“Five minutes?” I gasp. Holy crap, the room starts to spin. Apparently, Tanya doesn’t have time for my drama because she turns and walks away.
Noel drags me after her. Behind the set, a burly guy named Tony runs a black cord up the back of my shirt and clips it to the collar. “Watch your hands there, fella,” Noel tells him. Tony ignores him. He probably gets to second base with thousands of women a year doing this.
Like I’m underwater, I hear a very muffled Hoda say, “My next guests nearly broke the Internet with their very public and very romantic make up scene at a restaurant right here in New York. They’ve had over forty-million hits on their video …” She pauses for affect. “And I’m guessing by the end of today, they’ll probably have another forty.”
Dear. Sweet. Jesus. Comeformenow and don’t drag your feet.
Hoda stands up. “Normally I’d have my guests sit here with me, but I thought for kicks we’d set up a restaurant table for them. Aimée and Noel,” she calls off stage. “Will you join me?”
We walk out onto the set to find a small bistro table with two chairs. There are candles burning and there’s a breadbasket on the table. What in the heck is going on here? Hoda gestures for us to sit down before turning to a makeshift stage that’s set up nearby. She says, “Noel, I think I’ll let you take it from here.”
WHAT?!
Noel stands up and walks to the stage but not before blowing me a kiss. When he gets there, he taps the microphone and says, “Aimée, I promised no more big scenes.” He did, too. “But I believe you left me a little leeway in that promise.”
“I told you that you could lie to me if I looked fat in my pants,” I remind him. “Please don’t tell me we’re on national television for that?” I sound equal amounts annoyed and terrified.
Noel answers. “I’d like to introduce you to the woman who wrote the song that brought us back together.” Pregnant pause. “Ms. Dolly Parton.”
Dolly walks out onto the stage in all her glory. Her smile stretches from ear-to-ear. She waves to me and says, “I am so pleased to be a part of this day, honey.” Then out of nowhere, she starts to sing “I Will Always Love You.” I sit in rapt awe that this is really happening. When she gets to the refrain, she nudges Noel in the ribs to join in.
Make. It. Stop.
Dolly must feel similarly because after six or so notes, she reaches over and turns Noel’s microphone off. By the time the song is over, I’m bawling, cringing, and otherwise too stunned to speak.
Hoda approaches the stage and shakes Dolly’s hand before turning to Noel. “Carry on, Noel.”
My one true love approaches me and drops to his knee before me and the free world, who is currently watching us on television. He says, “Aimée, my love, as I’ve mentioned time and time again, I will always love you. Not only are you the best caterer in all the land,”—he turns to the camera and says, “Nibbles and Noshes in Manhattan,”—before turning back to me and pulling a Tiffany blue ring box out of his jacket and continuing, “you are the love of my life and I don’t want to wait another minute before asking you to be my wife.”
I sit there in complete shock. Seriously, my mouth is wide open. You could toss peanuts into it and I wouldn’t notice. “Aimée, will you marry me?” he asks.
All the synapses in my brain start to fire at once. There appears to be an alarming short-circuit afoot. Dolly Parton encourages from the sidelines, “Go on, hon. Tell the man you can’t live without him either.”
As Noel puts the most beautiful diamond I have ever seen on my finger, I answer, “I do. I mean, I will. I mean, YES!!!”
Noel picks me up and twirls me around before saying, “You won’t be sorry.”
“What happened to no more big scenes?” I ask again.
“This is the last one, I promise.” The slow wink he gives me makes me nervous, but at the moment I don’t care. I am going to marry the most wonderful man in the entire world and by golly we are going to live happily-ever-after if it kills us.
THE END
Need more laughs?
Click here for The Text God: An Accidentally in Love Story, Book 2
AFTERWORD
A Note from Melanie and Whitney
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Noel and Aimee’s story! If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review. Reviews are a true gift to writers. They are the best way for other readers to find our work.
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Whitney Dineen
Melanie Summers
The Text God: An Accidentally in Love Story, Book 2
Text and you shall receive…
Jen Flanders moved to New York to be an artist. This translates into walking dogs for money, practicing yoga for sanity, and hitting up her friends at a local bakery to supplement her diet. Rent is due and she’s running out of cash. After begging the universe for a sign that help is on the way, her phone pings with an incoming test. GOD: You can do it; I believe in you!
Attorney Gabriel Oliver Daly agreed to mentor a friend’s younger sister. Unbeknownst to him, after losing her phone, said sister uses her dog walker’s phone to text him about a job offer. He responds enthusiastically.
Jen can’t believe GOD is actually texting her! But who is she to question the ways of the universe? On the first day of texting, GOD gets her a job that will keep her afloat. On the second and third days he offers even more help.
Gabriel starts to think his friend’s sister might be too flighty to make it in the legal jungle of New York. Why exactly does she need a survival job? Wasn’t she supposed to be interviewing for a position as a junior lawyer? And why is she texting him random (not to mention very personal) stuff all the time?
When they finally meet, Jen realizes GOD isn’t a deity but a divinely handsome lawyer. A complete stranger has answered all her prayers. After all, God does move in mysterious ways.
GET IT HERE
About the Authors
WHITNEY DINEEN
Whitney Dineen is a rock star in her own head. While delusional about her singing abilities, there's been a plethora of validation that she's a fairly decent author (AMAZING!!!). After winning many writing awards and selling nearly a kabillion books (math may not be her forte, either), she's decided to let the voices in her head say whatever they want (sorry, Mom). She also won a fourth-place ribbon in a fifth-grade swim meet in backstroke. So, there's that.
Whitney loves to play with her kids (a.k.a. dazzle them with her amazing flossing abilities), bake stuff, eat stuff, and write books for people who “get” her. She thinks french fries are the perfect food and Mrs. Roper is her spirit animal.
MELANIE SUMMERS
Melanie Summers lives in Edmonton, Canada, with her husband, three kiddos, and two cuddly dogs. When she's not writing, she loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. Melanie also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something. More like just staying until they turn the lights off.
Text Me On Tuesday: All is Fair in Love and Texting ... (An Accidentally in Love Story Book 1) Page 21
