I’m apparently no good when it comes to declaring a fake love story in public. I’m a pro in a room full of executives. Presenting in a boardroom. Over Zoom.
But this?
A complete idiot. An absolute rookie.
Words have never really been my love language, but physical touch?
That I can do.
I slide my hand from Jordan’s back to her hip and pull her into me, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“When you know, you know,” I murmur, more to her than anyone.
Stop talking, dumbass.
I hear Alley’s voice, maybe a congratulations? I’m not sure. I’m too focused on the way Jordan’s looking at me, and the fucking fireworks going off in my stomach.
“Wait, hold on,” Megan says, blinking between us. “You’re married-married?Like… how?” Her eyes lock on me. “How did you propose?”
Jesus Christ.
You’d think I didn’t know English. That I was deaf. I’m having a real-life Billy Madison moment.I see her lips moving, but I can’t make out the words.
Jordan swoops right in, saving both our asses. “Oh my God, it was perfect. My pappoús—” she starts, then catches herself when she realizes she’s not at a Greek function. “My grandpa has a beach home in the Hamptons. Matt and I grew up going there together. There’s this private stretch of beach, sort of a hidden cove right on the water.”
My chest contracts.
“We went up for a weekend getaway a few weeks ago. Our second night there, we were walking along the beach, and Matt led me through the trees to this spot.” She smiles like she’s remembering it, like this actually fucking happened. “It was lit up with tea lights on the ground and hanging in the trees. Blankets were sprawled across the sand. There was a speaker hidden in the bushes with my favorite music playing.”
I try to swallow.
I can’t.
“It was perfect,” she continues. “Just us. In every way.” She looks up at me. “He grabbed my hands and led me to the center of blankets where he said some really beautiful things. Then he got down on one knee and popped the question.”
What the fuck is stuck in my throat?
Heat creeps up my neck, my pulse thudding so loud I swear everyone can hear it.
Am I having a hot flash?I thought only women got those.
I tug at the collar of my shirt.
Christ.
That cove on Jordan’s grandfather’s property? That’s not just a place we would go to.
That’s the place where I first told Jordan I loved her.
The one and only time I’ve ever said it out loud.
And she remembered. After all this time.
There was no hesitation. No reaching for details. This story just fell from her lips like something she knows by heart. Like she thinks about that night, that moment, that one time I decided to be vulnerable, right before everything fell apart.
My heart pounds, my head spinning, my mouth going dry.
Jesus fuck.I need water.
