Page 115 of Just One Kiss

He shushed her.

After several minutes, he reread what he’d written, tore the page from the notebook and faced her. He knelt down in front of her. “Carly Raeanne Collins—”

“Josh—”

He held up his hand to silence her again. “I promise to love you the way I loved you the first time I ever saw you when we were kids. To remember the way my heart jumped the first time we held hands. To reinvent ways to kiss you like it was the first time we ever kissed. I promise to be faithful to you, to protect you, to listen to your advice and sometimes even take it.” He glanced up and found her smiling through tears that he hoped had turned happy.

“I promise to cherish you. To take care of you. To do what’s best for you and to always put your happiness before my own. I promise that in all things you will forever be myalways.”

A tear streamed down her cheek, and he reached over and wiped it away with his thumb, letting his hand rest in the crook of her neck.

“You really mean it?” She looked up at him, eyes wide and uncharacteristically insecure.

“More than anything.” He leaned in and kissed her, the kind of kiss that made their problems melt away. Suddenly they weren’t two kids about to have a baby, they were Carly and Josh—two people who loved each other even though it made no sense.

“Maybe we have to wait to get married, but to me, it’s a done deal. These vows are the proof. This piece of paper makes it official.” He handed it to her, wishing it looked a little less like a high school English assignment and a little more like something worth framing, but it was heartfelt and that had to count for something.

Carly took the paper and pressed it to her chest. “I think this is the best gift you’ve ever given me.”

The memory of that night, coupled with the vision of Carly—his Carly—inthatdress, had taken his heart out to the shed for a good and honest butt-whooping. He wasn’t sure when, or if, he’d ever recover.

“This is such an amazing shop.” Rebecca seemed not to notice the exchange that had just happened or the reaction it had drawn out of Josh, and that was probably for the best. The woman was notorious for poking around in his personal life, and he’d become a master at revealing nothing. He’d like to keep it that way, though he realized asking her to come to Harbor Pointe was probably not the best way to do so.

To Rebecca, Josh was a sad, slightly older man who seemed lonely and bored. How many times had she mentioned “a friend she could set him up with”? How many times had he refused?

Josh cleared his throat. “We should go.”

But Rebecca shot across the store with her face full of wonderment, her eyes wide and bright. She picked up a veil. “I absolutely love this.”

“You can get all this stuff in the city,” Josh said.

“For three times the cost.” She tossed him a look. “Aren’t you supposed to be selling me on this little town of yours?”

He turned a circle, raking a hand through his hair, feeling trapped like a rat in a cage.

The curtains on both changing rooms opened, as if the two sisters had been rehearsing their entrance in a musical. Josh might as well have had a mouth full of cotton. He tried—failed—to swallow around the dryness.

The little old woman who’d greeted them when they walked in bustled over to Carly and her sister. “Girls, you aren’t leaving?”

“Sorry, Dot,” Quinn said. “We’re kind of in a hurry, but we’ll be back. I wonder if you might be willing to hold this one for me?” She held up the dress, and Dot smiled.

“Of course I will, dear,” she said. “It was truly beautiful on you.”

“Josh, what do you think of this?”

He turned and found Rebecca holding up a lacy white garter with blue flowers on it. Once she had his attention, she grinned. “Just kidding. How much do you hate this store?” She’d whispered the last part—thankfully—or the old woman might’ve been offended.

Rebecca put the garter back, then spun toward him. “We can go now if you want. I can tell you’re bored.” Her eyes traveled across the room to where Carly was standing. She squinted. “Hey, isn’t that . . . ?”

“Rebecca, don’t.”

She looked at him, but she rarely listened. “It’s Jaden’s mom, isn’t it?” She smiled. “Finally, I can get the dirt on you.” She flounced over to Carly like they were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.

Seconds later, Carly looked up, horror on her face. Her eyes darted to Josh then back to Rebecca, who was just . . . about . . . to . . .

“You’re Carly,” Rebecca said in her usual bubbly tone.

Quinn’s eyes widened. Carly froze.

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