by Aimee Brown
Please follow the clues I’ve left. I can’t wait to see you.
Jack
“Follow the clues?” I say out loud, looking around the room for anything that stands out to me as a clue. “Does he not remember that I suck at being Nancy Drew?”
“Miss Harrison?” Another knock at the door I didn’t quite get closed behind me startles me yet again.
“Yes?” I walk over to it, almost afraid of who stands there, but it’s another man dressed in a suit, holding a small bag and a garment bag. “I’ve been asked to deliver these to you, instructions are in the bag.”
“Thank you.” I bite my lip and take the items from him nervously. The dress bag has a note pinned to it that says Open me first. I put the bag on the table near the door and open the card.
You gave me the best 5 years of my life,
then a two-year nightmare I couldn’t wake from each night.
You once revealed to me a secret as I slept on the beach.
Wear this dress and the next clue will be within your reach.
“Sweet Mother of Moses.” I unzip the bag to find the little gray dress that Jack always loved. The same dress that I altered specifically to wear this week in an attempt to drive him mad. In the small bag are the sparkly heels he bought me to go with the dress, and jewelry to match. “How did he get all this stuff?” I ask the empty room.
This is much more maddening than I anticipated. I had this whole speech planned, and now I have to try and remember it through the tension building in my buzzing brain. Even my hands are shaking as I try to get ready to see him.
When I pull the dress over my head something pokes me in the face, and when I look it’s another note marked Clue Two pinned to the inside of the dress. Thank God it was the corner of the envelope poking me and not a needle in the eye. I toss the envelope onto the counter. I’ve never got dressed and ready so fast in my life before tearing open the next clue.
In loungers, we slept under the moon,
because when I walked I tripped into the dunes.
In that spot you will find clue number three.
Try not to fall, but if you do, fall for me.
Fall for him… The way my heart is suddenly galloping in my chest tells me that I fell for Jack a long time ago. I may have been more than stubborn over the last couple of years, but if I’m finally facing the truth, I never really let him go.
When I get down to the beach it’s completely empty. I pull my shoes off so I can walk across the sand to the loungers we lay in that night that I babysit Jack during his first drinking binge. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it makes my heart hurt just a tiny bit. It was when things were so innocent between us; there was no fighting, no supposed cheating, no wedding plans, just us in love. It was simple.
As I get closer I see the flickering light of torches stuck into the sand ahead of me. If I wasn’t afraid he was watching me I’d run there. I’m trying to keep my cool though. When I finally walk down the path now created between the glowing torches, I see the envelope of the next clue sticking out of the sand. Clue Three is written across the front. This must be the last clue. The torches block me from walking further than this. I tear open the envelope.
Turn Around
“Turn around?” I say, as I look hesitantly past the flames. I hear a shuffle behind me and turn to see Jack standing just a few feet away. He looks better than he did yesterday, if that’s even possible.
“Jack…”
“Emi, I can’t even begin to describe how glad I am to see you standing here.” He lets out a small nervous laugh.
I feel frozen in the sand, watching him walk over and take both my hands in his. “My mom put Greta up to the whole pregnancy thing…”
“What?” The word squeaks out. “How…”
Jacks nods his head. “She saw something we didn’t, and decided to take matters into her own hands.”
“She is…” What is the word I’m looking for? Manipulative, conniving, sneaky…
“A genius,” Jack answers with a shy smile, interrupting my more corrupt response “She got you here.”
“So you know Greta isn’t pregnant?” I ask, before realizing that’s what he just said.
“I do.” His voice is quiet. “My mom threatened to out Greta and all her lies to her circle of friends if she didn’t agree to help fix what she ruined with us. They came up with this story to force us to finally face the feelings she knew we had for each other. I had no idea until this morning.”
“My God…” I think back to the last twenty-four hours and the turmoil that’s gone on between my head and my heart. She’s a genius… an evil one, but one none the less. “She blackmailed Greta?”
He nods. “Her intentions were good, but her execution was excruciating. I’ve never packed a bag faster after I found out. That’s when everything hit me. I was going to race back to you but I was suddenly reminded me of that last time I was here, with you. I figured if there was ever a way or a place to do this, it was here.”
I stare at Jack, mind racing, unable to speak. Is this what a stroke feels like? Ever a way to do what?
