She sighed. “At a normal hour! I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight and my head is killing me.”
Apparently, the wine had hit her harder than it had done to me.
“Let me make you some breakfast—”
“Don’t you dare touch anything in my kitchen. I don’t need this place to go up in flames.”
I suppressed a laugh. She wasn’t in the laughing mood quite yet. She was a bear when anything but her alarm woke her.
“Give me a sec,” she said.
A few minutes later, she emerged from her bedroom dressed in jeans, flip flops, and had thrown a white shirt over her tank top. Her hair was tamed and pulled back.
“You’re taking me to breakfast,” she said and grabbed her purse from the table.
“Anything you want,” I said.
“Do you know a place with strong coffee?”
After breakfast, Sienna was her normal self again. And after three cups of coffee, she was wired to help me out. We stopped by a craft store and picked up strings of white lights to hang on the pier. I could have easily paid someone to do this for me—and they probably would do a better job—but I wanted this to be a special and personal moment for Rachel and me. Besides, I had a bigger job in mind for Sienna, and I wanted to make sure she’d be up to the task after Rachel said yes.
As the day wore on, I started to get a little nervous about the proposal. I didn’t want to admit that to Sienna; I had a feeling she thought I was rushing things. But like a good friend, she didn’t push her views on me—at least not all the time. We were almost thirty; I could make the decision on my own.
When we finished stringing the lights along the pier, I realized I only had two hours to finish and get ready. Sienna and I were drenched in sweat from the heat that day; it was warmer than normal for April, but the breeze across the water had kept us semi-cool. I had to shower and pick up Rachel in time for our dinner reservation. We were going to our favorite place overlooking the pier, and then I’d walk her down the pier and propose. I looked out over the water and it sparkled as if thousands of diamonds floated over the surface. I gently patted my pocket that held the diamond ring for Rachel. I’d bought it yesterday morning after breakfast at Sunny Daes. Once I saw it, I knew Rachel would love it. The way that everything was falling into place built up my confidence that this was the right thing to do.
“I think we’re good here,” I said and gathered the packing material from the lights. I’d have a hell of a time getting them back into the boxes after it was all said and done, but I’d worry about that another time.
“It looks great,” Sienna said, admiring our work. I’d noticed she hadn’t spoken much during the day while we hung the lights. I had a feeling she’d come down from her caffeine high, so I didn’t want to bother her by pushing her to talk.
I nodded. Even in the late afternoon sun, the pier now had a sense of romance to it. It was the perfect setting for the proposal.
Sienna helped me carry the boxes to my car and put them into the trunk.
I closed the trunk and snapped my fingers, remembering that I’d wanted to get Rachel a bouquet to put her in the bridal mood. “I need flowers.”
She pointed across the street at a flower stand. “How about there?”
I knew Rachel liked roses, at least she always said so when I sent them to her. But there was only one bouquet of red roses left, and they looked a little wilted. Next to them were bright white ones.
“What do you think of the white ones?” I asked.
“They seem fine to me.”
“Not red?”
“Red, white—it doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts.”
Giving Rachel wilted red roses wouldn’t impress her much, so I purchased the white ones. “All right, white roses it is.”
Sienna suggested we leave the roses with the maître d' at the restaurant so I could give them to Rachel before the proposal.
When I pulled into her driveway, Sienna practically jumped out of the car. I didn’t think she’d had that bad of a time, but maybe she wanted me to get on my way so I wasn’t late.
I leaned out the open window. “Well, thanks again for helping. I needed a woman’s touch.”
“It’s not like I had much of a choice with you barging in on me.”
I smiled. “You had fun; admit it.”