Page 91 of I Love a Good Challenge

“I love him more than anyone.”

Lily’s words stop me in my tracks. The way she’s looking up at me tells me everything I’ve ever wanted to know about love and what it means. My confidence is boosted as I realize that I get to be with Lily every day and night for always. This is more than a dream because I get to hold her and touch her, and I don’t need an excuse or a challenge to do it.

It’s unnerving to watch the things we weren’t sure would ever happen in our lives unfold suddenly. It’s going to be Lily and me forever. I used to think if I could just get close enough to her, she’d let me love her. But now, I’ve realized that sometimes love also means letting go for a bit. That’s a way to fight for someone too.

“Okay, so the dress . . . It was this little white thing from the tailor shop. I added black trim, and I thought Graham was going to pass out at the sight of it. I may have done that on purpose.”

Lily winks at me, and I’m undone. I knew she wore the open-backed dress to marry me in for a reason. I’m not complaining, but she sure knows how to get under my skin . . . in the worst of ways and the best of ways.

“More than prom?” Sparrow says with a look of shock.

“Oh, way more than prom,” Lily laughs, and I feel myself clench.

“What about prom?” I ask, and while they laugh, I text Rafe to tell him I’m done with this, and we need our own call soon.

“Honey, don’t worry about it,” Lily replies softly. Precariously perched on the edge of the couch, she lifts her chin to me and lets her lips brush my ear. “You’ve seen way more than anyone else ever has, that’s for sure.”

My cheeks absolutely burn with the heat that comment creates. Needless to say, Lily’s special brand of flirting works for me. I’m saved by my phone vibrating. Lily sees it’s Rafe calling, from the goofy picture now flashing on my phone, and gives me a searing kiss.

I groan lightly and answer the phone. “Save me.”

Rafe’s laugh is enough for me to know there’s zero chance he’s concerned about my well-being. “Not a chance.”

I’m a grinning fool, and we both know it. “If anything, I think I should be mad at you. Holding out on telling me just how good you have it being married to your best friend, who is perhaps also someone who makes you so nuts . . .”

I sneak a look at Lily, who’s still cracking up, using her hands to weave a story into the air. Every once in a while, she yells phrases that I don’t understand, like, “More than a rake,” “Above a hand flex,” and, “These mashed potatoes are so creamy.” I think I remember the last line being from one of her favorite rom-com movies.

Without missing a beat, I cover the end of the phone and walk quickly toward Lily. “Yes, I’m more than your favorite show. I’m glad you think I’ve finally reached Darcy status, and I will watch While You Were Sleeping with you again.”

Lily’s ponytail whips around. Her eyes flare. But the expression in them is something that looks like desire and definitely not rage.

“Rory, I gotta call you back.” Lily ends the call.

I hear the cutoff of what might be, “Understood,” from Sparrow before the phone is tossed. I’m riveted by this development and nearly forget who I am, despite hearing Rafe saying something on the phone. His faint voice is cut short by Sparrow yelling, “For the love, hang it up! I don’t want to hear—” And the screen goes blank.

It’s at this moment that I realize we’re alone—in her apartment. Our apartment. And Lily is my wife. She seems to come to this realization at the same time. Her face comes positively alive with a grin, her posture becoming playful as she pulls herself up to lean against the back of the couch. She faces me with such a look that I’m nervous the furniture between us is going to burst into flames. And my brilliant thought? Let it burn.

∞∞∞

Hours later, when all is quiet outside, the world is starting to move toward sleep, and Lily and I are sitting in our home—a thought I still can’t wrap my mind around—and she’s curled into me as we watch Pride & Prejudice for the millionth time.

“I know we’ve seen it before,” Lily says softly, a hint of vulnerability reaching the edges of her tone. “But it’s . . . different now.”

I grin and pull her deeper into my side if that’s even possible. My hand molds around the edge of her hip and the curve of her waist beneath the pajama short set she’s wearing. The color is light blue and (surprisingly) not black, with tiny white hearts on the fabric. I want to trace each one just to show her there’s nothing about her that’s not important to me. Everything I do for her—from the special bands I picked up for her to help with hair breakage to ensuring she has static spray in her purse for the times her apron that reads pain of chocolate sticks to whatever she’s wearing each day—I’m determined to make sure she knows how much she is loved. Once, she said I make her want to soften, and while I’ll never want to change her, I meant it when I said I hope she at least finds a safe space with me.

And the more she pretends she doesn’t need caring for, the more I know that it means something when I do. I’ve learned she has been waiting to give herself permission to care for me too. She thinks of me in all the loud and quiet ways, from the pastries she makes to the time she spends running her fingers through my hair before we fall asleep.

I’m not sure how we got here. Some of it feels like a blur between waking up and letting myself dream. But just the chance to hold her for the rest of my life and know she has filled what used to be hollow is enough.

Epilogue

Lily

SUMMER

Elephants!” I yell into the dry air, the bright red earth an indication of how far from home we truly are. But when I turn to see Graham, his hair blowing in the wind as we ride on top of a Land Rover speeding down the African plain on safari, the smile on his face tells me I’ve taken my home with me on this trip.

Maybe that’s the difference between what I thought my parents had and what I wanted to have all that time. It took me ages to realize that the greatest thing we can accomplish is to live a life of love. The ultimate bucket list item is to make someone our first choice. So, I don’t need to be afraid of being limited or unable to care for him the way he needs because, somehow, love gives you the ability to be more than the person you are on your own.

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