Page 143 of One More Chapter

“Excuseme?”

“What thefuck?!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

It’s hard to pin down who says what when—aside from the ear-piercing shriek; that’s all Aaron—but the absolute rock on Claire’s hand is a surprise to us all. They look down at each other, blush, then turn back to us.

“We didn’t want to overshadow your wedding,” Nathan begins.

“He proposed over Christmas. We stayed in New York a few extra days.”

The girls get up to hug Claire and squeal and look at the ring. The guys fist bump Nathan. Once everyone settles back down, Penelope slides in beside me and lifts her glass of champagne.

“Updated Toast: Anthony and Nathan’s promotions, my book, Russos getting freaky on their lunch break, Claire and Nathan are planning a wedding.AmI missing anything?”

Sam and Juliet, the only people not on the docket, smile at one another before she slides her champagne glass in front of her husband.

“Imightneed the non-alcoholic version, if you’ve got anything sparkling.”

Another round of fits erupts. I don’t think I could cram anymore excitement and love into this room if I tried. After settling down a second time, we lift our glass. Pen reiterates what we have to be grateful for, and before anyone can clink, I slide my arm around her shoulder, look down at her, and say, “And, to Pen and I, for finally pulling our heads out of our asses so we can start our own chapter of a happily ever after.”

Her eyes are shining. With gratitude, hope, love. The kaleidoscope swirls in soft circles that lull me into the securityshehas been asking for this whole time, something I didn’t realize I needed too.

We drink way too much champagne for a weeknight. By the time everyone heads home, leaving Pen and I to clean up the kitchen, I’m still buzzing with the excitement of the day that ended with us hosting our friends in this big house.

“Did you see Juliet’s claws come out earlier at Amanda?” she asks as we collect the last of the plates, chucking them into the trash.

“I think my balls cinched up into me,” I chuckle, shaking my head. “Never come for a lady’s man.”

“How am I supposed to protect you when I’m gone then?” she asks, resting her hand on my chest with a sly tilt of her head. I close my hand over top of hers.

“Be here for me at the end of the day.”

She nods, presses up to kiss me, and helps me with the rest of the kitchen.

We end the night cuddled in the corner of the giant L-shaped couch, my legs extended out with her head resting on my shoulder, laying perpendicular. A hockey game drones on before us, but we’re too sapped from the day to really be paying attention. With the late night hour on the clock, I blink, swallowing the ball of nerves in my throat.

“It’s uh… getting kind of late,” I rasp.

She tilts her head against my shoulder to look at me.

“You kicking me out, Ellis?”

“No,” I say adamantly, if not a little raw. “I just want to make sure you’re okay staying here. I don’t want to force you into it, if it’s not what you want right away. But Idowant you here. More than I can put into words.”

The bees in my brain compete for the turning cogs in her head as she thinks it over. She doesn’t respond with words, though. Instead, she pushes up from the couch, heading to the mudroom where she’s already taken over one of the cubbies. I hear her rifle around before her bare feet cross the hardwood of the kitchen and return her safely to me.

She has a book clutched to her chest like a security blanket. I can make out the title as the one of her most recent story—our story. But something about this cover is different.

“I love you, Anthony,” she says, raspy and exasperated, but with promise in her eyes. “I think the first time I knew was on that beach, staring up at the stars. But I knew for sure when you saw my pieces on the ground and offered to pick them up for me. I just need you to know how much. You asked me once what would happen if you couldn’t measure up to Finn, and the truth is that I don’t want you to. He is a work of fiction.Youare my reality.”

She slides the book into my hands before I can even say it back. The cover is a photo of the beach back in Florida. Beside the original title is something new.

Hills and Valleys: Ant and Penelope’s Version

“It’s the same until page one-fifty. When they?—”

“When they move in together. I know,” I say around the rust.

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