“Thanks, Jen,” I said to the customer who was kind enough to hold the door for me.
“No problems, Mark,” she said, calling me by name.
I knew all my regular customers by name. Hell, I even knew relationship status, employment details, and kids’ and pets’ names of most of my customers.
I walked in, slid the boxes of baked goods onto the counter, and said a quick hello to Carter and Isaac—and Brady of course—Hannah, Carlos, toddler Ada, and new baby Max, who were sitting on the couch in the corner, sipping coffee.
It wasn’t unusual to find them here on the weekend, and this Sunday was no different.
Will was behind the counter, frothing milk, and he smiled when he saw me.
Will. My absolute saving grace.
He’d gone to school and worked at the café as planned, but he found himself bored with his subjects and enjoying the work with me more and more. He finished his degree, but instead of working in the field of civil engineering, he found himself working in the café full time with me. We ran the place together.
And it was awesome.
The business had grown so much and we were so busy that last year when the shop next to the café vacated, I proposed to the landlord that the coffee shop be expanded to utilize both floor spaces.
One business plan and a fair amount of Mark Gattison charm later, it was a done deal. We increased the size of the café and the business grew with the expansion. Will and I worked side by side most days, and the majority of our customers were used to seeing us together. I swear, some people just came in to say hi or to have a laugh with us while we worked.
I’m not sure how or when it happened, but somewhere along the way, I grew up. Will and I were still going strong. We lived together, worked together, not all the time, but we spent time together every day. We were still as physical now as what we were in the beginning, and I doubted that part of us would ever wane. If anything, I wanted him more now than ever. Sure, we argued sometimes, but it was usually only when he couldn’t see how right I was. Or how awesome. But usually, it was how right I was.
Sometimes, like today, I’d have the morning off and come in later in the afternoon, but this morning Will was working and he called me to run and pick up an order from the bakery. Again, not too unusual, and I really didn’t think anything of it.
The café was busy. Actually, the café was packed, and Will seemed distracted, so pulling on an apron, I called out to Lori. “Can you put these in the back fridge for me, please?”
“No, leave them. I’ll take care of them,” Will said, and when he cleared his throat, a hushed quiet fell over the whole room.
I looked around at the faces, who were all now watching me. I wondered what on earth was going on.
Then Will cleared his throat. “Mark, you said once that I’d blindsided you, and I’m hoping to blindside you again.”
And right there, behind the counter, in front of all of our customers, Will dropped to one knee.
My stomach knotted and my heart stopped.
Will took a deep breath and smiled. “You are the love of my life. I want nothing more than to be your husband. Will you marry me?”
I couldn’t even fucking speak. I looked around at the room full of expectant faces, and when I turned back to Will, back to the love of my life who was on his knees in front of me, I was barely able to nod.
The café erupted in applause and cheers. Carter and Isaac were standing, clapping the loudest. Will was on his feet and in front of everyone, he kissed me. “Yes?” he asked again.
“Yes,” I said, nodding. Then I looked around the café. “Did they all know?” I asked. It might have been more a squeak than words.
Will laughed. “I’ve been planning it for a while,” he said. “I had them all here and if you said no, I had it all planned for everyone to start singing Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’. They were gonna do the dance moves and everything.”
I barked out a laugh, still stunned. Then I turned to our watching, grinning audience. “He really has crap taste in music.”
Laughing, Will kissed me again, then he opened the first box of cakes I’d just delivered and turned it around so it faced the customers. “Cupcakes for everyone!” Will cried out.
Then I saw written on each cupcake was the word ‘YES’.
I looked at Will. “Confident I’d say yes? Or is there a box of ‘no’ cupcakes out the back?”
Will laughed and put his arms around me. He kissed the side of my head. “Never a doubt, Mark. You’re my one true thing.”
The End