Page 114 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
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Winnie
On Sunday morning,I’d sent a text to Eloise, Lulu, Henley, Wren, and Emerson, who was in town for the weekend. I’d told them about the plan for the proposal, and they all met at Archer’s house so we could get to work.
“Are you Uncle Archie’s girl yet?” Cutler asked as he helped me lay out the book pages. Everyone else sat in the kitchen, cutting out the letters Bridger had requested to say,Will You Marry Me, Angel?
“We’re good friends,” I said as I glanced over to where Melody was coloring some hearts that she wanted to give to Bridger and Emilia once they got engaged.
His gaze moved to the table where his cousin was sitting and then back to me. “Well, my best friend is also my girl. Her name is Gracie, and I’m going to marry her someday. So you can be Uncle Archie’s friend and his girl. And my pops and my mama waited a long time to tell me they were together back then, too.”
I chuckled. This kid was so smart. Wise beyond his years. He was barely nine years old and just one of those old souls. The kind of kid everyone wanted to be around. “Thanks, Beefcake. Ithink Gracie is very lucky to be not only your best friend but also your girl.”
“I’m the lucky one,” he said as he finished laying out the row of book pages, and he extended his hand so I could pass him another stack. “And my pops says that when you know, you just know.”
I moved around, tying the pages together where he’d laid them out with pretty ribbon that I’d picked up at the craft store. We were making good progress in our ginormous backdrop made from book pages. Bridger had ordered a very large floral arch from Emilia’s flower shop, and Beatrice, a woman who worked at the Vintage Rose, was arranging everything so that Emilia wouldn’t know about it. The backdrop would be surrounded by floral trees and baskets filled with beautiful blooms.
I glanced up when Eloise showed me her letterMto demonstrate how she’d covered it in glitter. My favorite thing about this family was the way they all rallied around one another. My father and I had always been that way, but it was just the two of us. This whole family showed up, repeatedly, for each other.
Bridger’s words still played in my head.
You’re part of this family now, Winnie.
It meant a lot to me that he’d agreed to keep my uncle’s secret. I’d returned the computer to Uncle Oscar last night when they’d arrived home from work, and Aunt Edith and I had come up with a plan to say that I’d just stopped by and fixed it easily an hour earlier, adding the extra storage and organizing his files. He looked a little nervous at first, but I acted completely unfazed, and he’d then appeared relieved to have it back.
“Your pops is a smart man,” I said as I sat down to start another row.
“And my mama said you write books. I think that’s really cool, Winnie.”
“I think you’re really cool, Beefcake.” I chuckled, because his nickname was hilarious.
“Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?” he asked.
“I always liked writing, but honestly, I don’t think I knew that I could be a writer. My father and my uncle both really encouraged me to chase my dreams, and I finally took the leap.” I tied off the bow and started cutting new strips. “Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?”
“Well, my mama’s a doctor and my pops is a contractor, so in a way they both help people, and I like helping people. And my uncle Hayes built this office space out at his house in his barn, and I was out there all the time watching my pops and my uncle King turn it into this cool space. I even drew an idea for the twins’ nursery out there, because Uncle Hayes and Aunt Savvy have twin girls, and they both loved my drawings. So sometimes I think I’d like to draw houses and then build them. So I could do what my pops does, but I’d draw it first.”
Wow. Not a lot of nine-year-olds knew what they wanted and had so much passion for it.
“So you’d be an architect? That’s so cool.”
“Well, I want to take over ROD Construction from my pops and Uncle King someday, because they built it from the ground up. But they don’t have an architect, so that would be even better.” He winked at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
This kid had more charm in his pinky finger than most grown men had in their whole bodies.
“I like that you have a plan. I’ve always been a planner, too.”
“You’ve gotta have a plan if you want to grow up and take care of your girl, right?” He grinned at me. “I’ve got big plans, Winnie.”
“I can see that.” I was chuckling just as Emerson walked over.
“This looks great,” she said, turning her attention to me. “You are one creative woman. Emilia is going to love this. You’ve even got my grumpy brother doing romantic gestures now.”
I shook my head and smiled. “This was all Bridger’s idea. He wants to make it special for her.”
“I think she’s going to love this. Thanks for stepping up and making this happen so quickly.” She bent down and handed me the next ribbon. “And thanks for being so good to Melody and Archer. Melody has always been so full of joy, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Archer so happy. He’s just lighter now, you know? And that’s all you.”
My chest squeezed at her words. “Thank you. I’m much lighter since being here, too.”
