Page 125 of DFF: Delicate Freakin' Flower

I stopped walking entirely, looking at him with complete wonder while Shelby wrapped her leash around my ankles. “Webb, you absolute lunatic.”

He shrugged again, smiling like he’d just been awarded the Nobel Prize in Wholesome Chaos.

“Can I see the footage next time it pings?” I asked.

“You kidding? I've set everything up for you. I’ll add the app to your phone tonight.”

The dogs tugged forward again, pulling us toward the outdoor patio of a restaurant. As we neared it, I pulled on his arm gently,stopping us just shy of the entrance. The moment had hit me quietly, between puppy tugs and raccoon stories. I looked at him, really looked at him, and felt something so big in my chest it made me ache.

“Thank you,” I said softly, my voice just above the hum of street noise.

He frowned, head tilting. “For what?”

“For everything. The house, the dogs, and this life you’ve given me. You didn’t have to do any of it, but you did, and it means more to me than I’ll ever be able to say.”

His brows twitched like he wasn’t sure whether to smile or kiss me. So, being the kind soul that I am, I helped him decide by reaching up and doing it for him, kissing him slow and deep while our insane dogs tugged around our ankles.

“I love you,” I breathed against his lips.

He held my face as if it were something breakable. “I love you more.”

We walked the last few steps to the table, and once the dogs had settled near our feet, I reached for his hand across the weathered wood surface.

“I never expected any of this,” I admitted, my fingers lacing through his. “Not the house, not the space you made for me, not even the damn feeder for the raccoons. But it’s done something to me, Webb, mentally and emotionally. Just knowing it’s there—that you’ve created this life for us—it’s changed something in me. And I love being with you. I lovethiswith you.”

He leaned in, dark eyes steady on mine. “I needed it, too. Truth is, I didn’t even know how much until I started building it. I’vebeen living my life without anything real to hold onto, which was probably why I couldn’t settle. But now I have it all, and that’s because of you.” Then he smirked and added, “Also, I should probably warn you…I think I’m slightly allergic to dogs.”

My head jerked at that. “What?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, rubbing his nose. “So, if I start sneezing or itching when they crawl all over me like I’m their jungle gym, don’t be surprised.”

I burst out laughing, startling Sage into toppling her water bowl.

“You’re such a mess.”

He grinned. “Yeah, but I’m your mess.”

And right then, with the sun warming my back, a cold drink in my hand, and three rambunctious puppies and their mom curled under the table, I realized I wouldn’t change a damn thing.

The call came mid-morning,just as I was trying to wrestle Sage out from behind the couch with a shoe in her mouth and half a roll of toilet paper glued to her side by static.

“Gabriella,” Gladys greeted, her voice bright and firm. “The wedding’s next week.”

I froze. “Next week?”

“Yes, sweetheart. And I want you to be my maid of honor.”

The rest of her sentence melted into the background as my brain tried to catch up.

“Wait—really?”

“Of course, really,” she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re practically my daughter. And nobody else I trust is bossy enough to keep me from saying something snide to the officiant if he gets my name wrong.”

I laughed, my heart already warming. “All right, just tell me where and when.”

A few hours later, we were standing inside the prettiest little vintage bridal shop I’d ever seen. The kind of place that smelled faintly of old books and rosewater, with lace hanging from every rack and soft jazz playing in the background. The window display was full of understated gowns—pearls, illusion necklines, delicate beadwork, and not a single puffball skirt in sight. My kind of place.

Gladys stepped out of the fitting room in her third option, and I forgot how to speak for a second.

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