Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
“I get it. It ruins you a little. It takes a lot to learn how to trust again. It’s like getting back up on the diving board after you belly-flopped in front of everyone.”
“I’m a terrible diver,” I laugh. “I’ve belly-flopped a few times.”
“One time, my sister dared me to do a backflip, and I got about halfway around before smacking my back on the water really hard. I was only a few feet up, but it was so embarrassing.”
“If I kiss you and tell you I’d like you to be my girlfriend—if it’s not too cheesy to use those terms—would you still decorate my house for me? Could I still hire you?”
“Absolutely. I’m a great multi-tasker.”
“I haven’t showered in a few days.”
“Do you think it matters to me?” Pearl’s eyes glisten. “Please, come here. Hug me. Kiss me. Do all of that. It’s all I’ve been thinking about all this time. I’m really, really glad you changed your mind. Please don’t change it back.”
“I won’t, I promise. From here on out, no more being afraid. What will your parents think when you tell them we’re dating for real, though?”
“I don’t think they’ll be surprised. They told me on the phone that we were good together, and they were pretty sad it wasn’t real because it looked and felt real to them.”
“For me too.”
“And me. I guess maybe the universe or whatever is real. I mean, of course, it’s real, but whatever word people use for things like this happening like it’s meant to be.”
“Fate?”
“Maybe. Is it fated that you kiss me right now? I could be convinced if you want to do the convincing.”
I cross the room in a few seconds and have Pearl in my arms even faster. I inhale the wonderful scent of her hair, her skin, and all of her. I take my time, savoring every single second of this. Every little bit. And then, when she starts wriggling against me, maybe because I smell funky, I drop my head and kiss her. Long, slow, and fiery. And I savor all of that too. I back off after a minute because now I’m having thoughts about my breath maybe being not so great, but Pearl drags my face back to hers.
“Stop thinking,” she groans against my lips. “And please don’t stop kissing me. Don’t ever, ever, ever stop kissing me unless we’re getting ice cream. Or pizza. Or you know, looking for treehouses. But still. You could kiss me in between.”
Ice cream, pizza, treehouses, and kissing Pearl forever. I can live with that. I can really, really live with that. Because I already know that I might be able to live without the first three, but I can’t live without Pearl. Scared or not, I’m taking this chance. I’m all in.
I guess, in the words of my brother, I’ve finally grown a pair.
EPILOGUE
Pearl
Here we go again. We’re back at my parents’ house, and it’s the night before our wedding. No, Gabriel is not having his stag tonight. He already had it a few weeks ago, and Dean and Sebastien organized it. That’s the funny thing. Maybe that’s bigger news than our wedding.
Gabriel and I have actually been dating for five years. Yeah, five. I know, that’s a long time. I never really saw myself getting married until I met him, but then it wasn’t a rush, and it wasn’t a race. We didn’t feel that getting married was something we absolutely had to do. I mean, we always knew we’d eventually get there, but for us, it wasn’t this great big thing looming over us that we either dreaded or couldn’t wait to get to. When Gabriel asked me six months ago if I wanted to finally make it official, I laughed at him.
I was trying to have a bath when he came in and asked me, so I laughed. He turned out the light, lit a candle, and got down on one knee. Then, he asked me if I’d like to be his wife for real. I mean, not like we weren’t already living together and doing the whole life thing together, and not like we weren’t already insanely happy. But he asked me, by candlelight—the creepy kind that people usually tell ghost stories with—if I’d marry him in my parents’ backyard, and I was sold.
I said, of course. Of course, I’d marry him in my parents’ backyard, just as long as he promised not to barf on me from excessive drinking. If he barfed because of nerves, that’s different. He told me I had a deal.
So here we are.
It’s the night before, and we’re in my parents’ living room, which is jam-packed with all my relatives, again. Both my grandparents are here, and they’re still chugging along, all four of them as healthy as horses, and I know I’m incredibly lucky. My aunts and uncles, cousins, Susan, Chase, their two boys, they’re all here. Dean, Dean’s parents, Sebastien, and Gabriel’s parents as well. We’re all packed into the house, though some spilled out into the backyard when all the other rooms got too crowded.