Page 104 of I Wish I Would've Warned You

“You kept that painting,” I whisper.

“I never stopped looking at it,” he says into my hair. “You said you didn’t want to see the cover until today, so I picked the moment I knew was your beginning.”

I turn to face him, hands on his chest. He looks nervous. Hopeful.

“I love you, Emily,” he says, cupping my face. “Will you marry me?”

My breath catches. The tears spill anyway.

“Yes,” I whisper. “Yes. Always.”

He kisses me slow—like we have all the time in the world.

Like every promise we ever made is already coming true.

—

THE END