Page 118 of Men or Paws

I nodded. “Sure is. I had no idea those two liked each other.”

Holly pointed toward the bar. “Actually, I was talking about those two.”

Beth and I followed the direction of her hand.

Houdini and Sage were still cuddling together underneath the bar.

“Oh, my goodness, that is the sweetest thing,” Beth said, aiming her phone to take a picture.

“I’ll be back—I need to use the ladies’ room,” Holly said, walking away.

Josh came over and watched Holly enter the bathroom on the other side of the wine bar, then quickly turned toward us and kept his voice low. “Okay, I only have a minute before Holly comes back. Tomorrow night is the night. I’m going to propose.”

“Yes!” Beth screamed and lunged for her brother, hugging him.

Josh winced and pulled away, putting a finger to his lips. “Keep it down, please.”

She jumped up and down and pretended to scream without any volume. “I can’t help it. Finally!” She stepped forward and squeezed her brother’s hands. “Give me the scoop really quick. What’s the plan? Do you need my help?”

Josh glanced back toward the bathroom, then back at Beth. “Okay, I’m going to do it on stage at the comedy club right before I finish my routine. I need you guys to pick her up and get her there.”

“Done,” Beth said.

“Great. Just give them your name at the box office. You’ll have a reserved table up front, and I’ll call Holly up to the stage right after my set onPissing for Dummies.”

Beth studied her brother. “You wrote a set on pissing?”

Josh shrugged. “What can I say, it just flowed right out of me.” He laughed, then pointed to me. “You’ll be there, right?”

“Hey, I wouldn’t miss it,” I said. “It’s not every day I get to see a live wedding proposal.”

Josh nodded. “Hopefully, I won’t flub it up.”

I slapped him on the back. “You’ll be fine.”

Beth reached over and squeezed my hand. “Here comes Holly. Everyone act natural.”

I laughed. “You’re the only one who looks like she’s going to hyperventilate.”

Holly approached, her gaze popping back and forth between the three of us. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Beth blurted out. “Nothing at all.”

Holly placed her hands on her hips. “Were you talking about me?”

“No. We were talking about Douglas and Gwen. They make a cute couple, don’t they?”

I nodded, hoping to help Beth. “They sure do.”

Beth’s eyes positively glittered.

“I agree,” Josh happily said, turning to Holly. “Do you want to bowl another game?”

“Sure.” Holly smiled. “I’d love to.”

“Great,” Josh said, grasping her hand and making his escape.

We watched them walk off, then I turned to Beth and chuckled. “Are you sure you can keep the proposal a surprise for twenty-four hours? You look more excited than Josh.”