Page 124 of Accidental Roommates

“Kenzie.” He holds the box in front of me. “I love you with all my heart.” He opens the box to reveal a diamond ring. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” I say, tears falling as I lean down to kiss him.

He slides the ring on my finger. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jace jumps up and takes me in his arms.

My mom races over to me. “Honey, congratulations! I’m so happy for you!” She hugs me, then hugs Jace. “Welcome to the family!”

Greg is right behind her. “Well, this is certainly a surprise.” He smiles and gives Jace a hug. “But a wise decision. She’s a great girl.” He turns and gives me a hug. “You sure you want to marry this guy?”

I laugh. “Yes. Definitely.”

After more hugs and showing off of the ring, Jace gets the champagne he was secretly chilling in the garage and we toast to our engagement.

Engagement. I’m engaged! I didn’t think Jace would propose this soon. I thought it’d be months from now, or years. I wasn’t even sure if he’d ask, given that we’d never talked about it. Now I understand why he kept pressing me to tell him I wanted a future with him. No wonder he looked panicked when I didn’t answer right away. He was about to propose and didn’t know if I’d say yes.

A few months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined saying yes. Not after what happened with Liam. But Jace isn’t Liam. Even if Liam hadn’t cheated, he was never right for me. We never would’ve lasted. His relationship with Kat didn’t last either. They broke up in September, just weeks after I found her with Liam. Poor Kat. She thought Liam loved her, but he cheated on her, which I didn’t find out until recently. I found out from Kat herself. She stopped me on campus a few weeks ago and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime. She wanted me to commiserate with her and swap stories about what an ass Liam is, but I have no interest in that. I’ve moved on. I declined Kat’s offer and haven’t seen her since.

As for Nikki, she’s single again. After her break-up with Carter, she dated a guy on the baseball team, then a soccer player. Both guys dumped her after a few dates. I think word is spreading that she uses guys for money and popularity. Andrea told me Nikki hasn’t had a date in weeks.

Andrea is still dating Troy on and off. She says it’s not dating, but it seems like it is to me. They act like a couple. Jace and I go out with them a few times a month. I can’t wait to tell her about the engagement. She’ll be so happy for us. I’m going to ask her to be one of my bridesmaids.

Tori will be my maid of honor. We decided that a long time ago, when we were much younger and dreaming of our weddings. I always thought she’d get married first, but she works so much she never has time to date. She’s coming to visit next month. Maybe I could set her up with one of Jace’s friends.

“What’d you think?” Jace asks as we collapse on the couch.

It’s evening now and Christmas dinner has been eaten, leftovers put away, and dishes cleaned. It was exhausting, but I loved hosting Christmas here. And I loved seeing my mom so happy with Greg. The two of them left an hour ago. I assume she’ll be home later, but Jace thinks she’ll stay at Greg’s house tonight. I’d be shocked if my mom didn’t come home, but I’m not going to judge. She’s an adult. She can do what she wants, and I really do want her to be happy.

“It was a good day,” I say.

“Just good?” He pulls me in for a kiss. “Did you forget about the gift I gave you?”

I smile. “Not at all. It was the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“I was really nervous when I picked it out. I wanted to make sure I got a ring you’d like, but we never talked about it so I was afraid I’d screw it up.”

“I love the ring. It’s perfect! But that wasn’t the gift I was talking about.”

He pauses to think. “Oh, I know. It was the bacon maker, wasn’t it? I knew you’d love it. As soon as I saw it, I bought it before they even got to the part where they throw in the egg cooker for free. But the lady on the phone was nice and let me have it anyway.”

Jace and I gave each other infomercial products for Christmas. It was meant to be a joke, but some of this stuff is really useful. Like the bacon thing. It cooks bacon in the microwave without splattering grease everywhere. I tried it, and it actually works!

“It’s not the bacon maker, although I really like it. Great choice.”

“I know what my girl likes.” He smiles. “So if it’s not the bacon maker, then what is it?”

I snuggle up beside him. “You.”

“Me?”

“You asked me to marry you, which means you’re mine. I get to keep you. Forever.”

He chuckles. “Not sure if that’s a gift.”

“It is.” I kiss him. “It’ll always be my favorite one.” I yawn and put my head on his shoulder.

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