He pulls at his collar as if it’s too tight. “Emi, I am completely in love with you. I have been since the day I threw that Frisbee in your direction.”
His hands are shaking around mine. The butterflies in my chest are making breathing something I have to actually think about.
“Yesterday I really thought I’d lost you forever. Last night was the worst night of my entire life. I don’t want to go another second without you knowing exactly how I feel.” He drops one of my hands and reaches into his shirt pocket, pulling a small folded piece of paper out. He stares down at it, before shaking his head and shoving it back into his pocket.
“I’m just gonna to wing it.” He takes a deep breath, his gaze never leaving my own. “I know I screwed things up, but I want to make that up to you. Today would have been our two-year wedding anniversary…”
“Today?” I rack my brain unable to even think a full enough thought to figure out what day of the week it is, let alone what date it is.
“July the fifth.” He nods his head. “I’ve loved you for seven years and I’d like to add seventy more to that.” A nervous look crosses his face before he reaches into the pocket of his slacks and pulls out a tiny white box. “I knew the day I met you my life would never be the same. I knew when you spilled that beer on me the other day that I never got over you.” He kneels on one knee, my left hand still in his. “I know that every single person who loves us thinks we belong together. They begged to see your face when this finally happened.” He nods behind him.
I look up from him, and a small shaky laugh escapes my throat. His parents, our siblings, even Josh and Lily are all standing not far behind him, with looks of anticipation across each of their faces.
“Amelia rigged my plane troubles too… I should have known.” My voice cracks through the sudden rush of emotions.
I look back down at Jack through the tears threatening to escape with a single blink.
“I know that I need to marry you, right here, right now, if you’ll have me…”
“Holy shit…” I blurt it out before quickly covering my own mouth with my hand. I would have to curse in this exact moment. I squeeze his hand tight.
“Emi… If you say no…” The look on his face breaks my heart in a split second. “I’ll walk away and I’ll never look back.”
I wasn’t prepared for a proposal today, but the sudden fluttering in my chest is the same as the recent fluttering of my brain. I know exactly what my answer is.
“And if I say yes?” I ask, before biting my lip to hold back whatever my face is trying to do that might not match the excitement within.
“If you say yes,” he says slowly, as he pulls a brand new, beautiful, never-worn ring out of the box and slips it on my finger, “If you say yes, I promise every day will be the best day of your life.”
“Our life,” I correct him, watch
ing a smile spread across his face.
“Our life,” he repeats, his eyes glistening over with his own emotions.
“WELL?!?!” Hannah screams from the sidelines. “IS THAT A YES? Because we found a preacher!”
“Of course she found a preacher…” I cry out, and take my own deep breath to force away the overwhelming anticipation that is trying to swallow me whole. “How is it possible that this was even more perfect than the first time?” I laugh and pull Jack up off the ground, stand on my tiptoes and kiss his lips.
“Is that a yes?” He takes a step back and momentarily stares at me, his face as tense as I’ve ever seen.
“Yes. Definitely, yes.” I smile through the tears, which are now falling despite my best efforts to stop them.
“Finally.” A smile that reaches all the way to his eyes slowly spreads across his gorgeous face. That’s what was missing from him this last week: sincere happiness. He sighs a huge sigh of relief as he pulls me against him.
That’s when it hits me. I pull away, worried.
“Jack, I can’t get married in this dress.”
He stares at me with a blank face. “Why not? You know I love it.”
“I do know you love it. That’s why. You’ve seen me in this dress dozens of times. It’s bad luck when the groom sees the dress before the wedding. We can’t risk it.”
He grins before wrapping his arms around me again. “I’m sure we don’t need to worry about silly superstitions like that. All our bad luck is well and truly behind us. Come on, Miss Harrison. It’s time to become Mrs Cabot.”
THE END
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Little Gray Dress! It means so much to me that you would give my debut novel a chance. I would love to know what you thought of it in form of a book review.
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Again, thank you for giving my debut novel, Little Gray Dress, a chance. I can’t wait to bring you my next novel, which is in the works now.
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Aimee Brown
Thank you for reading this Crooked Cat novel. If you have enjoyed it, we and the author would be grateful for a review. Thank you.
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