Page 159 of Forever

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

But Matt knew my heart. He knewme. And he still wanted me just as much now as he did back in high school. I took another deep breath. I couldn’t wait to marry him tonight.

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he saw me. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Maybe,” I said with a smile.

“I still think it’s bad luck to sleep together the night before the wedding.”

“No.” I was lucky. Tanner said so. And I’d learned that Tanner was right about most things. “I don’t think that sounds right.”

He reached out and put his hand on my cheek as he stared at me. I loved when he looked at me like that. Like he adored me.

“I would have risked it either way,” Matt said. “I don’t ever want to wake up without you by my side ever again.”

“I feel like I’m seconds away from crying or laughing. My emotions are haywire. Today is going to be crazy.”

“Laugh. Cry. As long as you’re happy.”

“I’m very happy.” I leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. “How could I not be? I’m marrying the most eligible bachelor in the city.”

Matt laughed. “Hardly.”

“I saw a tabloid with that exact headline the other day.”

He shook his head.

“At least it didn’t say most notorious playboy in the city.”

Matt tickled my side.

I squealed as I tried to get away from him. But he caught my arms and pinned me against the bed beneath him.

For a few seconds we just stared at each other as we caught our breaths. And I wondered if he wanted to freeze time as badly as me. Because I always wanted to smile this hard.

“I was a little worried about this morning,” he said slowly as his eyes searched mine.

“Why?”

“I thought you might be…sad.”

I shook my head. “I’m so happy. Right here. Right now. With you.”

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I have something for you.”

“Is it another tickle attack?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, I’ll save that for later.” He climbed off of me and grabbed a wrapped box out of his nightstand.

“What is this?” I asked.

“My wedding present for you.” He placed the small box in my hands.

Wedding present? What was a wedding present?No one had told me about this. I didn’t have a present for him. I couldn’t believe I didn’t know about this tradition. A million thoughts ran through my head at once. What the hell could I give him at the last minute? All I could think about was the fact that I was pregnant with our baby. That seemed like the best possible present, but he already knew about that…

“Open it,” he said.

I slowly unwrapped the box. My mind was completely blank. Seriously, why didn’t I know about wedding presents? I lifted the lid on the box.

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