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If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.
The tears come. Fast and furious, streaming down my cheeks before I even realize I’m crying. The quote is one of my favorites from Austen. When I look up at Quentin, he’s crying too. Not as wild as I am, but the tears are there in the corners of his eyes threatening to spill over.
“You know who I am,” he says softly, echoing the rest of the words. “You understand me.”
“Yes. Yes. A million times, yes.” I slip the ring on and then fall to my knees and wrap my arms around him.
“I love you,” he whispers. “More than I can take. Being away from you has felt like torture. Like my heart was outside my chest. I want you forever, Madness.”
“I want you forever too. And the ring, Quentin. I love it so much. You know me so well.”
He kisses me softly, and I melt into him. When we finally break from it he studies my face, smiling.
“What do you think about our house?”
“Ourhouse?” I swipe at my tears and look around.
“Our house. I bought it when I first moved here, but I couldn’t renovate it until I knew for sure you still liked the things you used to. If you still wanted the cozy old house with all the character or not.”
“Is that why you took me to all those heinous ones?”
He nods and I laugh. “So clever. I can’t keep up with you. But how did you know I’d say yes… That we’d fix things?”
“I always knew I wanted you back. The second you tore into me that first day like you wanted to kill me, I knew you still had feelings for me. Then it was just a matter of showing you I could finally be the guy you need. I can be a patient man when I need to be.”
“But you knew or at least you thought I was in a relationship when you bought this?”
“I told you. I didn’t care. It just meant the timeline was going to be a little longer.”
“You’re… something.” I smile through my tears.
“I’m in love with you, Madness. Always have been. Maybe to the point of it being an unreasonable amount. But I don’t care as long as it means my heart is back in my body and that ring is on your finger.”
I hug him again, so tight, to remind myself that this is real. That I have him back. That he just proposed to me in our home. After all the years without him, how bleak everything seemed, how often I felt alone—I feel like I have to hold on tight, ground myself, to believe in it. I don’t want anything to get in the way of us a second time.
“What if I said I don’t want to wait to get married?”
“I’d say we get married the second you say you want to and not a moment later.”
“So agreeable.”
“Easy when you offer me things I want anyway.”
“With the season it’ll be hard, but I can look into it and see how long it will take. If there’s a waiting period or not to get the license.”
“Look it up tonight. Then tell me when you want to do it. If I have to skip out early on a practice and tell them I have an appointment, I will.”
“I mentioned that I love you, right?”
“Once or twice. I’ll never get tired of hearing it though.”
He kisses me softly and I melt into him. So thankful that I finally have him—finally haveus—again.
45
Quentin
Luckily Cincinnati isa lot like Vegas, and no one here believes in waiting periods for true love either. The only trouble was getting an appointment at the courthouse. But two days later, I’m standing outside a courtroom in a suit staring at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, wearing a gorgeous white dress she picked up from a local shop. My uncle ended practice early, so he could be here with me, grumbling about how it’s one of the better decisions I’ve ever made, but that I should have tried to make it happen in the off-season.
