Page 134 of The Wedding Favor

“Okay, yeah, sure.” I squeezed my hands together at my waist as Abe got the guitar situated. For a moment, I watched him, this man who had always been careful with my heart. He’d never wanted to lead me on or make promises. He’d been so gentle even when I hadn’t made it easy. Obviously, I’d fallen in love with him. Who wouldn’t?

“Ready?”

“I love you,” I blurted out. “I just wanted you to know that.”

If I’d been paying attention to something other than the man in front of me, I might have heard the crowd give a collective gasp. Also, I would have noticed that I was saying all of this into the microphone for everyone to hear.

Abe’s smile lit up the world, and it was only for me. “Hold that thought. Let’s get through this first.”

He strummed the chords and began singing and just like we’d done many times before in front of his houseplants, I joined in. Was it perfect? Heck no. In fact, it was barely passable. But I didn’t care because I was doing it with the person I loved.

The song ended. No one clapped. Or made a noise. It was as though everyone else felt what I felt. This moment was important. Not the song. What came after.

One second, Abe was holding the guitar, and the next he was standing in front of me. “I hate to tell you this, but you are not winning this pageant.”

“You promise?”

He took a step towards me. I reached out and curled my hands into his t-shirt. “Oh, definitely.”

I grinned. “Thanks for singing with me.”

“It was nothing.” He slid a hand around my waist and tugged me closer. “Besides, it wasn’t like the whole town was watching.”

“Yeah, good thing.”

His other hand cupped my cheek. “I love you, you know.”

I channeled my inner Gloria. “Of course you do, darling.”

His smile was slow. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to kiss me.”

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Good thing I can always tell when you’re lying.”

Then he kissed me, sweet and slow, steady and sure. And sure, the entire town of Two Harts was watching us: my mom and sister, his parents, my third-grade teacher, the Shady Cove residents, the old guys who gave me a hard time at the diner, and, I liked to think, Gloria was looking down from somewhere. She was definitely saying, “I told you so,” too.

But the only thing I was paying attention to was this man.

And that was just the way I wanted it.

EPILOGUE

“I’ve always loved a happily ever after.”

—excerpt from the unpublished memoir,

Darling, I Must Say by Gloria Hayes

Hiding in a supply closet with a hot, tattooed single dad wasn’t exactly how I expected to spend my twenty-fourth birthday, but here we were.

“Do you think they’ve noticed we’re gone yet?” I asked.

“I don’t care,” Abe murmured against my neck where he was currently doing a very thorough job of kissing it.

I giggled. Because I giggle now. Being in love with Abe gave me lots of chances to giggle and smile and count my blessings.

The first few months after we started dating had not been easy. Abe’s father, Eli, wasn’t happy but, surprisingly, his mom was over the moon. Some time around Christmas, Eli started to mellow. I’d like to think he’d been won over when he saw we were all in, but I think Steph Ramos probably talked his ear off until he gave in.