by Rica Grayson
“She said yes. It’s happening,” I replied firmly, making sure she understood me. How important this was to me.
“You’re never coming back, are you?” she asked, hurt in her voice. A weary sigh escaped her, unable to conceal her frustration on the other end of the line.
“I’m still going to visit.”
She was silent for a moment, pondering my words. Choosing her words carefully, she said, “She’s ‘it’ for you.” It wasn’t phrased like a question.
It was finally sinking in.
“I want to meet her,” she then said after a while, in a business-like voice. She paused for a second before she asked rather cautiously, “Am I invited to your wedding?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” I heard the relief in her voice.
And when the call ended, I considered it a success.
It didn’t start off well, but at least the conversation hadn’t ended like the last.
Sierra came out of the new cake shop, her curls bouncing with each step, her smile wide and infectious.
“I got it!” she yelled, waving around the white paper bag. I saw it glint in the sunlight.
My ring on her finger.
I knew what was inside the bag. She’d been talking about it last night. It was a special edition, and a lot of people were raving about it.
“Mud cake!” She held it up proudly, the way someone would a medal. “It was the last one. And someone had the nerve to insert themselves in front of me. There was—” her smile dropped a little “—a bit of an altercation. Nothing you need to worry about.”
An altercation.
She’d tried to shrug it off, and it only made me want to ask more about it.
Whenever she withdrew, I liked to push.
“How did it go?” she asked me, nodding towards the phone in my hand.
“Surprisingly good.”
“Everyone will be there, then.” She beamed at me, and leaned her head on my shoulder. I put an arm around her, resting a hand at the curve of her hip, pulling her close. Her warmth calmed me.
She understood. I needed to have everyone there. I didn’t have to tell her, but she respected that, even though my aunt had decided she didn’t like her.
And my aunt had nearly driven her away.
I tightened my hold on her as the memory came back to me.
We had a talk. That conversation didn’t go well, but it was done and now she understood.
“Who did you clash with?” I asked, curious.
“No one,” came her immediate reply.
This I wanted to hear.
“Who?”
She rolled her eyes. “Rona put up a picture of us last week.” The time when we told everyone we were engaged. “Some people didn’t like that,” she explained.
“They don’t matter.”
“This one did. She nearly got the last cake,” she reasoned, like it was the greatest injustice in the world.
I couldn’t hold back a grin. “But you won.”
“Of course. We can celebrate when we get home,” she said cheerily, holding up the cake.
We got in the car, and I saw her slowly place the box on her lap with so much care, it may as well have been gold.
And I knew when she called it home, she considered it ours. She was starting to get used to the idea, a good sign that she was open to it.
I caught it, the moment her eyes softened when her gaze landed back on the ring I put on her finger just last week.
She was mine.
And now, everyone else could see it, too.
I hid a smile. I’d just wait until we got home and see how she reacts when she realizes I moved her things in.
Also by Rica Grayson
Truce or Dare (Sweet Fortuity Book 1)
Acknowledgments
A special thanks to Dj—this book wouldn’t have been what it is without you.
Thank you, Shayne of Wicked Good Book Covers, as always, for my wonderful cover.
Thank you to the stranger whose car horn went off on at midnight. This story was born because you.
And finally, thank you, reader, for giving this book a chance.
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About the Author
Rica Grayson never thought she would become an author, but it turned out life had other plans.
She loves a good HEA, sassy heroines, and a hero who loves the heroine more than anything.
When she isn’t buried in writing and plotting relationships, she’s reading Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Romance books, or gaming.
Website and contact:
www.ricagrayson.com
[email protected]