Page 46 of Fragments of You

“I’m just waiting on Felix to get here and I’ll join you,” I tell them both, not missing the look the two exchange.

They were the ones who invited him, which was just as big of a surprise to me as it was to Felix. Like I said, they seem to be warming up to him. Or at least that’s what I think until they exchange silent glances like the one they just did. Then I can’t help but wonder how much of it is real and how much of it is for show.

“Okay, we will see you out there.” My mom stands, joining my father.

Moments later, I’m left alone, staring at wedding invitations that should make me happy but weirdly make the pit in my stomach even worse.

My phone pings, giving me a welcome distraction from my thoughts as I pick up the device to find a text from Felix that he’s here.

Pushing away all thoughts of Nash, bad feelings, and unwelcome doubts, I stand and quickly cross to the front of the house. When I tug open the door, he’s already on the porch, looking so incredibly handsome in his black board shorts and gray muscle shirt.

“Hey.” I smile when the first thing he does is pull me into his arms.

“Hey.” He presses a long kiss to my lips.

The relief I feel at his easy greeting cannot be easily explained. I haven’t seen him since visiting Nash, and while I called him and told him almost everything, I still worried there would be a weird tension between us. He didn’t want me to go—he made no secret of that—but he understood why I needed to, which meant a lot to me.

“Dad says the water is perfect,” I tell him when he finally lets me resurface for air.

“I can’t wait. You know I’ve been itching to get in the water all spring.”

“Well, come on then.” I take his hand, tugging him into the house before closing the door behind us. “Also, our wedding invitations came today,” I quickly add.

“They did?” The excitement in his voice brings an instant smile to my lips.

I love that no matter what’s going on or how off I’m feeling, Felix has this way of making me feel... good. Like his happiness is contagious.

“They did,” I confirm.

“And?”

“They’re perfect. But don’t take my word for it.” I grab one of the invitations as soon as we enter the kitchen and hand it to him.

“God, I can’t wait.” His entire face lights up as he reads it.

“It’ll be here before you know it.”

“And it still won’t be soon enough.” He looks at me over the invitation. “I honestly can’t wait to make you my wife.”

“And I can’t wait to be your wife.”

And in this moment, I mean it. I love Felix so much sometimes I feel like I could burst. It’s just Nash... He has a way of getting into my head and making me question everything. I think it’s about time I stop letting him do that.

“I love hearing you say that.” He leans in and presses another kiss to my mouth. I let out a little squeal when his arm wraps around my middle and he tugs me close, deepening the kiss.

“Unless you want to face my father’s wrath”—I smile against his mouth—“we probably shouldn’t...”

“I’m not scared of your dad.” Another deep swipe of his tongue against mine.

“You say that now.” I press my hands to his chest and push. He reluctantly lets me.

“Fine,” he grumbles.

“Come on. Let’s get you into the water.” I intertwine our fingers.

“I can think of something I’d rather be in more.” He gives me a suggestive smirk.

“That’s for later,” I tell him with a wink, abruptly spinning toward the back door.

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