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“How’s Bella?” Niall asks.
Garrett’s smile is wide. “She’s growing so fast. Do you want to see a picture?”
I expect Niall to refuse but he shocks me by nodding. Garrett holds his phone out for Niall to see.
“Wow, she’s so big now,” Niall says.
“What a beautiful little girl,” I say.
“You know, I wanted to call you, but I didn’t know what to say.”
Niall shakes his head. “It’s in the past now.”
“I know, but I still want you to know I’m sorry for getting involved with Destiny. You had just broken up and I shouldn’t have gone there.”
“It’s all worked out for the best,” Niall says.
“Thanks for being so gracious about it all. I know I’m lucky you’re not kicking my ass all around this parking lot.”
Niall laughs. “Yeah, you are.”
“Take care, Niall.”
“You too, Garrett.”
Niall doesn’t say another word until the Tahoe is running and we’re ready to leave. “When I looked at Bella’s picture, it didn’t feel the same as it used to.”
“How so?”
“It didn’t hurt me anymore.”
I cover his hand with mine and squeeze. “That’s fantastic.”
“Seeing Garrett didn’t fire me up like I imagined it would. I didn’t expect to see him, but he’s from this area so we were bound to bump into each other at some point. I guess it’s better we got it over with.”
“That means you’re healing. You should be proud of yourself. It takes courage to move on from your past.”
“You’re the reason I’ve been able to move on. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.”
“I’m grateful for you too. I never thought my best friend moving would turn out to be such a wonderful thing.” I smile at him, then ask, “How do you think the interview went?”
“I think it went well, don’t you?”
I nod.ButI wish we didn’t need the fakegagement anymore.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just that this is harder than I thought it would be.”
“Pretending to love me?” he asks, his brow furrowed.
“No. I don’t have to pretend. I do love you.”
“I’m not pretending either. I love you, Lucy Chase, Bigfoot Extraordinaire.” He leans over the center console, meeting me halfway. Our lips connect in a soft, slow kiss neither of us are in a rush to end. When we finally part, we’re both short of breath.
“So what does this mean?” I ask.
“It means we’re engaged.”
I laugh. “Maybe we should stick with dating for now.”
He slowly shakes his head and smiles. “But we’ve already planned our wedding.”
