Opened Up

by Eva Moore

  “You think you’re real funny, huh, smart guy?”

  “Smart enough to love you.” He ducked under her arm to escape as she lunged for the spray nozzle. The yelp he let loose as the cold water hit the back of his neck was immensely satisfying.

  “Get back here, you coward! Can you be serious for a minute?”

  “Sure, I can.” He came back, hands raised in the universal symbol for truce. He leaned in playfully and smacked a kiss on her lips. “I seriously love you.”

  “I meant about the sink.” She was trying to bring him back to the point, but he was making it really hard to stay focused. Aware of the cameras and her blush, she stepped to the side, shaking her head. He just loved to get her flustered on camera.

  “Right, the sink.” He knelt down and opened the lower cabinet doors.

  “Good news, bad news?” Sofia brushed her dripping hair away from her forehead, praying that her makeup wasn’t also sliding down her face. When he stood with a brown paper bag, she frowned.

  “Good, I hope.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Your candy drawer was empty.”

  “How do you know my candy drawer is empty?”

  “I went to grab a snack and there wasn’t even a stray M&M. You should never have to go without something you love, so I got you some candy to fill it.”

  Sofia reached for the bag, but Adrian tucked it back against his chest.

  “Not so fast. Let me show you what I got.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Sofia saw Trina move to a closer spot and wondered what trick they wanted to catch on camera now. Her nerves were on high alert as Adrian dipped his hand into the bag and pulled out one candy bar.

  “Don’t Snicker.” He put her full-sized favorite bar in her hand, and went back in for another. “Just Take 5 and listen to what I have to say.”

  “What’s this all about?” Sofia asked. He was up to something, but he simply raised an eyebrow and two more candy bars out of his bag.

  “Sometimes, I can be a real Butterfingers with your emotions, but I will always love you to the Milky Way and back.”

  Sofia’s heart began to melt like the chocolate clenched in her now too-tight grip. This sweet man was proclaiming his love on camera. She smiled as a roll of caramels was added to the pile in her hands.

  “I want to Rolo-ver every morning and see that smile.”

  That sounded lovely and…long-term. Where was he going with this?

  “You are one Hot Tamale, and I love your Mounds.” Adrian’s cheeky grin and wiggling eyebrows pulled a laugh from her, and she tried to move in for a kiss, but he stepped back and raised a hand to stop her.

  “No Twix. I promise,” he said as he added the caramel cookie bar to the stack in her hands before sprinkling it with silver-foil-wrapped cones. “Only Kisses every day for the rest of our lives.”

  Sofia’s eyes were now riveted to his face. This no longer felt like a silly gag for TV. This felt like the most important moment of her life. He reached into the bag one more time, and when she saw the black velvet box in his hand, her own hands went limp and the chocolate dropped unheeded to the floor.

  Suddenly the wet hair and misty makeup didn’t matter, and tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks. She had put dreams of this moment aside for so long. Now that it was here, she was completely surprised. They had so much going on right now, what with Adrian taking on more responsibility at Valenti Brothers, Sofia mentoring Meena and getting SV Design off the ground, and filming the second half of the Million-Dollar Starter Home premiere season.

  She’d been content in the moment for the first time in years, enjoying a challenging career and a man who loved her as is. This was a big leap. They had only been together a few months. And yet, as her mind was rapid-fire spinning through all of these thoughts, underneath was the quiet knowledge that, yes, this was the right time and the right place, with the right man. She waited for him to find the right words. As much as she wanted to leap in with an answer, she needed to hear them first.

  “Sofia, I’ve known you for years, and I’ve wanted to be a part of your life since the day I met you. I know we had a shaky start, but I want to build a beautiful future with you and design a love that lasts decades. I thought my life was just fine before, but it is so much better with you by my side. Will you marry me?”

  It sounded like the perfect project for the next eighty years or so. Sofia drew in a deep breath and let her heart do the thinking for once.

  “Yes. Yes, I will.”

  He took her now empty hands in his and slid a beautiful brilliant-cut diamond ring on her finger. Giggling and giddy, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight as he spun her in circles in the torn-up kitchen.

  “I love you, Sofia.”

