Entwined With You

heard from him since Friday, and I’m driving myself crazy wondering if he picked up anyone while doing his bachelor barhopping thing.”
    “Eww.”
    “I know, right? It’s just not cool worrying about if the guy you’re sleeping with is shagging someone else.”
    I couldn’t help but be reminded of my earlier conversation with Cary. “Me and Ben and Jerry’s are only a phone call away. Holler if you need us.”
    “Is that your secret?” She gave a short laugh. “What flavor got you over Gideon Cross?”
    “I’m not over him,” I admitted.
    She nodded sagely. “I knew that. But you had fun on Saturday, right? And he’s an idiot, by the way. One day, he’s going to figure that out and coming crawling back.”
    “He called my mom over the weekend,” I said, leaning over the desk and lowering my voice. “Asking about me.”
    “Whoa.” Megumi leaned forward, too. “What did he say?”
    “I don’t know the details.”
    “Would you get back together with him?”
    I shrugged. “I can’t say. Depends on how well he grovels.”
    “Totally.” She high-fived me. “Your hair looks great, by the way.”
    Ithanked her and headed to my cubicle, mentally preparing my request to take off from work if my dad called. I’d barely turned the corner at the end of the hall when Mark bounded out of his office with a huge grin.
    “Oh my God.” I stopped midstep. “You look insanely happy. Let me guess. You’re engaged!”
    “I am!”
    “Yay!” I dropped my purse and bag on the floor and clapped. “I’m so excited for you! Congratulations.”
    Bending down, he picked up my stuff. “Come into my office.”
    He gestured me in ahead of him, then closed the glass door behind us.
    “Was it tough?” I asked him, taking a seat in front of his desk.
    “Toughest thing I’ve ever done.” Mark handed me my bags. Sinking into his chair, he rocked back and forth. “And Steven let me stew over it. Can you believe that? He knew all along I was going to propose. Said he could tell by how I freaked out I was.”
    I grinned. “He knows you well.”
    “And he waited a minute or two before he answered me. And let me tell you, it seemed like hours.”
    “I bet. So was all of his anti-marriage talk a front?”
    He nodded, still grinning. “His pride took a hit when I put him off before, so he wanted a little payback. Said he’d always known I’d come around eventually. Wanted to make me work for it when I finally did.”
    It sounded like Steven, who was playful and gregarious. “So where did you pop the question?”
    He laughed. “I couldn’t do it somewhere with atmosphere, right? Like the candlelit restaurant or the nice dark bar after the show. No, I had to wait until the limo dropped us off at home at the end of the night and we were standing outside our brownstone and I knew I was going to lose my chance. So I just blurted it out right there on the street.”
    “I think that’s really romantic.”
    “Ithink
you’re
a romantic,” he shot back.
    “Who cares about wine and roses? Anyone can do that. Showing somebody you can’t live without them?
That’s
romance.”
    “As usual, you make a good point.”
    I blew on my nails and buffed them on my shirt. “What can I say?”
    “I’ll let Steven give you all the details at lunch on Wednesday. He’s told the story so many times already, he’s got the delivery down pat.”
    “I can’t wait to see him.” As excited as Mark was, I was sure Steven was bouncing off the walls. The big, muscled contractor had a personality as vibrant as his bright red hair. “I’m so thrilled for you both.”
    “He’s going to rope you into helping Shawna with the planning, you know that, right?” He sat up and set his elbows on the table. “Besides his sister, he’s recruiting every woman we know. I’m sure the whole thing will be over-the-top craziness all the way.”
    “Sounds fun!”
    “You say that now,” he warned, his dark eyes laughing. “Let’s grab some coffee and get this week started, shall we?”
    I stood. “Um, I hate to ask this, but my dad is making an emergency trip into the city this week. I’m not sure when he’ll be coming in. It could be today. I’ll need to pick him up and get him settled when he arrives.”
    “Do you need to take some time off?”
    “Just to get him situated in my apartment. A few hours at most.”
    Mark nodded. “You said ‘emergency trip.’ Is everything all right?”
    “It will be.”
    “Okay. I