Fliss screamed, babbled something incoherent, and slapped my cheek.
“You’re right, princess.” I nodded. “I should’ve listened to you.”
“Buh babababa. Dada.”
Ryan laughed. “She is pretty smart for only being eleven months old.”
“Oh Romeo, Romeo!” A woman shouted outside Ryan’s patio. “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?”
“What the hell?” I looked at Ryan in confusion. “Is there a local Shakespeare play going on?”
“Right outside my window?” Ryan raised his eyebrows. “In our courtyard? Highly doubtful.”
“Oh Romeo, Romeo!” The woman shouted again, sounding vaguely familiar. “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?”
Ryan smirked. “I think she’s calling for you, Romeo.”
Me? What the hell? I passed Fliss to Ryan, stood up, and then walked to his sliding glass door. Pushing aside the curtain, I was stopped in my tracks at the sight of Maddie standing on the other side of the railing in a hot-as-hell dress, clutching a bouquet of roses.
I pushed open the sliding glass door and stepped outside. “Maddie? What’s going on?”
Maddie smiled tremulously at me. “Deny thy father, but keep your name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll continue to be a Roberts.”
“Okay.” I blinked. “I get that it’s a scene from Romeo and Juliet, but I have no freaking clue what’s going on. Do I have lines or something?”
“That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” She passed the bouquet to me.
“This is like a really screwed up fever dream. What the hell is going on? Can you speak like a normal person?”
Maddie’s lips quivered as she smiled and a world of emotion pooled in her eyes. “Romeo and Juliet is a play about star-crossed lovers who are doomed before they even begin their love affair. Some people—” She turned and I noticed we had an audience collected around the pool made up of both our families. “Some people have said that the two of us being together would be just as disastrous, so I wanted to rewrite the play and give the two of us a happy ending.”
“I don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks. I care about what you think.” I reached out and cupped her face in my hand. “I’m so sorry for—”
“No, that’s my line.” Maddie cut me off, her smile quivering. “I’m so sorry for lying to you, Nathan. I should’ve told you everything before it got to the crazy place that it did on the I-5. I should’ve made you my priority. And if you’ll let me, I will now until the end of time.”
My anger leached out of me in the face of her fervent apology. I knew we still had shit to sort out but her words went a long way to healing the pain that’d been nagging at me all week. And I knew what it took to be able to say those words, especially in front of all our family. “Thank you. That means so fucking much to me. I uh, I don’t know what to say.”
“Then let me say it.” Maddie’s eyes glowed with intensity. “I choose you, Nathan. I will always choose you. I love you.”
“Fuck yeah.” I leaned down and kissed her with everything I had, claiming her with my mouth, lips and tongue until we were both breathless while our families cheered from somewhere behind her. Finally I pulled away and gave her a smile. “I love you too. But I still don’t get all this.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “I know your love language is acts of service, but I couldn’t think of anything that would be enough to make up for all the heartache I’d put you through. And since my love language is words of affirmation and I love literature—although I will literally kill anyone who thinks Romeo and Juliet is a romance—I thought this was cute.”
“Words of affirmation? Love language?” I blinked, so fucking confused. “Are you speaking English or is this still part of the Shakespeare thing?”
“Didn’t Ryan talk to you? He was supposed to tell you about love languages.”
“Yeah, sorry to interrupt.” Ryan stepped out onto the patio, holding his baby. “I didn’t get a chance to tell him, and he was getting pretty pissy so I—”
“Hey Ryan?” I called without looking away from Maddie.
“Yeah?”
“You mind getting the hell out of my makeup scene with my girl here?”
“Yup. No problem.”
I groaned, resting my head against Maddie’s. “Did you seriously have to invite my whole family?”
“This is me claiming you in front of everyone. No forbidden love here. I’m one hundred percent in, and I want everyone to know it.”
“I guess that’s all right. I’m in, too.” And because she looked so fucking gorgeous, I had to kiss her again. And again.
And about five minutes later, Austin shouted. “Do we have to stay here for this part? I’m not down for a floor show. Gah.”
I broke away from Maddie to turn my head and shout back. “Feel free to leave at any time, asshole.”
“Um, you know my parents are here, right?” Maddie buried her face in my chest.
Kim and Greg Roberts peeked out from behind Aunt Wendy and Brian. “Thanks for coming, Mister and Missus Roberts.”
They gave me an awkward wave back.
I turned to Maddie. “How about we take this party back to my place where we can be alone?”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow, so let’s never part again.”
“That at least I understand. I’m here and I’m never letting you go. I love you, Madison Roberts.”
“I love you, Nathan Burns.”
I kissed her with my arms wrapped around her as our family clapped and cheered.
Epilogue
MaddieOne month later
“Nathan!” I yelled as I shoved open his front door. “Nathan?”
“You’re back?” Nathan jogged down the hallway with a huge smile. “So? Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I got the job!”
Nathan gave a whoop as his arms came around me. The room spun as we twirled around. “I knew it. They’d have been stupid not to hire you, baby. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
The grin that’d been on my face since I’d been offered the job didn’t
