“Nice try, boss,” I say, wrinkling my nose at him from the bridal party table. “Go on, Tris.”
“As I was saying, we agreed to a truce that neither of us would argue until after the wedding.”
The uproar of laughter is booming, and I shoot Tristen a glance, who rolls his eyes at their antics.
“To be honest, I have no idea who broke the truce first. All I know is that it was the bridge to where we are now, and to be honest, I’ll concede for that. As a punishment, I’m supposed to say that I am wrong and Reese is right. Ahem, so here I go. I was wrong about not realizing Reese was the right one for me. That counts, right?” The crowd claps their approval, but he only has eyes for me. “I love you, Reese’s Cup.”
His eyes start to tear up, and he hands the mic to the DJ, shaking out his hands as he walks back to our table. I’m out of my seat in a second, throwing myself into his arms—my favorite place to be.
After the cake is cut, we sneak outside to pull the motorhome to the street corner.
Tristen honks the horn, summoning everyone outside. Des pulls a confused Maya to the front of the motorhome with “Just Married” written in oversized letters on the back window.
“What is this?” Maya asks, pressing her hands to her cheeks.
“It’s for you, Mrs. Brooks,” Des says. “I didn’t want your fear of flying to stop you from exploring the world. Our honeymoon awaits.”
“How did I win the lottery with someone as sweet as you?”
“I can’t take all the credit. Reese and Tristen took my idea and made it reality. It’s their wedding gift for us.”
Her face crumples as tears start to stream down her face. She grabs Tristen and me in a group hug. “I can barely form any words.”
The newlyweds climb aboard, floored at all the improvements. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to the gloomy cat shrine, but seeing the smile on my brother’s and sister’s faces, I have no regrets.
Before I can jump back onto the dance floor, Tristen drags me into the photo booth. We make a silly face, and the camera counts down, the lights flashing as it takes our picture. Our goofy faces appear on the screen, both of us sticking our tongues out.
“This is going to be the new photo in my recording studio,” he says.
I lean my head back and laugh, surprised he’d consider that pose as inspiration. Unprepared, I’m blinded by the second flash, and I turn to Tristen, blinking the spots away. He’s unfazed, leaning close with a smitten haze in his blue eyes. He cups my cheek, his thumb brushing over my skin.
I’ve been trying to find the perfect moment all night to tell him how I feel, and it seems the perfect moment found me.
“I love you,” I confess softly.
His eyes widen. “You do?”
Another flash goes off.
I nod. “More than I thoughtwas possible. I don’t need to break a truce to be forced to tell you how amazing you are—because it’s true. I’ve been blind to have missed it. How sweet and funny you are. How you notice my triggers before anyone else—including myself. How you love me just as I am, just as I love you, despite how bossy you are.”
He sputters a laugh.
“I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”
Then I yank his pink tie, pulling him in for a kiss just as the last photo flashes.
Epilogue
TRISTEN
The spring air cools once the sun sets. I wait in my truck with the heat blasting, my chilled hands thawing in front of the vents as I stare at the door of Mountain Auto Repair. I drum my fingers on the steering wheel, impatient for Reese to get my message. It doesn’t take long. A text message chimes on my phone.
Reese
Why are there fifty Reese’s Cups on my bed? Is this like the bat signal?
Meet me outside and wear only black.
