Heat fills my cheeks. "Grandma!"
"That man loves you. It was all over his face."
Maybe it is the lack of sleep, or maybe the truthful way Duncan approaches every subject, but I can't go on lying to my family. "There's something you should know."
"You're pregnant," Mom says excitedly.
"No. Duncan and I didn't start dating last Christmas."
Both women look my direction in a strange unity of silence.
"We started dating after Scarlett's wedding."
Mom's expression fills with question as Grandma shakes her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she says.
"It wasn't real—when we were here before. We pretended."
"Child, like I said, I could hear your pretending all the way to my room. My teeth haven't ever been so clean."
I shake my head, pushing unwanted images of Grandma and her electric toothbrush out of my tired head. "It was pretend. It's not now."
We all turn as the room fills with the swish of an opening door. From where they're seated, Mom and Grandma can see the visitor first. As whomever it is approaches, their smiles grow. It's the flowers I see first.
Duncan extends the bouquet to my grandma. "Helen, for you."
As his cologne moves through the stale hospital air, I take him in. Duncan Willis is absolutely breathtaking. He's the GQ model compared to my rumpled appearance, courtesy of a full night of travels.
He leans down and kisses my grandma's cheek before turning my way and handing me a single daisy. "And for you. My first cross-country, mad search for my girlfriend. You could answer your phone."
I can't stop the smile. "It's dead."
"I had you chased down from JFK to Boston to Philly. Why would anyone have three layovers from New York to Indianapolis?"
"Because some of us don't have private planes."
"You would have if you'd have let me get it all set up."
I shake my head.
"Duncan," my mother says, "we were just talking about you."
"Judy, good to see you. And Helen..." He lifts her hand and kisses her knuckles. "You had us frightened."
"Son, I told you not to bullshit an old woman. I need a straight answer from you."
Duncan stands straight, his broad shoulders back and chest out. "Yes, ma'am."
"That story you told me about Kimberly Ann coming in your office. My granddaughter is telling us another story. Which one is true?"
His Adam's apple bobs as he looks from Grandma to me and back. "Both, ma'am. And...only one."
Her wrinkles grow deeper as she narrows her eyes. "Talk."
"The day your granddaughter walked into my office was the best day of my life, until the day when she thought she tricked me into coming with her to Scarlett's wedding as her plus-one, and every day since.
"The honest truth is that I let her think we were pretending so she'd notice me." He turns my way. "And I hope she notices me now."
Tears cascade down my cheeks as I nod. Damn sleep deprivation.
I gasp as all at once Duncan Willis turns my direction and falls to one knee.
What the hell is he doing?
In my grandmother's hospital room.
In front of my mom and grandma.
"Kimberly Ann..." His deep voice echoes through the room. "...I don't want to wait another minute to say this. I don't want you to move in with me for one day, plus-one, and plus another. I want you to live with me forever. I want to wake beside you and fall asleep there." He tilts his head toward the four large eyes watching from over his shoulder. "I want to be able to call your grandma Grandma Helen instead of just Helen. I'd like to be able to call Judy my mother-in-law. I want to be your plus-one forever and never, ever pretend again."
His eyes sparkle as my exhausted cheeks fill with pink. Obviously, our minds have gone to the same scene, one where we tried role-playing. I wasn't sure where it came from, but we both went with it...and well...
"Except when—" he says with a smirk.
I touch his lips, fearful he'll finish that sentence in front of my family.
I look around the small hospital room. The light green walls are slightly scuffed. Beside the bed is a bank of monitors with tubes. Outside the window, the sun shines bright in a sapphire blue sky as the Indianapolis skyline shimmers with the summer's heat. My mom has the tips of her fingers covering her lips while Grandma Helen is silent for what may be a record.
I swallow. "This isn't exactly how I pictured being proposed to."
Duncan's sexy smirk quirks as he reaches for the flower I forgot I was holding. "Our first proposal." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring. The band is bright gold and the stone is large and plastic. "I promise something nicer. This was the best they had in the gift shop and I didn't want to wait." His smile widens. "Do I get an answer?"
My head bobs as I reach for the inexpensive costume jewelry, wrap my arms around his neck, and breathe in his spicy cologne and cinnamon breath. "Yes. I want all of that, too."
When I loosen my embrace, I look into his eyes. "How did you get here so fast? I thought you had a meeting."
"Mike is taking care of everything. I tried reaching you. When I couldn't, I decided to come directly here."
"But how did you know where to come? Which hospital and room?"
"Kevin told me," Duncan says matter-of-factly.
My tired mind tries to process. "Kevin? You have my brother's number?"
"And mine," Mom says.
"And mine," Grandma chimes in.
"You've been talking to my family?"
"I should have asked your dad in person, but when I make up my mind, I don't wait. I seize the opportunity."
Chapter Thirty
Duncan
Nearly a year later
The stained-glass windows cast colorful hues over the congregation as I take a deep breath and steady my stance.
"Don't faint," Mike whispers.
I shake my head as Mike and Kevin laugh at their own personal joke.
Shana smiles at us as she steps to her designated maid-of-honor spot.
"You're supposed to be here supporting me," I remind both Mike and Kevin in a whisper as the music grows louder and everyone stands.
"Dunc, man. You'll make this."
Kevin's nickname makes me smile as I take in the crowd. My parents are standing at the front pew, smiling approvingly my way. Trevor and his latest girlfriend are seated one row back with Kelli and the kids. In true, unattached-Willis style, my brother's eyes have been on Shana more than on the woman by his side.
On the other side of the aisle is Judy, her cheeks ready to split from alternating between smiling and crying. She has Grandma Helen beside her on one side and a space for Oscar on the other. Susan and baby Matthew are one row behind. Out farther, I see other familiar faces and many tiny heads. In the last year, Scarlett and Kurt have had a little girl, while Jimmy and Sheila had a boy. Jimmy can't stop talking about him, and neither can his big sister.
A lump forms in my throat as the door at the back of the church opens and Kimbra and Oscar come into view. It's my vision from over a year ago, but better. That's what Kimbra is to me, my every fantasy but more.