Page 49 of Little Gray Dress

“Do your parents know?”

“Emi… I’m almost 28 years old. I don’t need to run everything I do by my parents. Besides, you heard my mother the other day, she loves you.” His eyebrows rise in anticipation of my answer. “So… yes or no?”

It’s not the ring I’d love to get, but it’s close. I’ve never lived with a boy before so I’m more than nervous, but I know for a fact that I don’t want to say no. This is a big step towards true adulthood, and an even bigger step towards a possible husband.

“Yes.” I bite my lip through a giggle. “Yes, I will move in with you.”

Jack pulls me off the stool and lifts me off the ground before kissing my forehead. “Awesome.”

“So, which room is mine?” I joke, looking at the extra bedroom Jack’s turned into an office.

“That part is not negotiable… We share a room. Now go, call Lily because I know you’re absolutely dying to tell her.”

“You are the best boyfriend ever!” I quickly peck his lips with mine and grab my phone off the counter to call Lily on speaker phone so Jack can hear how excited girls get over these kinds of things.

“GUESS WHAT?!” I scream into the phone.

“What? God… Why are you so loud?” She laughs, but I can tell she’s annoyed with the screaming.

“Jack asked me to move in with him!”

“He did?”

“Yup.”

“You know what’s next, right? A proposal, I bet he’ll go all out.” Jack coughs in the background, probably in shock that girls think that moving in together automatically predicts a proposal. “Oh, am I on speaker?”

“Yeah…”

“Well… At least I’m not calling to verify the reservation of a wedding venue, like on Friends.”

“True,” I respond, wondering how Jack would react if something like that actually happened.

“When’s the big moving day?”

“As soon as Emi wants,” Jack says before I can speak. “This weekend if you like.”

“Really?”

“Of course, Andy told me the house was already up for sale so it’ll be easier to show if you’re out sooner than later. I can arrange movers to come and take care of it.”

“We can help if you want.” Lily volunteers her and Josh to help me pack up my whole life and move.

“OK!” I enthusiastically announce. “Let’s do it this weekend.”

Chapter Thirteen

Present Day

Downtown Portland, Oregon

The Reception

“Attention, wedding party!!” Botoxed Muffy claps as quietly as possible at us all lining up to get the wedding started. “Let’s get with our partners! Make sure you haven’t forgotten bouquets, tissues, rings…” She glances around at all of our faces. “Are we ready?”

I kind of feel like we should all yell, ma’am, yes ma’am here and watch her finally smile. She’s been bossing us around, yelling and just being generally obnoxious for the last thirty minutes. With it being so close to the wedding and the fact that guests are just beyond the doors she’s standing in front of, this is the quietest I’ve seen her yet.

“Once I open these doors we will walk down the aisle just like we practiced last night.”

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