Page 51 of Revelation

14

JOSH

“Excuse me, fellas,” Sarah says, scooting back from the dining room table. “Gonna head to the ladies’ room.”

When she stands up from the table, Uncle William stands, too, which prompts Jonas and me to do the same.

Sarah smiles shyly. “Wow, so chivalrous, fellas. Golly gosh. Thank you.”

The minute Sarah’s left the dining room and the three of us have settled back into our chairs, Uncle William leans forward, his blue eyes fixed on Jonas. “You gonna marry this girl?” he asks.

I’m utterly shocked by the question. I mean, I know Uncle William is an old-fashioned kind of guy and all, and Sarah’s obviously an incredible girl, and a perfect fit for Jonas, too, but Jonas only just met her, for fuck’s sake. There’s no way in hell Jonas is eventhinkingabout taking a giant leap likemarriage—

“Absolutely,” Jonas answers smoothly. “As soon as humanly possible, in fact.”

Uncle William chuckles and leans back in his chair. “Glad to hear it. Congratulations, son. Don’t let this one get away. I loved her the minute I met her.”

Jonas nods. “Me, too.”

I’m in total shock right now. I knew Jonas was head over heels in love with Sarah, but I had no idea he was ready tomarryher.

“You’re sure, Jonas?” I ask.

“Never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“That’s awesome, bro,” I say, my heart racing. “Does she know?”

“No,” Jonas says, suddenly looking anxious. “Am I supposed toaskher if I canaskher?”

I laugh. “No, Jonas, you dumbshit,” I say. “That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying if you’re gonna surprise the girl, then make sure you blow her socks off. This is the story she’s gonna be telling her grandkids one day. So don’t fuck it up.”

Jonas nods, but I’ve clearly put the fear of God into him.

I lean back in my chair, my mind reeling. I can’t believe it. My brother’s gonna ask a girl to marry him. And not just any girl. Sarah Fucking Cruz—a badass of epic proportions. A girl who doesn’t take any of his shit. A girl with a heart of pure gold.

All of a sudden, I feel an overwhelming surge of relief flooding my body. Jonas is gonna have awife. Holy shit. Someone to love him forever—and someone for him to love in return. He’ll finally have someone (besides me) to take care of him, to listen to him, to rein him in when his thoughts start spiraling out of control. And he’ll finally have someone besides me to tell him he’s a beast every fucking day of his life.

If Sarah says yes, that is.

Oh my God. I clutch my chest. Sarah Cruz had better say yes to my brother. Oh, please, God, let that woman say yes. Let her look past Jonas’ fuckeduppedness and stupidity and constant Plato-izing and see what I see—the greatest guy in the whole fucking world.

“You’ve got to get a huge-ass ring,” I blurt. “So big, it sears her fucking corneas.”

Jonas nods. “Well, duh.”

“You say that but you weren’t already planning to do that, were you?”

“Yes, I was. I was already planning to get her a diamond so big she needs a wheelbarrow to carry it around.”

Uncle William laughs. “Good boy. He’s got it handled, Josh. Now leave the poor boy alone. Jonas loves her. He’ll do it right.”

“No, Jonas can’t be trusted to do this right,” I say defiantly. “If this were a business deal, sure, he’d be all over it and I wouldn’t say a goddamned thing. But this is agirl.Left to his own devices, he’ll do some crazy-assmetaphorthat’ll either scare her or bore her to tears.”

Uncle William laughs and Jonas scowls at me.

“So what’s your big plan for the proposal, Jonas?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. “Because it’s got to be rock solid, man, I’m telling you—it’s got to be a homerun. There’s absolutely no room for failure.”

Jonas runs his hand through his hair. “Jesus, you’re freaking me out. I thought I had the perfect idea, and now you’re making me doubt myself.”

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