Page 88 of One Killer Night

We’re the only two people in the world who know this secret. That tonight, after I surprise Goldie with her nearest and dearest for her surprise party, I plan to drop to a knee and ask the woman of my dreams to be my wife.

Some pots clang as a fire lights on the burners behind him.

Chase picks the bag up again, making more dollops. “So, is everything set? You got the lanterns? And the shoes?”

I start to answer, nodding, but I grimace as he pauses to open and flex his hand before abandoning the work.

He must follow my gaze because he groans. “Come on, stop looking like that. I’m fine. It just gets stiff, but that’ll go away.”

I give him a tight smile. “I just feel bad. It was my bike. And you could have died.”

He smirks, picking the icing bag up again. “Technically, I was standing on the street, not even on your bike. And your helmet saved my life. Plus, it got me laid. Irinka’s really into playing nursemaid.”

I laugh. “Ah yes, your new supermodel girlfriend.”

“Technically, not my girlfriend. She says what I do is murder ... ’cause of the meat. We are a tragic story of amazing bed chemistry and shitty food taste—it’s a tale as old as time.”

“Are you Beauty or the Beast?”

He grins. “Like you have to ask. I look amazing in yellow.”

We both laugh as I’m hit with another wave of nerves, probably stoked by what he previously asked. I rub a hand over my face, letting out an audible exhale.

He laughs. “Oh shit. Here comes the fear.”

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I’m fucking petrified. I literally dreamed last night that she said no in front of everyone. Just left me standing there.”

He scowls, rolling his eyes. “That would never happen. And I know we’re men and we don’t do feelings, but you two consistently prove to everyone around you that love is real. There’s nobody else for either of you. I’m really happy you found her, Noah. You deserve this kind of happiness, man ...”

We stare at each other, me nodding, both of us silently in the feels of it all until it starts to feel too awkward so he adds, “And fucking ‘Go Patriots, Brady,’ amirite?”

I smirk. “He’s retired, Chase.”

He grins. “I was born to make soufflé, not plays on a field, brother.”

“Anyway, I gotta go. I have to pick up the shoes from my office, then run by the store to get my ghost and then get home before her. They better have a flower sheet.”

He laughs to himself, not looking up, as he puts the finishing touches on her three-tier cake. “I can’t believe you’re re-creating the first night you met. T. rex and all. She won’t know what hit her.”

I smile as I stand from my stool. Chase looks up.

“Go down the list one more time. Just to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed.”

I rub my hands together, feeling the familiar flip happen in my stomach again.

“Okay. Evie’s told her that her work’s annual Halloween party is tonight, so Goldie thinks we’re going to that and celebrating her birthday this weekend. I suggested we go as our old costumes from last year, and she thought it was so cute, so no tipping anyone off there.”

“Dude, how fated is it that the girl’s birthday is a few days before Halloween?”

“Right?” I raise my brows in agreement as I continue. “You’ve got the bar and food setup handled.”

“Check and check. I am bringing my A-plus-plus game. I got a charcuterie board that’ll make the ladies want to offer up some charcoocherie.”

“This is why you can only date someone who doesn’t speak English.”

He shrugs like he doesn’t care.

I smile wider. “Speaking of women who hate you, Evie is on twinkle lights and music. At eight p.m., I will walk my girl down the same street we first kissed on, pretending the Uber can’t find our street, before we make our way to the park where we watched the sunrise. And after everyone screams ‘Surprise,’ I will lead her over to a champagne toast and then to open her first gift.”