Page 63 of Love and Other Chances

“Now that the table is clear, I have a not-Christmas gift for you,” I proclaim with smug excitement. Brooks tries to tell me I didn’t need to get him a gift, but I can see the eager anticipation in his eyes.

I slide the thin box across the table, and he quickly unwraps it. Pulling out the desk plaque inside, he reads out loud, “Principal Murphy.” His eyes are both soft and dancing when he looks up at me.

“Teegan, this is perfect. I don’t know when I’ll get to use it for real, but you better believe I’m going to display it on my dresser for now,” Brooks says, voice warm.

“I believe in you. You’re going to make an amazing administrator someday,” I respond. “But that’s not all. I got this specially made on Etsy.” I slide the Principal Murphy plaque out of the holder and pull the additional options out of my purse, which I hand over to him.

His smile grows as he reads them. “Dean of Student Fun, Chancellor of Chaos, and Headmaster of Hijinks. Teeg, this is too good. Now it’sreallyperfect,” he says with a laugh.

“I figure you can decide which vibe fits the day,” I tell him with a grin of my own.

As we exit the restaurant, Brooks is quick to pull my hand into his. We stroll slowly toward the parking lot, neither of us eager to part ways.

Brooks clears his throat. “Hey, I’ve been thinking about something. We’re going to see each other at small group next week—well, every week actually. And I’ve been wondering when we might want to tell the group that we’re dating?”

I look over at Brooks, his hair golden under the street lamp, profile striking in the half darkness. It’s too dark to see his eyes clearly, but I have his particular shade of blue memorized.

“Right now!” I say, pulling out my phone.

“Right now?” Brooks repeats.

“Yes! Act like you like me for a selfie,” I tease, pulling him to me.

“Zero acting required,” he says. I catch a photo of him softly smiling at me before he turns to face the camera.That will be my little treasure.

Brooks squishes his face against mine, and we both give cheesy grins to the screen. He hovers over my shoulder as I pull up our small group chat to send the photo. The cheesy smiles don’t even look cheesy—we just lookelated.

Heads up that Brooks is off the market! Now accepting suggestions for our ship name

It’s mere seconds before a message flurry starts dinging through, but that’s long enough for Brooks to press a firm kiss to my temple. And my knees to go weak. I guess clichés become cliché for a reason.

SARAH

I KNEW IT

BRIAN

Congrats guys! That’s awesome! Candace is cheering

NATALIE

Woo hooooooo! You two are adorable together!

WILL

Love to hear it

CATHERINE

JASON

JOY

Caleb and I are so delighted for you. #teambreegan

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