Page 109 of Searching for Bristol
“From what I understand, yeah.”
“So she’s practically a local.”
Rocky shrugged and nodded.
“I’m thinking Drew’s gonna have his hands full,” Bristol said.
“What does that have to do with Caryn sort of being from Fallport?”
“Everyone’s gonna take sides. And make bets.”
“Bets?”
Man, her guy was clueless sometimes. “Yeah. On how long it’ll be until they hook up.”
Rocky stared at her for a moment, before chuckling. “Okay, I can see that. But Drew’s kind of standoffish. And I’m not sure this Caryn woman is his type.”
“So…you want to bet?” Bristol asked.
His lips twitched. “Sure, why not. What do you want to bet?”
“Hmmm.” Bristol brought her free hand up to her mouth and tapped her lips. “How about this. If Caryn and Drew get together while she’s in town looking after her grandfather, you’ll let me make a life-size stained glass of you in the forest, doing your thing.”
Rocky rolled his eyes. They’d talked about this at some point in the last week, and he’d been adamantly opposed to the idea. He’d said the last thing anyone would want to look at, himself included, was a glass rendering of him. He claimed they’d mistake him for Bigfoot or something. That the idea of her making a stained glass of Bigfoot, like she’d originally planned, would be much better. Bristol disagreed wholeheartedly.
“Fine. And if they don’t, you’ll marry me before the end of the year.”
Bristol stared at him in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. I want you to be mine officially. And I want to be yours. Man and wife. Married. Hitched. The whole nine yards.”
Suddenly Bristol was having a hard time breathing.
“Will you marry me, Punky? I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Without you by my side.”
Holy shit. “Yes! Of course I will!” she exclaimed.
“Hadn’t really meant to do that while I was driving,” Rocky complained.
“But, whenIwin that bet…does that mean we aren’t getting married by the end of the year?” she asked.
Rocky grinned. “Nope.”
Bristol rolled her eyes. “Then what’s the use of the bet?” she asked.
“Tell me honestly that you don’t already have that stained glass of me in the forest already all planned out in your head,” Rocky said.
Bristol bit her lip.
He laughed. “Right, so your end of the bet is bullshit, and so is mine.”
Bristol couldn’t help but smile. He was absolutely right.
“So your brother is having a Halloween wedding, and we’re having a Christmas one?”
“Looks like it,” Rocky said. “You okay with that?”
“Yes.”
