Page 77 of Deadly Forever

“I … .” Mandy broke off and chewed her lip. She looked adorable. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to put on this dress and then come out here and let me take you to your surprise,” James replied. “I also need you to stay away from the windows until we get downstairs.”

Mandy’s eyes lit up and she immediately started moving toward the bedroom window, but James stopped her with a firm head shake.

“I worked hard on this, baby,” James said. “I did this for you and I’m asking you to wait until we get downstairs.”

Mandy stilled. “I really do hate surprises.”

“You’re going to love this one. I promise.”

Mandy blew out a heavy sigh. “Okay,” she said after a beat. “I’m going to put on this dress and wait to look outside. If this is some freaky dress-up game, though, I might need a drink.”

James chuckled, delighted. “I love how you say you’ll need a drink if I have something freaky planned but not that you won’t do it.”

“Where you go, I go.”

James’ heart felt like it expanded in size as love flowed through him. “Get in your dress. I promise this is going to be a night you’ll never forget.”

“I CAN’T see.”

“I’ve got you,” James said ten minutes later, slipping his arm around Mandy’s waist and helping her to the bottom of the stairs. “We’re almost there.”

“I really am going to have a meltdown soon,” Mandy warned, her eyes screwed shut. “I can’t take much more of this.”

“Just two more minutes, baby,” James said. “He positioned her in front of the sliding glass doors and opened the plastic container he’d managed to keep mostly hidden despite her rampant curiosity. He pulled out the corsage and slipped it around her wrist, enjoying the delightful way she quirked her nose.

“What is that?”

“Part of your surprise.”

“Can I look yet?” Mandy whined.

“One minute, baby,” James said, carefully slipping his arm around her waist as he tugged her toward the door. “We’re almost there. Wait for it. I just need to open this door and your surprise will be right there. You’re so very close.”

“You sound nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“You babble when you’re nervous.”

James made a face she couldn’t see as he helped her down the steps. Once her feet were firmly on the patio cement, he glanced around the backyard masterpiece one final time and smiled. “Open your eyes, baby.”

Mandy didn’t have to be told twice. She snapped open her eyes and gasped as she glanced around, her heart seizing in her chest. “James … I … what did you do?”

“Welcome to your dream prom, baby,” James said, his chest puffed out as pride and delight washed over him. “You were right about me seeing you in your dress and falling in love in an instant, by the way. The second I saw you I fell in love all over again.”

Mandy whirled, her eyes sparkling and excited. “You did this for me?”

“I did this for us,” James clarified. “I want you to have the perfect prom and I want to be there with you this time.”

“But … you got balloon arches … and a disc jockey … and there are sharks everywhere.”

“You’re under the sea,” James teased. “That’s a prom theme, right?”

Mandy bit her bottom lip and nodded. “You did it for me, though.”

“Oh, wife, I would do anything to make you smile.” James planted a firm kiss on her lips. “Red Lobster is catering tonight and everything. I mean, what’s an under the sea prom without shrimp, crab legs, and lobster?”