Page 34 of Kiss me Forever

“You’re a trouble maker,” Magnus tells his sister.

“You know it, and you can’t blame me. You two are clearly made for each other. I already consider Piper a sister. I love how she makes you a better man.” I give her a smile as I desperately seek a subject to talk about to get her mind off of proposals.

“Did I hear something about a proposal?” Tyler asks as he steps forward, his grin just as mischievous as Bianca’s.

“No, nothing about proposals,” I say. “We’re at a fundraiser so dig deep into your pockets.”

He laughs. “I’ve already written my check and gotten a couple of more from my brothers,” he assures me. “You’re set.”

“Well, I’ll have to see this check because I can’t be beat,” Magnus quickly says. Tyler laughs.

“You’ll just have to make a guess. May the best man win,” Tyler tells him.

Magnus doesn’t look worried at all. “Oh, Piper certainly thinks I’m the best man.”

“I say you two are a tie,” Livie says.

I do like Tyler, but my vote’s on Magnus as being the best man ever. With all this proposal talk, though, I don’t want to say that right now.

The evening progresses with the usual antics with a lot of conversation, friendly competition, great food, and small-town rumors. The biggest one of the night is about Magnus proposing. I can’t move five feet without someone taking my hand and looking. I’m going to kill Livie, Tyler, and Bianca, who are encouraging this rumor. If they scare Magnus away I’m going to hurt all of them. I simply laugh and brush them off telling them they should know better than to listen to gossip. I’m not going to mess with perfection, and Magnus and I are perfect right now just as we are.

I’m thrilled when the hot sun starts sinking and the twinkling lights turn on. The band slows down the music, and Magnus immediately finds me, holding out his arm. “Dance with me,” he says, his voice low and sexy. As much as this will feed the rumors I don’t care.

I fall into his arms and forget that everyone is looking at us. One number turns into two, and I have no desire to move from right here. This is a perfect moment in a wonderful evening. I’m so glad I didn’t let fear win, so glad I stopped fighting what I was feeling for this man. None of us can guarantee what will happen, but we can say with certainty that nothing will come from sitting in a dark corner.

“Piper, I’ve never been this happy in life,” he tells me.

I lean back and look into his beautiful eyes. “Me too, Magnus.”

“I’ve been holding something in for a very long time. I have no idea why, but I don’t want to hold anything back anymore. I love you. I’ve loved you for a very long time, and I don’t know why it’s so hard to say, but I want you to know that I love you.”

My heart swells as my eyes fill. He hugs me tight as I lay my head against his shoulder. Never have these words mattered more to me. It’s something I can say so easily to my friends, but something I’ve never said to a man before. I finally lean back and look at him again, his eyes filled with adoration that gives me courage.

“I love you too, Magnus. It terrifies me and I don’t know why I haven’t said it either, but I do love you. I just don’t want to do anything that will break this bubble we’re in. It’s all so right and feels so good.”

“Aren’t we supposed to have some huge trauma that makes us doubt everything about each other?” he asks with a laugh.

“That’s the formula, but honestly as scared as I’ve been in this relationship while waiting for something to go wrong, nothing has. It’s been wonderful.”

He leans in and kisses me. “We’re going to have ups and downs. No matter how much two people love each other, problems can happen, but if we promise each other right now that we’ll talk about it and work it out, then we don’t have to worry about the bubble popping.”

“That’s a mature attitude,” I tell him.

“It’s known to happen once in a while,” he says.

He keeps me in his arms as we continue to dance. Though a proposal is now on my mind because of the meddlers in our lives, I don’t need it. I’m happy with how our relationship is, happy with where we are and where we’re going. We don’t have to follow tradition. We simply need to be who we are, be honest, be open, and continue to love each other. We’re going to be okay.

Chapter Twenty-One

Piper

I’ve always heard the saying that it feels like you’re walking on water. I’ve felt this way many times in my life, but I’ve never fully understood it . . . until now. I know what they mean, I’m constantly walking on water. Blue birds are circling my head, flowers smell sweeter, the air is clearer, and music is playing over invisible speakers no matter where I go.

I’m in love, and so happy I can barely stand myself. I’m sure many people feel the same. I now understand why those who are miserable can’t stand being around a person in love. It’s all roses, puppy dogs, and butterflies at all times. I can’t imagine ever being sad again.

I’ve cut back my time at the library to two days a week. This wasn’t an easy decision for me as I love the library. I love the people, the smells, the work, the children. I love everything about it, but now that I’ve come out of the closet about my passion for writing, I can’t seem to keep my fingers from the keyboard. I’ve submitted my first book which Livie gave two-thumbs up to. I don’t know if they’ll take it, don’t know if I’ll ever publish, but it’s become my newest passion and I need to write. Besides Magnus, writing is now my true love.

Most authors say they’ve had a passion for writing their whole lives. It wasn’t this way for me. I’ve always had a passion for reading, but the writing bug has only been with me for a couple of years. I don’t think that’s necessarily a negative as I’ve consumed books my entire life. I consider this a whole lot of research. Just as it takes some doctors twelve years or more to get into their specialty, writing is an art and can take many years to get into. There’s nothing wrong with being close to thirty before I publish my first book . . . if it publishes. I’m writing my second one much faster than my first.

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