Page 123 of Runaway Bride's Guide to Love

“I love you too, Tiger.”

That gets me another kiss before she moves slightly higher so her mouth is right next to my ear. “I’ll give you ten minutes to recover, but we’re still going to the beach.”

I groan, but only in jest.

I’ll take her to the beach.

I’ll take her to the fucking moon.

I’ll take her anywhere.

Because that’s what you do when you meet the person you were meant to find.

The person who adds a little chaos to your calm.

The person who completes you.

The person you know you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.

guide to love rule #71

The best surprise you can have is finding love. The second best is impromptu closet sex.

epilogue

Stella

A year ago today,I thought I had my life planned out.

I was turning twenty-six. I was engaged to a man I thought was my forever. I had a good job, good friends, a loving family, and nothing seemed to be standing in my way of a happily ever after.

Funny how so much has changed since then, and yet, as I’m celebrating birthday twenty-seven, these same general statements are true.

My friends and family are doing amazing. Andi is still at the law firm, and we still have our regular Thursday night drinks. It’s where she gives me the tea from the office, and I tell her about the antics of small-town Rolling Hills.

I always knew I’d move away from Rolling Hills after college, but I must admit, now working there each day, I love being back. Seeing my parents more, as well as friends from grade school, has been a nice change of pace to the hustle and bustle of Nashville.

And speaking of my job, it’s not just good, it’s great. At first I thought my position with Magnolia Properties was temporary, but turns out, I’m in it for the long haul. And I couldn’t be more excited about it.

In the few months since I’ve come in to run the office and social media, the company is pacing ahead of Simon’s goals for year-over-year progress. All of our rentals are filled, and each month we are adding more properties. I want to pat myself on the back for being responsible for that, and while I am a part of it, most of it is because my brother and boyfriend have a knack for going viral on the social media app,ForYou.Who knew having two handsome faces of a company, combined with their unfiltered ways of giving dating advice, could make people flock to a real estate company? We even have merch. Everything from hoodies to tumblers to baby onesies. Because of course, Lainey had to have her own line.

The best part, though, is seeing how energized Emmett is. Because we’re ahead of our schedule in terms of growth, it’s looking like within the next year, the construction portion of Magnolia Properties is going to begin, with Emmett being the head of the division. I’ve come home some nights and just stood back to watch as he pours over designs and ideas. He’s so determined to make each home truly special. It’s inspiring to be a part of.

Then again, what else would I expect from a man who makes it his mission each day to show me how special we are together?

I remember when he thought he was going to be bad at being a boyfriend. Or being in a relationship. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. The man could write a book on how to be a supportive and loving partner. Take today, my birthday, for example. After he made me breakfast in bed—and I washisbreakfast in bed—he handed me gift cards for my favorite stores at my favorite mall. This is even after taking me to Destin last week for a birthday celebration for just the two of us. Apparently, he had more up his sleeve. So he arranged for Maeve to pick me up for a girls’ day—which was going to lead into a dinner tonight at my parents’ house. When he smacked my butt out the door I was told to use all the gift cards and any credit card I wanted. I wasn’t to worry aboutmoney or where to put the new shoes and clothes I would inevitably buy.

He’s really the best.

And yes, Emmett and I are officially living together. I don’t even know when it actually happened. We never had a talk about it. Slowly but surely more and more of my things ended up at his place. I never slept at my old apartment. Then one day I called it “home” and he didn’t correct me. Actually, he kissed me so hard my lips bruised.

I know we haven’t been together long. And some might say it’s too quick to move in with him. Those same people probably thought it was too quick for us to even be together, let alone say we love each other.

And to those people, I’d kindly say, “go fuck yourself.”

Emphasis on kindly. I’m a southern lady, after all.

Though that’s all hypothetical. My entire family is one-thousand-percent Team Emmett. My dad loves him. Hell, the two of them, along with Simon, have a standing tee time Sunday morning. My mom has told everyone she knows about us. And when her judgy bingo group made snide comments about me just being engaged, she told them to kick rocks.

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