  “I love you, too, Adrian.”

  “I’ll admit, I expected more questions out of you,” he teased.

  “Just one. Who told you it was a good idea to propose by spraying me in the face with water?” She grinned up at her fiancé, delighted when he barked out a laugh and his dimple came out to play.

  “Cut! That was great, but the bit about her mounds was a little too steamy for HomeTV. Everybody hit makeup and wardrobe to dry off and we’ll go again,” Jake called out from his perch behind a bank of screens set up in the dining room.

  Sofia covered her mic and whispered, “How long do you think he’ll wait for another take?”

  Adrian lifted her, effortlessly and fully aware that it turned her knees to jelly every time. With his rock-solid arms supporting her, Sofia grinned and opened up her heart to a future together. She wrapped her legs around his waist and admired her ring over his shoulder as he carried her out of the house.

  “Let’s go find out.”

  THE END

  Acknowledgments

  This book is a community effort. I would not have finished without the support of many dear friends and fellow writers.

  To the OSRBC Writers/NanoLA groups, thanks for the sprints and the laughs. OSRBC:Read More Romance, thank you for reminding me of the best part of this genre, our amazing readers! To the Legends, your continued encouragement warms my heart. My RT Lovies, you know who you are, and you make me smile every damn day. Everyone over at Friends For Eva, thank you for coming to play with me when I need a break. Life wouldn’t be the same without your glitter bombs and rosé-colored glasses! To the Expanded Sassy Bitches, learning from you all about this crazy business has been enlightening. To the LeBou Crew for letting me crash once in a blue moon. The rest of my SVRWA sisters, you are my tribe and you keep me sharp. To Kara for pushing me to figure out newsletters and websites and marketing, oh my! To Ro for retreats and shenanigans and keeping me company late at night online when the words won’t come.

  To Jen and Julia, this book would not be worth reading without your eagle eyes and thoughtful suggestions. Lucy, thank you for your persistence in making my cover gorgeous and for your long-distance friendship. As usual, many thanks to the author friends who tended to my mental health, both on the page and through Facebook messenger, during the making of this book. Sarah, Sophie, Sonali, Lenora, Joanna, Alyssa, Alisha, Cherry, Kate and Kerrigan, thank you for creating characters and friendships that inspire me.

  To Cass, for having open ears and understanding that I don’t need to hear the answers. I need to speak until I find them. To Jasmine, for understanding how powerful it is to hear that what we’ve written isn’t crap alongside the well-placed questions. Also, for giving my baby a new “best friend.” To Jen and Fiona and Fiona and Andrea, for being my mom friends who get what I’m trying to do and step in to help along the way. Darcie, there aren’t words to describe how grateful I am for the relationship that we have. The day all of our girls became best friends was such a blessing.

  To everyone who came and visited and wasn’t offended when I left my children with you and went to work, you are always welcome back! To Mom & Dad, thank you for coming every time I’ve called for help. I love you
to the moon and back. To my three darling girls, thank you for sending me off to work at bedtime with hugs and kisses instead of tears. And to my husband, you remind me day in and day out that love is in the details and that ambition is worth chasing. Thank you for your unwavering support.

  About the Author

  Eva Moore began reading fuchsia books when she was 12. Now she writes sexy contemporary romances in between soccer practices and glasses of rosé. Eva lives in Silicon Valley, after moving around the world and back, with her college sweetheart, her three gorgeous girls, and a Shih Tzu who thinks he is a cat. She can be found most nights hiding in her closet-office, scribbling away, and loves to hear from the outside world. Please visit her at www.4evamoore.com.

  If you’d like to know about future releases and giveaways, you can join her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cosVKT

  Join her fan page for rosé tastings, Target jokes, and other sparkly shenanigans at Friends For Eva Moore.

  Also by Eva Moore

  Girls’ Night Out Series

  Someone Special (1)

  Second Chances (2)

  Three Strikes (3)

  Forever Nights (4)

  Christmas Spirits (5, novella)

  Coming Soon

  Exposed Dreams Series

  Opened Up (1)

  Dirty Demo (in Down And Dirty Anthology) (1.5, novella)

  Stripped Down (2)

  Roughed In (3)