A Perfect Mistake, page 25
A few hours later I was still catching up from my week of vacation. Lexie stopped by my desk and placed down a clear vase filled with a dozen chocolates in the shape of roses, each decorated with a single letter.
“What is this?” I asked, turning the vase to get a good look at the goodies.
Lexie shrugged. “It was delivered. I was walking by when the receptionist was about to call you.”
I eyed my friend and wanted to call her bull but was too drawn to the gift. “Why would Cam send this here when he can bring it home?”
“More romantic this way?” suggested Rebecca.
I shook my head and focused on the letters. In order they read: E R M A N A C I N Y R M ?
“That makes no sense, did the shop mess up?” Rebecca asked.
“Nope,” I said. “Cam and his friends love to do word scrambles, he’s gotten me into it, but they usually aren’t this hard.”
I laid out the chocolates on my desk to rearrange them, and placed the question mark at the end, since that was easy. The rest left me stumped.
RACE MANY RIM?
The small crowd around my desk laughed. Nope, that’s not it. I rearranged them a few more times and saw my name appear so I moved those letters aside. I was left with MAY RE RM.
“My rare M Nica?” asked Rebecca.
I laughed and shook my head. “Not likely.”
I rearranged them again and stopped cold.
MERRY MA NICA?
“That makes no sense either,” Rebecca said.
My heart tried to leap into my throat. Was this really happening? “Change the E and A,” I whispered.
Rebecca gasped, and Lexie moved the two chocolates in question. I stepped back, staring at my desk.
MARRY ME NICA?
I knew this was coming, Cam had mentioned it nearly a year ago at the beginning of our relationship. Buying a house together had been a big step. Still, I didn’t expect him to take the next one so soon. I gawked at Lexie. “He didn’t go to work, did he?”
Lexie grinned. “Nope.”
I laughed, heart close to bursting. “That bastard.”
“Well, where is he?” asked Rebecca.
Lexie angled her head towards the door. “Outside.”
I began to head out. Then an idea popped into my head. I came back, grabbed one chocolate rose, and went to find Cam.
*****
Cam
I waited in the parking lot by my car, keeping one eye on the entrance doors. My hand trembled as I clutched the small box in my pocket. I should have delivered the damn flowers myself, then I wouldn’t be stuck outside wondering at her reaction and what expressions I could elicit on her face. Either way it was too late now.
I contemplated texting Lexie for an update, but Nica rushed through the doors and scanned the parking lot once before settling on me. The sides of her mouth turned upward enough to let me know she was trying to keep it all inside. She got it under control by the time she reached me.
“You said you were going to work,” she said.
“I stopped in for a minute.” I was at the bakery anyways, and Ashley had demanded to see the arrangement.
She rocked on her heels. “You gave me a chocolate word scramble?”
I caught the glint in her eyes. She had to have figured it out. In her hand she twirled one of the roses, and I caught that it was the letter Y. My nerves dissipated. I grinned and stepped closer to her.
“Yes, a dozen chocolate roses.”
“Mixing the traditional flowers with food?”
“You solved the scramble, making me work for it?”
She nodded.
“Well I see the letter you happened to grab.”
She moved the chocolate behind her, but finally let herself smile. “Are you going to say it with words or only in chocolate?”
I dropped down to one knee and wrenched the small box out of my pocket. “Marry me.”
“I believe the scramble had one more word.”
“I needed a dozen.”
“Sure.”
I gazed up at her, still on my knee, and wanted to laugh. “You going to answer me?”
She smoothed down a piece of my hair, the answer to my question clear in her eyes. “Yes, I will marry you.”
I stood and scooped her into my arms, pressing my lips to hers. She made me complete, whole. Now and forever. I broke the kiss to give Nica her ring.
“It’s not chocolate,” I said as she slid it on.
She laughed and placed one hand on my cheek. “Why would I need chocolate when I have you?”
THE END
In Loving Memory
The cat in this book, Oreo, is based off of a real life trouble maker of mine. When I first drafted the novel I made the fictional Oreo older than the real Oreo, worried about the real Oreo being around when the book came out. Sadly, real Oreo passed away as a spunky ten-year-old. She kept me company while I wrote this book, even deleting paragraphs she deemed unworthy. Like her fictional counterpart she was deaf and had no desire to learn any form of communication beyond “scratch me” “love me” and “let me eat the food you have cooling.” She loved my son from the moment he came home from the hospital and would have enjoyed using the corner of this book to scratch her head. RIP Oreo, and may you live on through your fictional counterpart.
Acknowledgments
Some novels have a short path from creation to publication, others take a long and windy road. This is part of the latter.
I first wrote A Perfect Mistake back in 2013 as part of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, highly recommend checking it out for anyone who wants to write a novel), the first—and only—time I participated and “won” (by writing 50,000 words in a month). This was the third book I ever wrote, my first attempt at a contemporary romance.
Since I wrote this so early in my career, I really honed my skills on this novel. I’ve had so many eyes on it, met so many wonderful critique partners. I entered it in contests, got feedback, revised, and revised, and revised again. In the first draft the only Deaf character was Cassie, during revisions I had that lightbulb moment and realized Cam was Deaf as well, and always meant to be.
A huge thanks to all the writers who helped me with this novel, some of you dealt with some pretty rough words! I fear I’m going to forget someone! In no particular order: Josie Leigh, Adrienne Proctor, Vanessa Carnevale, Brittany Cherry, Heather DiAngelis, Karen Mahara, Laura Heffernan, Paris Wynters, and anyone who read a chapter, pitch, or blurb, or simply helped provide support along the way. And my mother, for braving her daughter’s sex scenes and providing us both the uncomfortableness of editing them together.
I’d like to thank Emma Wicker and Kate Foster for believing in this novel and holding my hand through those final changes to get it ready for publication. Along with the rest of the Lakewater Press team, it’s been an honor to be a part of this family!
To my husband and son: I know writing takes up a good chunk of my time. Thank you for always believing in me and supporting me. And letting me be attached to my keyboard.
A special thank you to all the social workers out there. I worked as a one myself for a decade, spending most of that time in elder services. My clients taught me so much about life and gave me a more positive outlook on aging than most twenty-somethings tend to have. I got to work with some wonderful elders, both hearing and Deaf. I know it’s not an easy job, but a rewarding one. And a necessary one.
And no, I have never gotten involved with a client’s family member.
About the Author
Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband has put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her two cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own Hard of Hearing ears, to the characters she creates.
You can follow Laura on Twitter.
or visit her website at laurabrownauthor.com
And, if you loved this book, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
In Loving Memory
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Laura Brown, A Perfect Mistake
