The Beauty Beneath

by DC Renee

  “Dear God, C, what’d you bet this time? And why is it always a dress?” I asked, chuckling as I made my way over to him, surrounded by his friends, correction, our friends. Shortly after we got together, Carter admitted everything to them about our fake relationship and my part in the bet. They gave him shit about it, but only because they could. Then they were just completely happy for us, saying it was meant to be. Beth and some of my new girlfriends were there too. That wasn’t unusual nowadays, especially after I started spending more time with Beth. Carter didn’t want to stay away, so he’d join, and drag his friends, and voila, our version of Friends was born, only bigger and louder. And I was pretty sure Beth had absolutely no issues with Lance being around more often, but she still hadn’t said a word. I’d break her down, though. After all, she did that to me, so it was only fair I’d do it to her.

  Carter pulled me into a hug when I made it to the table, and then kissed me not so PDA-friendly. I’d gotten used to that too. We argued at first, but Carter would just say, “Be happy it wasn’t more. You’re lucky I show this much restraint around you.” I gave up.

  “What’s this about?” I asked as we broke apart. “And why didn’t I know you had some bet going on?”

  He took a step back but held onto my hands with his.

  “Exactly one year ago today, I made a bet with these clowns,” he said as he nodded toward the guys. “And it was the best decision I’ve ever made. But as you know, the loser was supposed to wear a dress.”

  “But the bet was called off,” I interjected.

  “Technically, yes.” He nodded. “But technically, I lost. So I figured it was time to pay up.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, and I could tell I was furrowing my eyebrows.

  “I lost, Em. I lost my heart to you. And I’ve never been happier.”

  “I love you,” I whispered, tears glistening in my eyes at how sweet Carter could be.

  “The bet was about finding someone to fall for me, and then parting ways. But I fell for you, Em. I fell in love with your witty comments, with your sharp tongue, your sense of humor. I fell in love with how strong you are, with how independent you are. I fell in love with how fiercely you care about the people you love. I fell in love with your beauty, all of your beauty. What’s on the outside and the beauty beneath. And when it was all said and done, I couldn’t let you go. So I lost.” He shrugged.

  “And in true dramatic fashion”—he smirked—“I figured what better way to make it known that I had no qualms about losing that bet than to pay my dues.”

  “So you wore a dress to tell me just how happy you are you lost that bet?” I asked, shaking my head at his antics.

  “No, I wore a dress to show you just how far I’ll go to keep you so that when I get down on my knee and ask you to marry me, you won’t say no.”

  “I … What?” I asked, completely shocked.

  “Uh, guys,” he said over my shoulder and let go of one of my hands to take a small black box from Dan. “Sorry, not much room to hide this thing under here,” he said as he lifted the skirt up a bit.

  I knew people in the bar around us were hushed, their eyes glued to the scene, but the rest of the bar was packed and noisy. But all I heard was Carter. He was all I’d ever heard.

  And then he got down on one knee, and I gasped, my free hand flying to my mouth as Carter still held onto my other one. This time, tears weren’t just glistening in my eyes, they were free falling all over the place, and I didn’t care one bit.

  Carter tried to open the box with one hand, but that didn’t work. “This seemed much more graceful in my head,” he muttered as he let go of my hand. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Just like with everything else in our life, this was weird, and quirky, and serious, and even funny.

  He opened the box, and a beautiful ring sparkled, catching the light as Carter stared intently at me.

  “Emerson Elaine Higgins,” he said, and I gasped again. “I took a look at your birth certificate,” he said with a wink. “Elaine, I like it.” He shrugged, and I giggled. Damn me and my giggling. “Em, baby, I love you so fucking much. And I’m going to get you to marry me one way or another, even if I have to trick you,” he said with all seriousness, and I didn’t doubt he meant it. “But I’d much rather you did it on your own. So do me the honor of saying yes. Tell me you’ll marry me.”

  What could a girl really say to that? “Yes,” I responded, and all our friends roared and yelled all at once.

  “Yes?” he asked over their cheering as if he couldn’t believe what I’d said.

  “Yes, Carter, I’ll marry you. In a heartbeat,” I said as he slipped the ring on my finger.

  And then I threw myself at him, and we tumbled to the floor. I was pretty sure his dress rode up, and he flashed some people his goods, but I didn’t care. “I thought I might have to manipulate you into this,” he whispered against my lips.

  “I love you, Carter. And I’d be honored to be your wife,” I told him.

  “God, I’m so fucking lucky,” he groaned as he kissed me.

  “Stop molesting each other so we can congratulate you,” Beth said standing right over us. So we got up and spent the night celebrating.

  When we made it home, Carter pulled me to him and held my face in his hands like he did often, staring right into my eyes. “I can’t tell you enough how truly happy I am with you, how incredibly lucky I am to have your love, how unbelievable it is that you forgave me and gave me another chance, and how fan-fucking-tastic it is that you broke out of your shell for me. I promise you, Em, I’ll never hurt you again. And for as long as I live, you’ll never doubt my love, and you’ll forever have my protection. I’ll make sure you never feel like you have to hide or bury your beauty beneath pain and scars ever again. I’ll heal any marks left behind. I promise you that.”

  “I know, Carter, I know,” I told him. “This ugly duckling found her white swan thanks to her handsome prince. And we’ll live happily ever after,” I teased.

  “As long as we’re together, Em, we will.”

  And we did.

  ~The End~

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  Looking for more books from DC Renee?

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  You might ask for a picture or maybe an autograph.

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