Page 108 of She Was Made for Me

I watch as Violet sips her wine, talking to her parents about her flight to the city. We spent the afternoon in bed, talking and laughing and making love. She’s lost weight since I saw her last, and even though I’ll always find her beautiful, I do miss her extra curves. More than that, I’m worried she lost weight because she wasn’t taking care of herself properly. It makes me eager to cook for her every night, to look after her in all the ways she needs.

She laughs at something Diana says, and I smile at the sound. Her cheeks have taken on a pink glow that wasn’t there earlier today, partly from the sex, but she also seems to be glowing with happiness.

I know how she feels. I wasn’t sure how she’d react when I showed up at the house, but once I saw her beautiful face so peacefully asleep, I couldn’t leave. It took all my strength not to climb onto the bed with her, but I managed to restrain myself, and I’m glad I did. She was surprised to see me, shocked, even, but it didn’t take me long to realize how happy she was to see me, too.

And now I get to live with her, to work with her, to build a life with her. I don’t have to hide what I want and how I feel, and I’ve never felt more grateful, more excited about my future.

We follow Rich and Diana through to the living room to sit with our drinks. Violet sinks easily onto the sofa, motioning for me to join her. I hesitate, wondering if I should snuggle beside her like I so desperately want to, but she tugs me down by the hand before I can second guess myself. Then I tuck an arm around her and she cuddles into my side with a soft sigh. When I finally force myself to glance at Rich, he’s smiling.

“So what’s the plan for you two?” Diana asks over her glass of wine.

“Well, assuming Rich is okay with it, I’d like to move into the house on Fruit Street with Vi.”

I’m relieved when Rich nods. “You’ll sell your place in Maine?”

I glance at Violet and worry flickers in her gaze. “No.” I press a kiss to her forehead, careful to avoid clocking Rich’s reaction. “I was thinking I’d keep that, and we could find a way to split our time between the two places.”

Violet’s face lights with an radiant smile. “Really?”

“Yeah. What do you think?”

“I love that idea! The cabin is so lovely. Maybe we could spend summers there.”

Summers at the lake with this beauty? I can’t imagine what I’ve done to deserve it.

“Sounds perfect.” I turn back to find Rich holding out an envelope. “What’s this?”

He glances between Violet and me, sighing. “Consider this my formal apology.”

I laugh as I reach for the envelope, expecting tickets to a show or something. My heart stops altogether when I find what appears to be the deed to the house on Fruit Street.

“Rich…” I look up, confused. “What…?”

He sits back to casually sip his beer. “Well, neither of you let me pay you for the work you did.”

I stare at my friend, dumbfounded. “You can’t possibly be serious.”

Violet leans forward to examine the document in my hand, and her eyes widen.

“But wewantedto do that work for you, Dad. We don’t need—”

“Then think of it as a very early wedding present,” Rich says with a shrug.

My heart beats double time at his words and I cut an awkward look to Violet. “Uh, we’re not—”

“No, not yet.” Rich’s gaze moves between the two of us. “But you will.”

I stare at my best friend, at the warmth in his eyes, and my chest feels like it’s about to burst. He’s right. I haven’t let myself think about it for even a second, but I know without a doubt that I will ask Violet to marry me at some point. There’s nothing I want more than to make her properly mine, especially now that I have Rich’s blessing.

When I look back at Violet, her cheeks are pink as she studies her wineglass. Leaning into her ear, I whisper, “Do you think you might like to?”

Her wide eyes flick to mine. “Like to what?”

I lift a shoulder, trying to appear nonchalant as my pulse ticks nervously in my wrist. “Get married someday.”

“Is that a proposal?” she whispers back.

I mean, yes, I could ask her right now. My feelings won’t change, not after everything we’ve been through to get to this point, but we’ve only just gotten back together. I don’t want to scare her. There’s no need to rush—we’ve got our whole lives together.

---