Sweet

“Me? Please!”

Riley grinned at me. “Come here, sit down.” He dropped to the ground, dangling his feet over the edge, patting the spot next to him. “It’s a perfect night.”

“It is a perfect night.” I sank down beside him, awed by what was happening between us. “The best.” This was the night that was going to change my life. Because I already knew. “Riley, I will marry you.”

For someone who had never thought much about marriage and who had never been in love, the moment it was there in front of me, it was so obvious, there was no denying what had to happen.

The smile fell off his face. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

His response was to kiss me deeply, his tongue sliding across mine, his hand burying in the back of my hair. When he finally pulled back we were both breathing hard and my fingers were curled in the front of his T- shirt.

“Luckiest. Guy. Ever,” he said, then cocked his finger. “Write that down.”

I laughed. “You’re crazy.”

“Crazy in love. And I’m going to permanently ditch the princess nickname. It’s not you. A princess wouldn’t do the Warrior Dash or tear up carpet or give up everything in that big house your parents own on principle. I’m sorry I ever misjudged you.”

He was right. I wasn’t a princess. I never had been. “Thank you.”

He cleared his throat. “Hey, I have a confession to make.”

Needing to lighten the intensity of the moment, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “You’re really a woman?”

He laughed. “Kiss my ass, Jess. No, the thing is my number is actually slightly higher than yours.”

His number. He meant sex partners. I smacked him. “Are you kidding me? All that and your number is higher? I thought you’d been with like two girls and were madly in love with both.”

“Well. I didn’t mean to give that impression. I mean, that would be true for the last five years, you know, once I settled down a little.” I swear his ears were actually turning pink. “But I got an early start.”

“How early?”

“Thirteen.”

Holy crap. I tried not to show any sort of reaction.

“And you know, that number racks up quicker than you’d think.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You are such a complete ass.”

“I accept that description in this particular instance. But for the record, the only girl I’ve been madly in love with is you.” He smiled at me. “Cross my heart.” And he did it. Just crossed his heart with those fingers that I knew so well, that had moved over my body with such tenderness and had held my hand when I needed strength.

“You’re the only guy I’ve been in love with, madly or otherwise.” I leaned against him. “I wish that I hadn’t done anything with Tyler,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for that. I am. I wish I could undo it.”

He was silent for a second and I waited anxiously for his response. “I know,” he said finally. “You couldn’t know the future. It’s not what I wanted either, but I trust him with my life, and you with my heart, so it’s all good.”

That meant more to me than just about anything. “I won’t hurt you,” I promised. “That’s the last thing I want.” I looked out at the river. “We should celebrate, you know? We’re getting married.” I felt insanely happy just thinking about it.

“I wish I had been more prepared. I could have really done something romantic here.”

“What, like serenade me with Justin Bieber’s ‘Boyfriend’?”

“Hell, no.”

“Take me to the bow of a cruise ship and tell me I’m flying, like in Titanic?”

“Uh, no.”

“Salsa dance with me to perfectly choreographed moves we magically know while a band suddenly appears behind us?”

“Absolutely not.”

“What could be any more romantic than those things?” I asked.

“I was thinking something simpler—like it would have been nice if I’d had a ring and some hooch.”

I laughed. “Hooch? Because the thought of marrying me makes you want to drink?”

“No, to toast with.”

“I think you’re supposed to do that with Champagne.”

He made a raspberry sound with his lips. “That stuff tastes like shit. It’s like asking for diabetes it’s so sweet, and besides, you pay fourteen bucks for a bottle and you only get four glasses out of it. A twenty-dollar bottle of whiskey will get you forty shots.”

“Classy,” I remarked, leaning on his shoulder in the dark, the lights of the city spread out like a blanket. I was feeling so in love, the night so delicious and perfect, it might as well have been Paris down there. It was just as romantic, in my eyes.

“The classiest thing about me is you,” he said.

That was a sweet thing to say, but I thought about it and wondered. “I don’t know how classy I really am. I think that was part of the ‘girl they wanted me to be.’ I think the real me is more the girl with bare feet in Zeke’s bar or chasing the vacuum thief around the yard. Jayden said I was a baller and I like to think there’s truth to that.”

“Damn straight. I wouldn’t want to mess with you, that’s for sure. So you’re a classy baller. You should form a bowling team with that name.”

I laughed so hard I started snorting, which made him laugh.

“I don’t know how to bowl,” I said, leaning backward.

“So learn. We got nothing but time.”

We did. The whole future, stretched out before us, just like downtown below.

Chapter Nineteen

Easton stared at me like I was the biggest idiot he’d ever encountered in his life. “That’s not going to work.”

“Sure it will,” I said cheerfully, even though I had no idea if I was right or not.

My thought was twofold. One, I was going to attempt a different tactic to get Easton to like me, because let’s face it, I was in this house for good and I didn’t want him glaring at me at random intervals. My angle couldn’t be Rory’s—I wasn’t baking any pies, and I couldn’t be counted on to give stellar advice or keep from swearing. But I could show him fun in a positive way, one that didn’t involve dirty magazines or throwing snack foods at people’s butts. Second, it was only mid-June and my skin was breaking out from being in a constant pool of sweat. Easton and Jayden were ripe, seemingly oblivious to the awesome merits of deodorant, so we all needed to cool down.

With all of our nerves stretched taut because of Riley being at the courthouse for the final custody hearing on Easton, I had spent twenty-five bucks on an inflatable Slip ’N Slide. Only when we got back to the house, I realized the ancient hose in the garage was cracked in about six spots. Not willing to be defeated, I went and found the roll of duct tape and was wrapping it around the hose to plug the leaks.

It was Friday, five days after Riley had proposed to me on the top of the church steps, and I was happier than I’d ever been. I loved being with him, and I felt like I was stepping up and tackling challenges instead of passively moving through my life. It may seem basic to some people, but taking on a busted hose was a personal triumph for me.

“Where does the water come from?” Jayden asked, chewing his fingernail as he watched me.

“The faucet.” I was sweating, hair flopping in my eyes. I kept checking my phone to see if Riley had called, even though it was in my pocket and I would feel it vibrate. I wasn’t sure what would happen if the judge ruled against Riley, but it wouldn’t be good.