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"Don't panic," she says with a small smile. A toned-down version of the smile I love so much. "She told me she was the one who told you to hide that you're her heir." She doesn't sound quite as gutted as before.
I honestly hadn't even thought about the fact that my mother was the person who told me I should adopt this new way of life after things ended so terribly with Marnie. "It's no excuse," I say now, holding her eyes, squeezing her hand in mine. "My ex, the one I was hiding from at Mom's party. She only ever dated me because of who my mom is." I stuff down the memory of the hurt and the rage that the fallout brought out in me. "I didn't realize that, of course... I was about to ask her to marry me when I found her sleeping with her ex. In my bed."
She shakes her head and mutters, "Wow," under her breath. "Ballsy." I laugh, I can't help it.
"Yeah, it was pretty ballsy." I sigh and pull her closer to me. She doesn't stop me. She leans into my body, her free hand going to my shoulder, her breath catching in her throat as I rest my forehead against hers. "Please tell me I haven't fucked us completely."
She swallows hard and goes up on her toes, her hand coming around and tangling in the hair at the nape of my neck, tugging me closer. And then her mouth is on mine and it's like color and life rush back into the world. I cup her neck in my free hand and deepen the kiss, licking into her mouth and luring her tongue to tangle with mine. We stay wrapped up in each other until neither of us can breathe anymore. When she pulls back and hides her face in my neck, I wrap both arms around her and hold her as close as I can get her. I want to make her a part of me.
Forever.
"I love you," she says into my skin. "I believe you that you trust me. That you love me." She raises her eyes to mine. "I want us to keep going."
I don't speak, I just kiss her again.
epilogue
Betty
"Angel, where did I leave my keys?" Gus calls from our bedroom where he's been tearing things apart for fifteen minutes. It's notthatbig of a room.
We're supposed to be meeting Drake for lunch in ten minutes but we can't seem to get out the door. He's never so scatterbrained.
It's been two months since I found out he's Milly Sagendorf's son and we've had our share of ups and downs but we're doing okay. We realized that as long as we talk and are transparent with one another, we're going to be fine. We've been living together for about six weeks now. A nice condo Milly found for us. I worried that maybe we were rushing things but sometimes you just know when things are right.
We're right. I've never been surer of anything in my life.
Besides, Oscar approves, and you know cats are very good judges of character.
I remove the couch cushion to see if maybe his keys fell between them and find seventy-five cents and a cat toy. But no keys.
Where in the world could he have put them?
"Gus, why don't we just take my car? We can find your keys later. We're gonna be late for lunch."
He sticks his head out of the bedroom, his hair disheveled, "It's gonna drive me crazy though." I laugh and shake my head at him.
"You'd better text Drake then and let him know what's going on. We don't want a repeat of last time."
Last time we were supposed to meet up for lunch, Gus and I got um...distractedby each other a half hour before we were supposed to be there.
There may have been sex. I'm not telling.
By the time we remembered we were supposed to be with him, he'd given up on us. He hasn't let us forget it since either.
"Yeah, yeah, it'll teach him some humility to sit there on his own for a while."
I keep my laughter to myself and head for the kitchen. Who knows, maybe he stuck the keys in the utensil drawer for some reason? I'm going through all the drawers when he clears his throat from behind me.
I turn around and find he's down on one knee.
"What are you doing?" I blurt and grin when he laughs and takes my hand.
"Betty, are you gonna let me do this?" he asks, looking up at me with so much love in his eyes that it takes my breath away.
I bite my lip to hold in my response and nod instead, watching his eyes.
"You are everything to me," he begins. "I love you so much and I can't imagine my life without you anymore. And I don't want to. What do you say? Will you make me the happiest man ever? Will you be my wife?"
