Page 47 of Perfect Guy
What he doesn’t know is that lately, I catch myself thinking about it often.
“Bye, Madelyn. Call me later.”
“I will. Bye.” I hang up, wishing we could talk longer.
Joy and Hallie arrive a couple of minutes after, just enough time to get myself under control.
“Hey,” I smile and stand, hugging them both.
We plan to talk about Hallie’s bachelorette party. She and Wilder don’t want to celebrate the traditional party, but we want them to have every celebration that comes with getting married. It’s cutting close since their wedding is in four weeks.
We order our coffees and catch up on our week. When Joy glances at me after small talk, I give her a subtle nod.
“We were thinking about your bachelorette party. Now, I know you don’t want one, but hear us out. We could have drinks and dinner at my house, get all the fun games and decorations. The guys can do the same in your house. After, if we want, we can go to Pony Up and watch Tucker play.” It’s a laid-back plan, but we’ll have all the fun that comes with a bachelorette party.
Hallie sighs. “You two aren’t going to let this go.”
“Nope,” I shake my head. “This is a compromise. I wanted to go into the city and rent a hotel room for the night. Maybe even a weekend escape to another town.”
“No strippers, promise,” Joy holds her hand up like a boy scout.
“Ugh,” Hallie tosses her head back. “Honestly, Wilder and I don’t care about that. We just want to get married.”
“I know, but think about the future. You’ll look back and talk about your wedding. Your kids will ask about your bachelorette party, and you’ll have to say you were boring and didn’t want one,” I say.
Hallie tilts her head with a smile. “Or I’ll explain that there’s more to marriage than a party with fun games. That’s just an event, but love is deeper than one night of fun. It’s a life-long commitment we choose to make with the person we love.”
“Darn, that was a good response,” I sigh, taking a sip of my coffee.
“All that is true, I get it.” Joy nods with a smile. “But it will be fun and make an amazing memory as part of your journey together. We’ll meet up with the guys at Pony Up after.”
“I’ll talk to Wilder tonight,” Hallie surrenders.
Joy smiles at me with a thumbs up.
“Now, tell us what’s going on with Canaan,” Hallie smiles sweetly, but I know that she’s purposefully putting the attention on me.
“Yup, we’re curious about everything. Well, not everything. Please keep some things to yourself. He is my brother.” Joy’s face screws, and I throw my head back on a cackle.
I catch them up on Canaan, and it’s pretty much everything they already know. We’re dating.
“I like him a lot, but we’re taking it day by day, I guess. I don’t know. It’s like every new relationship.”
They both nod in understanding, and we change subjects. Joy tells us about new pastries and sweets she’s going to try this coming week. Hallie shares her excitement about the wedding. It feels like she and Wilder have been engaged forever when it’s really just been a few months. Maybe it’s because Hallie has felt like a part of our family for way longer.
After coffee, we say our goodbyes. Instead of heading back to the ranch behind Hallie, I make a haste decision to visit Canaan. I’m still thinking about our conversation from earlier, and I don’t want to wait until tomorrow night to see him.
I pull up to his house a few blocks from Town Square. My heart slams as excitement rolls through me. I hope he doesn’t mind. Checking my face in the rearview mirror, I twirl my hair around my fingers and step out of my truck. The heavy door slams loudly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Canaan came out to see who was at his house.
I pull a hand out of my shorts’ back pocket to knock. Rocking back on the heels of my boots, I wait for Canaan to answer. When the door swings open, his eyebrows lift in surprise before a wide smile covers his face.
“Hey.” He stares at me as if I’ll disappear.
“Hi.” I chew on my lip as my eyes sweep down his body. He’s wearing grey sweatpants that hang low on his hips, an old t-shirt, and his feet are bare.
“What…” he shakes his head. “Come in.”
“I wanted to surprise you. It seems as if I have,” I laugh.