Read Online An (Almost) Perfect Love Story (Love Story Book Three) by Rachel Schurig - Free Book Online

everything you did tonight,” I whispered. “I know you think it’s silly, but it was the most amazing night of my life. Thank you so much.”
    “It’s not silly,” she whispered back. “I’m happy for you both.”
    Chris hugged her, too, before we made our way up the stairs, separating from the group at the top as everyone made their way to their own rooms. “So,” Chris said as he pulled the door shut behind us. “Was it a good day?”
    I beamed at him from across the room, happier than ever that I had this man to myself, for the rest of my life. “Nope,” I said. “It was a perfect day.”

    Chapter Seven
    Trying to get through the beginning of the week was much harder than I thought it would be. It would have been weird to tell my friends at work about the engagement before my parents knew so, with a sinking heart, I pulled off my engagement ring in the morning before leaving the house. When Susan asked me about the weekend, I had told her it had been nice, without giving any details. She had nodded knowingly, assuming, I was sure, that Chris hadn’t planned anything special for me after all. I wanted to jump up and down and tell her how wrong she had been, but I managed to contain myself.
    I was surprised when I didn’t hear from my mom on Sunday or Monday. Though Chris had been exaggerating when he said we talked every day, we did usually touch base several times a week. My mom liked to know what I was up to, how Chris and my friends were, whether or not I had found any good sales lately. Our shared love of gossip was probably a big part of what kept us close. So it was strange when I still hadn’t heard from her by Tuesday afternoon. When I called the house after work to see if I could bring anything, she didn’t answer, and she didn’t return my call by the time Chris arrived.
    “Are you ready for this?” I asked Chris as we made our way outside.
    “I meant to pick up some ear plugs on my way,” he said drily as he opened the car door for me. When I raised an eyebrow at him, he continued, “for all the screaming you and your mother will do.”
    My parents lived about forty minutes away from my apartment in Royal Oak, in an area typically known as Downriver, due to its position south of Detroit. My parents lived in an older community right on the river. Their house, a hundred year old colonial, was one of my favorite places in the world. My mother had spent almost her entire marriage renovating and improving on it until it looked like the kind of house you could find in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It was cozy and warm; there was usually a fire burning in the fireplace and delicious smells coming from the kitchen. I always felt safe when I was there.
    As Chris headed out toward the city, I pushed away the unease I’d been feeling all afternoon. My mom was probably just busy. She liked to go all out when people came over for dinner. She was a fantastic hostess. She was probably, like, baking a pie or something. Or maybe my dad had forgotten to put the cordless phone back on the charger—he was forever doing stuff like that. I smiled as I thought about my absentminded, sweet dad, and felt my excitement swell. The important thing was that I was going to tell them I was engaged tonight, and I could hardly wait. I could just imagine the look on my mom’s face when I showed her the ring. She was going to be thrilled. I knew it. She’d probably tell me that she told me so, but I didn’t care—I was too happy.
    “So,” I said, turning to Chris. “How should we do this?”
    “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes on the road.
    “I mean, how should we tell them?” I rolled my eyes at his cluelessness. How did boys manage to stay so even keeled about everything?
    “Um, we say, hey mom and dad, we decided to get engaged.”
    I slapped his arm lightly. “That’s no fun! Come on, don’t you want to make a big deal about it? It’s pretty huge news, you know.”
    “I know,” he said,