Chapter 35
Alice
W ell, we didn't exactly lie. Sawyer is giving me a ride, but he is giving me a ride to I can talk to him about him wanting to marry my best friend.
"Sawyer, what the fuck?" I laugh. "I only joked to Autumn last night about you ending up getting married quickly."
"Well, I didn't think I wanted to get married again. I didn't think I wanted a girlfriend again at all. Then I met her." He smiles so genuinely when he talks about Autumn that it warms my heart.
"Alice, this is probably going to sound a bit odd, but you're the closest that Autumn has to family. So, like I was going to ask before we were interrupted this morning, do I have your permission to ask Autumn to marry me?"
I choke back a sob. He's right; it is odd, but it is also so fitting. Autumn and I are family, after all.
"Of course. Of course, you have my permission." I can't get the words out fast enough.
"Good." He grins. "I don't really know what I'd have done if you'd said no. Do you honestly have to go anywhere? Because if not, I could really use your help. I've got a rough plan, but it involves my family, so if you could come with me to the house, I could really do with your input."
"Jesus Christ, Sawyer. Why so urgent? When are you planning to ask her?"
"Tomorrow," he smirks at me, and my jaw drops open.
"Well, I guess we're doing this thing, then! What's the plan, buddy?"
"I said it's a rough plan. Not a full plan." Then, we are interrupted by a text from Autumn
Autumn: WTF, Alice. You were both being super cagey this morning. Where did you go?
Me: Sorry. It was early, I was still half asleep. I really did have to go. Nothing cagey. I promise. Sawyer dropped me off then left for his parent's house. He's a good guy. You really should ask him to move in, you know.
Autumn: Well, I was going to, until you both ran out of the house.
Autumn: The more I think about it, the more annoyed I'm getting.
Autumn: Can you call me?
Autumn: I can see that you've read my message!
Me: Sorry, terrible service. I'll call you later.
Autumn: Fine! You've left half of your shit here you know.
Me: It's fine, I don't need it.
Autumn: You don't need your shoes then, no?
I look down at my feet and wiggle my toes, realising that I left the house in slippers. Dammit.
Me: Nope! Gotta go. Speak to you later.
I read the last few messages from her out to Sawyer. Omitting the part about her asking him to move in.
"Are you going to call her?" he asks.
"Of course not. The thing is, I would, but Autumn has a great bullshit detector. She'll know that I'm hiding something from her. It's better to ignore her than it is to lie!" I grimace and turn my phone off. "Oh no, sorry, my battery died," I sarcastically lie out loud.
"You do know that she is going to want to murder the both of us, don't you?"
"I've spent the last thirty years making Autumn want to kill me. Another day won't make a difference." I shrug.
"So, the rough plan is asking her to marry me. I think that was always going to be the plan the second I saw her. I think I want to involve my niece. She loves Autumn and will be very annoyed if she is excluded. She is one scary four-year-old. I don't want to be on her wrong side."
"Wow, if you don't want to get on the wrong side of a four-year-old, that must say something, given that you're the most brooding and miserable jackass I've ever met. Just how bad is this kid?"
"She's sassy, okay!"
"Oh, so she's more like you than I thought." I chortle.
"Ha. You really are a pain in my ass, Alice," he grumbles back at me.
"Do you want my help or not? Anyway… does your family know that you're asking her to marry you?" I ask.
"Nope. It's only you that knows. But they love Autumn. They'll be so happy."
"Do you think anything through at all, Sawyer?" I am laughing my head off at how ridiculous this all is. But I expect absolutely nothing else when it comes to Autumn and Sawyer.
Everything about them has been chaotic and messy, so why wouldn't this be too?
"Well, as long as your plan doesn't involve mowing her down in a truck or something like that, then I think it'll be fine," I reply and smirk at him.