“I have to get back,” she told Will. “I don’t want to miss more of my sister’s wedding than I already have.” She looked up at him, at his familiar face, his hair—a little shorter than she remembered—his chiseled jaw, his green-tinged hazel eyes. She looked at him, and she realized she loved him still. Even as a stranger, she loved him.
Lucy had also told her that there were forces at work in the world that most people didn’t know of or understand. She didn’t know if they were… listening, or paying attention? Did they think? Did they make decisions?
Was true love’s kiss a thing?
“Can I kiss you?” she asked quietly. “Just once? I can’t explain why.”
“Uh… sure. I guess.” He shifted uncomfortably and looked at her like she’d sprouted a second head.
She pointed a finger at him, couldn’t help it. “You got to be weird for like five full minutes, so I get to be weird, too. That’s fair.”
He let out a quick, startled laugh. “You’re right. Fair’s fair.”
“Okay. Lean down. I’m short.”
He leaned down. She put a hand on his shoulder to balance herself, stretched up, concentrated on the love inside her, and touched her lips to his. When she pulled away, she searched his face, looking for some sign of recognition.
“Thanks, I guess,” Will said.
Emmy deflated a little. So much for true love’s kiss. She was going to have to start from the beginning.
“There’s something there,” she told him, and smiled genuinely. “Just doing a quick chemistry check.”
Take two, she thought.
Emmy slipped her arm through Will’s and walked with him back toward the reception. “You mentioned coffee? I know a place. It comes with free cake and a great view of drunk people attempting the Electric Slide.”
Will chuckled. “Sounds great. I’m in.”
So am I, Emmy thought, smiling to herself as she walked arm in arm with her One.I’m all in.
Epilogue
The house was nestled in a quiet neighborhood, just a few blocks south of a little playground, and close enough to the highway to make commuting easy. It featured a sturdy front porch, a fenced backyard, and a finished basement with heated flooring. The freshly landscaped front yard had taken full advantage of spring to become one expansive bouquet of fluffy pastel flowers that perfumed the air with each sweep of the gentle morning breeze.
Emmy surveyed her work with pride. The house was perfect for May—Victor deserved credit for catching it the moment it came on the market—and May had been correct to choose Hikari Landscape Design to fix up the bedraggled exterior. Emmy was relieved to note that she felt no lingering doubts, no fears or anxieties. It had taken her a long time before she could look at her own work without being self-critical or worrying that she was two bad days away from failing. Last year, when she’d started getting enough interest to quit her day job, she had thought her confidence wouldnaturally rise to the occasion. But she’d still felt echoes of her old insecurities.
Not anymore.
She’d done some soul-searching, and she’d accepted that, for all that Andrew was an asshole, he wouldn’t have been able to get so far under her skin if she hadn’t been mired in her own fear to begin with. Now, Emmy let herself float on the bliss of success, and genuinely believed she deserved it.
Her sister’s yard featured a few extra design elements, just for today. Crepe paper ribboned its way around the porch rail. A cluster of balloons was tied around the mailbox. A fresh floral wreath—created by a local florist Emmy had collaborated with before—hung from the door. The word “Congratulations” was carved into a thin plank of repurposed driftwood that slashed its way diagonally across the wreath. It was going to be a good party.
But first…
Emmy swung her messenger bag and her purse onto her shoulder, then grabbed the small plastic bag from the pharmacy. She walked up to the door, knocked twice, and opened it without waiting for an answer. She dropped her purse and bag inside the entryway closet and took a quick look around.
Party prep was clearly going strong. The banister was already draped with streamers. A table had been set up by the door with a delicate cloth and a small sign that indicated shoes, purses, and bags could be placed there for guests’ convenience. The smell wafting from the kitchen was enough to draw Emmy down the hall. Emmy found May arranging plasticware, glittery paper plates, andnapkins—embossed with “Congratulations” in the same script as the wreath outside—on the island. The Daruma was sitting on a decorative shelf beneath the window alongside a few other keepsakes and knickknacks. Emmy smiled to herself when she noticed that May had added some sparkly eyeliner around the black eyes. Fully ensconced in her role as party planner, May didn’t notice Emmy, even when she swung around to put a pile of extra supplies in the cabinet. Saying nothing, Emmy put the shopping bag on the counter and pulled out the little cardboard box. When May turned back around, she squealed in both surprise and excitement.
“I didn’t hear you come in!”
“You were too deep in party mode,” Emmy said. She took the folded instructions from inside the box and casually flipped them open. “It says here that one line means ‘Not Pregnant,’ two lines means ‘Pregnant,’ and three lines means ‘Extra Pregnant.’ Wow. You don’t even want to know what four lines means.”
“Stop it,” May said, laughing. “You’re a tease.”
Emmy slid the test out into her hand and held it up. “What are we hoping for? One line or two?”
“Two! Obviously two!”
