Freya stares at the ring, tears starting to form in her eyes.
“Will you marry me? Really marry me, not as part of some arrangement, but because you want to build a life together?”
For a long moment, she doesn’t speak. She just looks at me, and I can see her processing everything I’ve just told her. My heart is beating so hard, I’m surprised it doesn’t echo in the small apartment.
Then, suddenly, she launches herself off the couch and into my arms, nearly knocking me over.
“Yes,” she whispers into my neck. “Yes, of course. Yes!”
“Really?”
She pulls back to look at me, and I can see tears streaming down her face. “Ben, I’ve been in love with you for years. I’m starting to realize I agreed to this fake engagement because I thought it was the only way I’d ever get to be close to you like this. I’ve beendying inside thinking you saw me as nothing more than a helpful friend.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’m serious. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I was too afraid to tell you because I thought you’d never see me as anything more than your weird friend from high school.”
I kiss her then, finally, after years of wanting to. When we break apart, we’re both laughing and crying at the same time.
“We’re idiots,” I say, resting my forehead against hers.
“Complete idiots. We could have been doing this for years.”
“We can make up for lost time.”
I slip the ring onto her finger—her real ring finger this time—and it fits perfectly, just like I knew it would.
“Freya, about tomorrow,” I say, suddenly serious. “We don’t have to go through with it if you don’t want to. I know we have three hundred people coming, and the venue is paid for, and there will be a lot of disappointed guests. But if you want to wait, if you want to have a different kind of wedding that’s just about us?—”
“Are you insane?” she interrupts. “I’ve been planning this wedding for months. I have the perfect dress, our extended families are flying in, and I’ve been dreaming of marrying you since I was eighteen years old. We are absolutely getting married tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t care about the business deal anymore. I don’t care about my public image or what anyone thinks. I only care about doing what’s right for us.”
“What’s right for us is getting married tomorrow and starting the rest of our lives together.” She kisses me again, quick and sure. “Besides, someone has to make sure you actually say those vows you wrote. From what you told me, they sound pretty good.”
“They’re the truest thing I’ve ever written.”
“Then let’s make them official.”
CHAPTER 24
FREYA
Iwake up to the unfamiliar but wonderful sensation of Ben’s arm around my waist. For a moment, I lie perfectly still, afraid that moving will break whatever spell has transformed my life overnight.
It wasn’t a dream. Ben is really here, sleeping in my bed, his face peaceful in sleep. His hair is messed up, and there’s a slight smile on his lips even though his eyes are closed. He looks younger somehow, like the stress and careful control he usually carries have melted away.
The ring on my finger catches what little light filters through my curtains—not the engagement ring we picked out for show, but the one I fell in love with the first time we went shopping together. The one I told him to save for a real proposal.
I can’t believe this is real.
I can’t believe that after fifteen years of loving him in secret, of convincing myself he’d never see me as more than a friend, we’re here. Together. Really together.
“You’re staring at me,” Ben murmurs without opening his eyes, his voice rough with sleep.
“Maybe.”
“How long have you been awake?”
