Nuptials for Sale Read Free Page A

SuperMart proposal gave me over a thousand hits, but the most popular one was our video. 
    “Mom, I’ve got to go.  I’ll call you later.”  I hung up and shut off my phone before she had the chance to argue with me.     
    I clicked on the video and watched in horror as Josh’s joke proposal was broadcast across the internet.  My eyes panned down the page to the comments listed. 
    An hour later, I was still reading the comments when my office phone rang. 
    “Hello, Mel Holden, how can I help you?” I spit out my usual robotic greeting without looking away from the screen.
    “Trip?”
    I leaned down closer to my desk and whispered into the receiver, “Oh my God, Josh.  Have you seen it?”
    “Yes.  Some girl at work showed it to me.  How are you handling this?” Josh sounded concerned.
    “I don’t think anyone at work has seen it yet, or at least they haven’t said anything to me.  Josh, this thing is huge.  It’s got over a million hits and counting.  There’s no way we can keep this a secret from everyone.”
    “I know.  I just got off the phone with your mom.”
    I mimicked beating my head against my desk, “She called you too?”
    “Yes, she’s quite upset with us.” He said the last part in a perfect imitation of my mom’s voice.  “She’s ecstatic, but still upset.”
    I rolled my eyes and groaned, “She already called me. That’s how I found out about it.”
    Josh laughed at me.
    “Don’t laugh!  You’re just as much in this as I am.” 
    “I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.  I’ll stop and pick up some Chinese for dinner and we’ll figure out a way to get out of this.” 
    I could tell he was still smiling, though he’d at least put effort into not laughing anymore.
    “Fine, but I’m telling you right now, you’re going to have to be the one to tell her that we’re not really getting married.  There is no way I’m doing it.” 
    “Sweetheart, just come home and we’ll talk about all the details for the wedding then,” he said it sweetly and then followed it up with kissing noises into the phone.
    “You’re an ass, you know that!” I said with a smile.
    I thought I was going to make a clean break from work, but with ten minutes left in the day an e-mail message popped up in my inbox.  The subject line said it all, “I wonder where they’ll register?”
    Shit!  I thought to myself and clicked the message open.  Sure enough, there was the link to my video.  The message had been forwarded to everyone in the office and I could actually hear the video playing from several cubicles around me.  Giggles, chuckles, and a few loud roars filled the office as people realized exactly what they were watching. 
    I shook my head and shut my computer off.  I grabbed my purse and headed for the elevator.  My foot tapped impatiently as I waited for the doors to open.
    “Congratulations, Mel.”
    I turned to see Bobby smiling at me. 
    I smiled back at her but couldn’t bring myself to speak. 
    The doors to the elevator opened up and I threw myself in before Bobby could say anything else.
    True to his word, when I got home dinner was on the table.  There was also a bottle of wine, a beer, and two lit candles. 
    “I figured we could have a nice candle-lit dinner to celebrate the fact that our engagement has gone public.” Josh said as he came sweeping into the dining room from the kitchen.  He had a wine glass and two forks in his hands.
    I gave him a disapproving look.  “Part of me is starting to think that you’re enjoying this.”
    “Why wouldn’t I be?  This has got to be my best prank ever, right?” his face was beaming with pride.
    “Yes, well, your mom is not calling you excited about the prospect of having a married daughter.  We have to tell her soon before she starts asking when we are going to give her a grandchild.”  I dished out Lo Mein as he poured wine into my glass.
    He laughed dryly, “You’re right,