"But I wanted to—" God, this is harder than I thought it would be. The words are stuck somewhere between my brain and my mouth, tangled up with fear and hope and this overwhelming need for him to understand what I'm trying to say. "She's yours."
Devon blinks. Once. Twice. "What?"
"Candy. She's yours. Your family now."
Tears form in the corners of his eyes and immediately start spilling over, tracking down his cheeks, and he's shaking his head. "Ace, I can't. You know I can’t. I live in a dorm. I can't have—I'm not allowed—"
"I know." I reach out, taking his hand, threading our fingers together. Candy's between us, pressed against both our legs, and it feels right. It feels like this is how it's supposed to be. "But there's room at my place. For both of you."
He goes completely still, his hand frozen in mine, his eyes wide and searching my face like he's trying to figure out if I'm serious.
"I know it's crazy," I continue, the words coming faster now, tumbling out before I can second-guess myself. "I know we've only known each other for a few weeks. I know it's fastand impulsive. But I have that spare bedroom that's just sitting there, and Candy needs a home, and—"
I stop, take a breath, look him directly in the eyes.
"I want you there. Both of you. I want to come home and find your stuff everywhere. I want to trip over your shoes and argue about what to watch on TV and share my space and my life and everything. No pressure," I add quickly. "You can think about it. Take your time. I just—"
"Yes."
"—wanted to offer because it makes sense and—wait. Really?"
"Yes." Devon's crying for real now, tears streaming down his face, and he's laughing at the same time. "Yes, I'll move in. Yes to Candy. Yes to everything. Just—yes."
Candy barks, like she's adding her agreement, and her tail is wagging so hard her whole back end is moving.
I'm pretty sure I stop breathing for a moment. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He launches himself at me, and I barely have time to brace myself before his arms are around my neck, his face buried against my shoulder, and he's laughing and crying, and I'm holding him so tight I'm probably cutting off his circulation, but I can't make myself let go.
Candy's between us, trying to get closer, her cold nose pressing against any exposed skin she can find, and we're a tangled mess of limbs and dog and emotions on the garage floor.
When we finally pull back, both of us are grinning, faces wet with tears, and Mama Paws is standing a few feet away with her hands clasped over her heart, also crying.
"You boys," she says, voice wavering, "are going to make an old woman's heart give out."
"You're not old!" Devon protests, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Hush." She's smiling through the tears. "Let me have my moment."
We sit there on the cold floor for a while, just us and Candy. Devon can't stop petting her, running his hands over her head, her ears, down her back, like he's making sure she's real. Candy's in heaven, leaning into every touch, her tail never stopping.
"This is—" He stops, swallows hard. "This is the best present anyone's ever given me."
"And it's not even wrapped."
He laughs, the sound wet and happy. "Shut up."
I lean in and kiss him, soft and slow, and Candy wedges herself between us, demanding attention, and we break apart laughing.
"Jealous girl," Devon says, scratching under her chin. "Can't let us have a moment, huh?"
The mudroom door opens and Leila pokes her head in. "Guys. Sorry to interrupt this very sweet moment, but there's a news crew outside. They want interviews."
Devon and I look at each other.
"You ready for this?" I ask. "To go public-public?"
He grins. "With you? Always."
