Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
The sun had just come up when our little plane took off.
It belonged to a friend of Rome’s dad, and somehow Rome had convinced him to get up at oh-dark-thirty so we could do this. One of his smoke jumping friends came along, too. They probably needed someone to deal with the doors and stuff… I’d decided I didn’t want to know all the details—thinking about details could lead to thinking about what I was about to do.
That wouldn’t end well.
I looked down at my harness one last time. Everything was strapped on tight, checked, and double checked, and now I was stuck sitting on his lap. I reminded myself that Rome had been jumping out of planes half his life, and that he’d qualified as an instructor years ago. He’d jumped into the back country to fight fires, and he’d jumped tandem with his mother on her sixtieth birthday. She’d survived the experience just fine—we’d had dinner with her last week. I didn’t have anything to worry about.
Skydiving was supposed to be fun.
The plane climbed higher—much higher than seemed prudent. Rome was oblivious, laughing and talking to the guy next to us. I ignored them, focusing on not passing out.
Then it was time.
Rome’s friend kicked the door open, and wind filled the plane. Rome reached for the rail along the side. I pushed back, not quite ready. I could see the whole valley down below us, just like I’d seen in his video.
Except this was real.
Was I actually going to jump off this thing wearing the world’s flimsiest harness, and just count on him not to get us killed? Shouldn’t I have more straps, or something? And duct tape. Wouldn’t this be safer with duct tape?
“Take a deep breath, Randi!” Rome shouted, breaking my string of panicked thoughts. “It’ll be just like we practiced. I’ll count to three and then we’ll jump. You can scream when you go out the door, but don’t forget to keep your eyes open. You’re going to love it!”
I forced myself to nod, and he reached for the bar again. It was time to go. I felt Rome’s muscles tense and tried to keep my eyes open, reminding myself to breathe. I’d made him promise not to go until I was ready.
Was I ready? No. But if I waited any longer, I’d turn chicken. I could feel a great big cowardly squawk building inside my chest, and he’d been right about one thing—Aiden and Isaac would be ruthless if I chickened out.
I was going to jump out of this plane, if only to spite them.
“Okay!” I shouted, giving him a thumbs-up. You can do it you can do it you can do it!
“You sure?” he yelled back.
“Yes!”
Rome hesitated. Why the hell weren’t we jumping? Didn’t he realize I was about two seconds away from peeing my pants? Go go go go go!
“Will you marry me?” he shouted.
My heart pounded, and the wind roared in my ears. I wondered if I’d heard him right.
“What?”
“Will you marry me!” he shouted again, and this time there was no mistaking it—he’d just proposed. Suddenly it all came together. My brothers turning up out of nowhere, and how he insisted that we do this at sunrise.
Right when the sun comes up, he’d said.
He’d been planning this all along, I realized, stunned. Oh, Rome McGuire was a sneaky bastard. A sneaky, sneaky bastard totally capable of dangling off the side of an airplane until I answered his question.
I tried to think, starting to feel giddy.
Rome wanted to marry me. Me, Randi Whittaker, along with all my baggage and extra mouths to feed. Only a crazy idiot would do that. Of course, he had just proposed to me while hanging off the side of an airplane…
We definitely had the crazy part covered.
“Randi?”
I realized I’d left Rome hanging. Literally. I needed to answer or I’d never get back to the ground.
“You’re insane!” I shouted. “But you have a magic dick, so I’ll marry you anyway! Now let’s jump before I pee my pants!”
I thought I heard him laugh.
“I got you, Randi!”
Then we were out the door and flying into the morning sun.
Together.