He looks at me sheepishly and gives me a grin turn grimace.
“Ah shit, man, you gotta cut the cord. You’re married and about to have a baby!” I say as quietly as possible. It’s times like this when I think my relationship with Joey is perfect. We don’t have this drama, now that Jules has been set straight, thank God.
“How?”
“Move far away and start your life with Millie. She’s a fucking knock-out and you guys hit it off from day one. Don’t throw that shit away.”
I pat him on the shoulder and step away. When I reach Joey, I slide my hand into hers, smile at Millie, and lean down to whisper in Joey’s ear, “Can we talk?” She doesn’t go rigid like I expect, but doesn’t necessarily hold my hand either.
When she turns to face me, I’m dumbstruck by how beautiful she is. Her hair is framing her face perfectly, and her subtle make-up is drawing attention to her light blue eyes. I could get lost there for hours if she didn’t find staring creepy.
“You’re so beautiful,” I murmur as the back of my hand
caresses her face. She leans in; the movement is slight, but I feel it. Her eyes close and I can tell she’s fighting her heart and mind. I need her to listen to her heart.
“Josh and Cole, you’re up.” My hand drops the second my name is called. I stare at him with the ‘are you fucking serious right now’ look.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Joey, kissing the tip of her nose before following the assistant to hair and make-up.
As soon as I sit down, my leg starts bouncing. I’m on edge. I’m pissed. I miss Joey. I only need five minutes to pour my heart out before we go out on stage. Why can’t someone throw me a damn bone? I’m sick of being in the doghouse.
“Stop moving,” the make-up artist says and from experience I need to listen or I may end up looking like a cast member from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’ve seen it happen to Rob, it’s not pretty.
“Three minutes,” the same assistant walks by, yelling into the room.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumble, earning a dirty look from the make-up artist. “Sorry,” I tell her, not wanting to piss her off.
“You’re a pro,” she says. “Your hair and make-up doesn’t take us long.”
She’s right because with one minute to spare, my flaws are hidden and my hair is looking like I just woke up—pretty much like the hair I came in with.
Cole and I are ushered out; he’s still sweating and the make-up artist assigned to him is doing everything she can to keep his face painted. She calls for an ice pack and slips it down his jacket, much to his chagrin. I stifle a laugh and want to pat him on the back, wishing him luck, but feel it’s unnecessary.
We’re seated in order: Cole and Mille, followed by Joey and myself. At least I can press my leg against Joey’s to feel close to her. I change the way I’m sitting so I can put my arm around her and hold her hand with my free one. She doesn’t relax into me, but that doesn’t stop me from kissing her shoulder.
“Joining us today are the winners and runner-ups from season three of Married Blind.” The audience is cued to cheer. I wave and smile, inciting more cheering.
“Welcome,” Helen says. We all greet her in return.
“Wow, I’ve never seen three, even four, such diverse couples on the show before. How was it living in the house with everyone?”
“The guys were horrible at house cleaning,” Millie says. “Joey and I were always picking up after them.”
“So it was close to real-life?” Helen laughs and the girls nod. “The comps got a little crazy, which one was your favorite?”
“Oh boy,” I say, thinking back to the honey and flour comp. It was so messy and hard to move, but Sumo was my favorite. “Definitely Sumo wrestling,” I say, with Cole agreeing. “We were able to get a lot of aggressions out without hurting anyone.”
“Cole and Millie, you guys seemed to hit it off right away. Did that surprise you?” Millie looks at Cole and smiles. Sadly, he doesn’t return the gesture and that’s not lost on Millie. I feel bad for the both of them right now. “Cole is great. I knew early on that he was someone special for me.”
“And what about you and Josh?” The question is directed at Joey, but I don’t give her time to answer.
“I fell in love. Joey is the most beautiful, smart, funny, and down to earth woman I’ve ever met. She gets me and doesn’t let my profession define us. I love her.” I take my hand away and place my fingers under her chin to turn her face toward me. “I love you, Joey.”
The crowd erupts in a boisterous cheer. Once they’ve calmed down, I drop down to my knee and pull out the black velvet box that has been sitting in my pocket since last night. I open the lid, earning gasps from the three women closest to me.
“Joey, I know we’re already married, but I would really like to do things right. Will you marry me in front of our family and friends? Will you be my partner in all things and marry me … again?”
I gaze into her eyes as her hand covers her mouth. She glances from me to the crowd who are yelling for her to say yes, and some even saying that they’ll marry me. I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it.