Page 194 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

Me.

It was a testament to how tired I was that I hadn’t recognized why they were in the water sooner. I was simply…overwhelmed, by my call with my dad, my own guilt and worries, and the fact that George looked like a very fuckable parachute.

George’s eyes went wide, dark from a distance, gaze meeting mine.

For a second, the world came to a stop.

The steady lap of the water near my feet ceased to exist. The twitter of birds in the trees was non-existent. The echo of voices and splashes as the wedding party dug through the shallows was nothing but background noise.

There was only George.

George.

Who looked…exhausted.Fuck. Dark circles beneath his eyes, his hair sticking up in messy tufts, lips chapped and dry. He was sunburnt. The collar of my shirt swooped low enough over his shoulder the hickey-bite-riddled skin was unprotected.

There was this feeling in my chest.

Like a balloon expanding.

Larger, larger, larger.

“Baby, what the fuck are you doing?” I called out, even though the part of me that wasn’t frozen had already figured it out.

“I’m taking a swim because I like it,” George snarked with a grumpy eyebrow flicker. “Surrounded by…” he shuddered. “Invisiblesnakes.” His eyes narrowed toward the water like he expected it to be teeming with them.

His grimple was back.

Wet hands went to his hips, his posture nothing short of pure annoyance, he turned his ire back on me. I swear to god, if he stomped I was going to marry him right then and there—whether or not it meant showing up my sister during her wedding.

George didn’t stomp.

Which was good—you know, because I didn’t want June to snip my balls off—but it was also atotalshame.

“Are you looking for my watch?” I inquired, heart skipping a beat.

It was the only logical conclusion.

There was no other reasonGeorgewould be in the water like this. His cheeks were flushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was the sun, or because he was embarrassed to be so quickly caught out. Either way, he was adorable.

“Nosy bastard,” George muttered under his breath. “You weren’t supposed to come down yet.”

Jesus Christ.

Hereallywas out here—doing something he fucking hated—just to…to…

“I decided last night that it was gone for good. There’s really no need toput this much work in. Or to make yourself uncomfor—” I started, only for him to cut me off.

“Fuck that. And fuckyoufor telling me that when I’m already standing waist-deep in fish poop.” Okay.Nowthere was a stomp. “You said the watch isimportantto you. So I’m going to find it. Stop trying to talk me out of it. I already made up my mind. You’ll lose, and you’ll just piss me off.”

That balloon expanded even more.

Wider, wider.

Till I could barely breathe around it.

“Marry me,” I moaned—far too loud, considering we were only ten feet from both of our nosy matchmaking families. Joe’s eyes widened comically. George splashed me instead of saying yes. Which again, proved the lengths he’d go to for…for…

For what?

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