"Not if it's going to make you unhappy. I'll settle for what we have right now."
"It's all about me then?"
"Isn't it always?" She jokes.
"No. Not anymore." I slip my hand into my pocket. I hoped I'd come up with some amazing way to do this, something that would blow her mind. But sometimes, like right now, less is more.
"If it's all about me," I take her left hand and pull the ring out of my pocket. "Nothing would make me happier than if you'll agree to be my wife."
She doesn't answer. Instead she cries. She smiles and cries harder than I've ever seen. I kiss away the salty tears as they stream down her face, knowing I achieved my goal. I did it. I wowed her.
Chapter 28
Two months later
"I have everything written down here," I hand Noah the list as Selene places Jaxson in Lexi's arms. "He doesn't get the antibiotic again until the morning. And when you feed him, don't bounce him around, I learned the hard way, he gets really gassy."
"Got it." Noah gives me a funny look.
"And you have to sing to him when you put him to bed for the night. And don't let him cry. He gets pissed when you do that."
"We got it, Coop," Lexi says.
"And the pediatrician's number is on the refrigerator."
"Oh my God, man, would you get out of here already!" Noah raises his voice.
“Bye, buddy. I’m going to miss you so much, Jax.” I say as I kiss his head.
"I really wish you guys could be there," Selene says giving my sister a hug.
"I know, but someone has to stay with Jaxson, and there's no way Cooper would let Mom take care of him."
We planned this since Selene and Jaxson came home from the hospital. I wanted to marry her right then and there, but Selene wanted the white dress and everything that goes along with it. As part of my resolution to make her the happiest woman in the world, I couldn't deny her, so we waited until we could get it all together.
We were leery about flying with a baby to begin with, but two days ago when he came down with an ear infection, we decided to cancel our Las Vegas ceremony. Unfortunately because it was so close to the date, and we paid to have our families flown out there to be with us, we would've lost all the money we put down in deposits. That and my family wanted this for me almost as much as I did, so Noah and Lexi agreed to stay behind and take care of Jaxson. There's no one else in the world I'd trust him with overnight.
"If anything's wrong, call us immediately and we'll come right home."
"Not until you get this done. Understand?" Noah gives me a stern look. He doesn't have to. Whether it's in Vegas or in the little chapel in my building, I'm going to marry Selene.
We spend another five minutes saying goodbye to our little man who doesn't seem to have a care in the world.
"Okay,” I look at Selene. Ready?"
She's giddy, and her blue eyes are twinkling like stars in the sky. Did I really just think that? When the fuck did I become such a sap?
"Ready!"
"Let's do this!" I say picking up our suitcases and heading to the door.
"You look good holding him. So what do you think? You want one?" I stop dead in my tracks and hold up my hand signaling for Selene to wait.
"What a baby?" Lexie answers.
"Baby? Husband? Happily ever after?"
He's doing it. He's finally doing it. Son of a bitch has been carrying that ring around with him for months waiting for the right moment.
"What? Like ever?" Lexi asks with a nervous giggle.
Noah's not saying anything. I wonder if he's chickening out. I give him a look. If I could do it so could he.
"Like as soon as you agree to be my wife." He drops down on one knee and holds the little black velvet box open for her.
"Yes!" Lexi squeals. "Yes, yes, yes!"
I wink at Noah before yelling out behind me. "Hey, no engagement sex in my bed!"
"That's okay, baby," I hear Noah say loud enough for me to hear. "There's always the couch."
Thank you for reading Man Up Playboy If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on the site where you purchased it, and recommend it to a friend!
Continue reading for an excerpt of Man Up Party Boy
Other books by Danielle Sibarium
For Always (Eternity 1)
And Forever (Eternity 2)
The Heart Waves Series
Heart Waves (1) (Free)
Breaking Waves (2)
Waves of Love (3)
Stand Alones
To My Hero: A Blog of Our Journey Together
Into You
Regret Me Not
Man Up Party Boy
Man Up Playboy
Man Up Husband (winter 2015/2016)
Chapter 1
Noah
"You're kidding." He has to be joking. "Please tell me this is your lame attempt at humor." Cooper may be my best friend, but right now, if he was standing in front of me I'd put his head through a glass window.
"No, dude. I'm serious."
"Italy?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't pass this shit up. It's a free trip. As in, I'm not paying for airfare or the hotel."
"That doesn't sound like 'Sorry, Noah, I'm just fucking with you.' Doesn't sound like it at all." I crumple a piece of paper on my desk and toss it at the trash can. I miss. Great. Another sign that this is going to be a fucking awesome day. Not.
Three months of planning-- talking to realtors and giving them our parameters to find the perfect rental-- down the drain. We had to act fast and jump on the deal when we found the house on the boardwalk. It's right off the beach. Not too close to any sort of activity so it affords us privacy, and not too far from it either so we could drink all we want and not have to worry about getting in a car to drive anywhere. And now what? My best friend is dicking me over for a last minute trip to Italy with his flavor of the month.
"It was a non-refundable deposit, and unlike you, I'm not fucking flight attendants that can whisk me off to Europe or some exotic country. I can't afford to flush a grand down the toilet."
I didn't like the idea of pre-paying and giving extra money up front for security, but we wanted to close the deal. It's a house, not a cheap piece of crap bungalow, or a shitty hotel room. This is a house complete with dishes, linens and nothing but a strip of boardwalk separating us from the sandy, New Jersey beach.