
“Look at all these people on their damn cell phones.” Mick frowned as he scanned the restaurant. “That is so rude.”
Whitney caught sight of a nearby diner’s phone. “They’re playing that word game. I hear it’s addicting.”
“Word game?”
Whitney leaned across and plucked his cell phone from the inside pocket of his jacket where he’d tucked it away before leaving the house. She went straight to the app market, located the game, and selected the free version. While she waited for it to download, she tried to go back to the main screen but accidently swiped her finger twice and went a screen too far. Internet search results for engagement rings popped up.
“Shit,” Mick swore and quickly took the phone from her. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
“Um…sorry?” Her mind reeled. Engagement rings? Did Mick want to marry her? Or was he helping Eddie shop?
Stunningly, Whitney discovered the idea of getting engaged, of marrying one or both of them, no longer scared her. If anything, it lent her an amazing sense of calm and completeness. With everything they’d been through, there was no doubt in Whitney’s mind they all belonged together. All those other things that had troubled her, the logistics of kids and the views of others, no longer mattered. She’d come to the realization that she couldn’t live her life in fear of offending or making others uncomfortable. If she was happy, that’s all that mattered.
“So…er…yeah.” Mick rubbed the back of his neck. He looked incredibly uncomfortable. Even his cheeks were flushed. “I guess I’ve, uh, ruined the surprise.”
“No.” Whitney touched his fingers. “I ruined the surprise. That’s what I get for messing around on your phone.”
Mick humphed. “So…uh…well. I mean, you know.” He growled in aggravation as he fought to find the right words. “Are we totally off base here? Are we going too fast?”
She shook her head. “No. Just right.”
Mick visibly relaxed. “Okay. Great.”
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but have you two decided which one of you will do the proposing?” It was a heavy conversation topic, so Whitney tried to lighten the mood. “Are you going to Rock, Paper, Scissors for me?”
Mick threw back his head and laughed. “Honestly, it may come to that. Of course, I’ll have to cheat.”
“To win?”
“To lose,” Mick clarified as the waiter returned with their drinks.
Thrown by that admission, Whitney stumbled through her order. When the waiter left, she stared at Mick. “Why don’t you want me?”
His eyes snapped wide open. He hurriedly grasped her hand. “Whitney, that is so totally not what I meant. God, I love you so much. You are everything to me.”
“But?” She couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t want a chance to be her husband if he loved her so much.
“But marriage isn’t as important to me as it is to Eddie.” He winced as he spoke. “I know how terrible that sounds, but it’s true. To me, marriage is just a piece of paper. I love you just as much today as I will tomorrow and fifty years from now. I don’t need someone else to tell me our commitment is ‘real.’” He drew air quotes. “What we have is already real enough for me.”
“I see.” And she did. Whitney understood his view. It made sense for a man like Mick, but Eddie? No, Eddie was a very traditional sort of man.
“Eddie needs to get married. He needs the wedding and the rings and all that jazz. He wants to give his last name to the woman he loves. It’s very important to him.” Mick squeezed her hand. “And because it’s important to him, it’s important to me.”
Whitney melted as Mick explained his reasoning. “You’re a good man, you know that?”
He cocked his head and bobbed his shoulders. “Yeah, that’s what I hear.”
“You realize I’m going to have crazy, wild sex with you when we get home, right?” Mick spluttered into his drink at her brazen confession. She laughed and picked up her beer. “But first dinner and then dancing.”
Eddie leaned his head against the tile and let the hard, pounding spray knead his aching muscles. His wrists and ankles itched something fierce. Damn chiggers and mosquitos! The training grounds had been swarming with the evil little bastards. Thank god they’d finished up their night-assault drills early and had been cut loose. They were lucky to have made it out alive. If they didn’t all come down with West Nile virus, Eddie would be stunned.
He switched off the water and grabbed a towel. He dried off and draped the wet towel over the rack. He didn’t bother with clothing. Home alone, there didn’t seem to be much point. Instead he padded into Mick’s dark bedroom and flopped down in the center of the humongous bed. The ceiling fan spun overhead and cooled his still-overheated body.