Page 84 of The Monster I Loved

Why the hell was it so hard to do this? The last time I proposed, I was promising forever and spinning tales of unconditional love. Ha! How naïve. We didn’t even make it a month.

“Thad? Need what?”

Summer had started calling me Thad again. Since I’d put that bullet in Clive, Thaddeus was the name she’d use for me, only taking breaks to call me a killer or monster.

“Thad!”

I blinked, trying to focus. “Well, I was saying...”

“Yes?”

Screw it, the words weren’t coming this time. I lifted the ring from my pocket. “You should have this back.”

Glancing from my face to the ring, Summer looked pained. Which I could understand. This ring had witnessed a lot in our relationship. The highs when we planned the future, the lows when I snatched it off her hand and told her to go to hell, and here it was again when I was eating crow and about to marry her. Shit! Maybe I should’ve gotten a new one.

Summer reached forward to take the ring. Instinctively, I pulled it back and grabbed her hand, returning the ring to the very place I’d ripped it off.

“Well, I guess it’s official now.”

Her words echoed my thoughts.

Holding Summer’s hand, I said, “Do you think we’re going to make it this time?”

Never in my life had I allowed myself to sound so vulnerable, to ask the woman who had my heart and baby what she forecasted for us in the future.

She flashed me a reassuring smile. “Why not? We deserve to be happy. Everyone else had a shot.”

I tightened my grip on her hand and pulled Summer to my chest. I held her for a while as if she and I were the only two people in existence.

“Thad?”

“Yes?”

“We should get back to work.”

When did she become such a studious employee?

I frowned. “Why?”

“I want to leave early to catch the entire parade.”

Ah! I nodded. Today was the day. The one Tarrytown and the neighboring town of Sleepy Hollow waited all year for. It was finally Halloween. Businesses closed ahead of schedule, letting parents head home early to get their kids into costumes.

“I didn’t forget. Let’s leave in an hour.”

Summer’s mouth fell. “Thad, you only just got here. It’s nearly lunchtime.”

“Since when did you care about making Fitzgerald a success?”

Summer opened and shut her mouth quickly, then wrinkles appeared on her forehead. “Well, my baby will own the majority stake. My husband will be the boss. I’m now invested.”

I grinned. “Good point. I’ll skip lunch, catch up on work, and meet you at the parade.”

Hours had passed by the time I finally grabbed my face paint, did the best skeleton I could, and drove over to Summer’s house to park my car. When she pulled the door open, we studied each other for a long while.

“Wait, how did you know I’d do face paint?” Summer asked.

We were matching, and people would think we’d arranged a couple’s costume.