Page 134 of Party Favors

We kissed again, gently, slightly longer, but still tentative on his part.

He rested his forehead against mine. “You thanked me once for saving you.”

“When that car nearly flattened me like Gumby?”

He smiled. “Yes. But you’re the one who saved me, and I didn’t even know that I needed to be saved. I am sorry that I’m not royalty, though.”

“I was waiting for a fairy tale, but you’re so much better than some story because you’re real. I would take every hardship and obstacle and misunderstanding if it means I get to be with you in the end.”

“And I would face down every evil queen and wicked stepmother, slay every dragon, to be with you,” he promised, kissing my hands.

“But I also want to be with you through all the mundane, routine, and ordinary moments, too.”

“So do I, la mia lei.”

“And speaking of hardships and shared aspirations, if I start my own business, I am going to have a crazy schedule,” I warned him. “I’ll never know when I’ll be able to see you. I’ll have to constantly work evenings and weekends to get it up and running.”

“I will support you a hundred percent in everything you do, and I will take whatever time you can give me. I’ll even rearrange my schedule so that I can be available whenever you are.”

“You would do that for me?” The tears were going to start falling again.

“I would do anything for you, Everly.”

“There is one more thing,” I said, scooting closer to him. “As you know, I don’t have a ton of experience when it comes to the more physical side of relationships. Maybe you could help me out with that.”

He gave me a wolfish grin. “You know how much I love helping others.”

“I’m counting on it,” I told him.

Then he kissed me for real and made the rest of the world completely fade away. Max was mine and I was his and nothing else mattered.

I had just climbed into his lap when he pulled his head back. “Did you make a list for today?”

At my expression, he laughed.

“Yes, I made a list,” I admitted.

“Am I on it?”

“You are the list,” I said. “I listed out the pros and cons of us being together and tried to write down all the ways this conversation might go. The only thing I didn’t know was how it would end.”

There was so much love in his bright blue eyes as he looked at me, gently caressing my face. “You know how our fairy tale ends. Happy Everly after.”

EPILOGUE

Two years later . . .

“They really do tours here?” I asked as we stepped out of our rental car in front of the Monterran royal palace.

Max proposed to me three months after I came back to New York City. He’d had the ring with him the day we worked things out and got back together, but he wanted to wait for a perfect moment.

That perfect moment never came because we were both so busy. We were at a bridal shower in Central Park, where he had volunteered to help out with the heavy lifting. While everyone was eating, he took me into a wooded area and said, “You need to plan your own bridal shower.”

“What? Why?”

Then he got down on one knee and I knew why.

We were married six months later because neither one of us saw the point in a long engagement. It was relatively easy to organize everything quickly because I was the best client I had ever worked with. I went along with every decision I made.

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