Nope. Nope nope nope.
It’s the weight of having my grandma wanting me to take over the bakery and me faking an engagement to get out of it while realizing I’ve accidentally picked the exact right guy because he wants to use our engagement to break a generations-long family feud.
Who could be immune to having big feelings over that?
“Amanda?” Dane says quietly.
Right.
We’re an engaged couple in love, and we have an audience. “It’s so beautiful. I don’t think I deserve it.”
He loops an arm around my shoulders, pulls me in for a hug, and kisses my head. “Goofball. Yes, you do.”
I don’t need a boyfriend.
I like being bound to no one. Exploring where and when I want. Not worrying if someone else isn’t in the mood for noodles or pizza or girl dinner. No guilt or shame when I change my mind at the last minute. Just pure freedom.
With a side of knowing that my family can’t disapprove ofno one. There’s nothing to disapprove of. There’s no tests forno one. No insistence thatno onepledge their loyalty to the Andersons over the Silvers.
But I’m starting to wonder what Dane would think of the Met. If he’s ever been to a Broadway show on Broadway. Would he go to a baseball or hockey game just to experience the vibes in the crowd? Or people-watch in Central Park?
Would he come see the inaugural play that we’re doing at our revived community theater?
The play that I wrote after being so inspired by the city itself? But that I’m not telling anyone about, in case it actually sucks?
I could tell him.
He wouldn’t mock me.
But I don’t.
Instead, I sigh heavily and hug him back as tightly as I can. “Thank you.”
For everything.
For absolutely everything.
Chapter 9
Dane
I’ve never truly believed hell exists, but I’m reconsidering tonight.
Because I think I’m there.
My phone is exploding with texts from my family and some local friends. It’s eighty-nine degrees, and I’m in an ugly Christmas sweater. Half the town is staring at me.
At us.
At Amanda and me in the middle of Reindeer Square for the annual Tinsel holiday photo shoot.
It’s not her family or my family.
Notonlythem.
It’s the whole town.
We’re gathered around the gazebo that has Santa and four of his reindeer on top. The townsfolk are all dressed up in some variety of reindeer antlers and jingle bells and ugly sweaters, and the town hired a drone operator to get the best shots. Shop owners use the photo in annual mailings and on their websites, and every year, Tinsel outdoes itself.
