Page 100 of Perfect (mis)Match

Not five seconds later, there was a banging from my front door. I ran to it and threw it open to find Vincent there, still on the phone, giving me a hopeful look.

He looked even more incredible than usual, like he was awake again after a long hibernation.

“I want to hear it in person.” He smiled at me, but he still looked a little queasy, like he wasn’t sure what was going on in my head. It was Vincent at his most vulnerable—a side of him that would take some getting used to—for both of us. “I hope that’s okay.”

I shook my head at his presumption. “Wow, you’re really banking on good news.”

He disconnected the call and gave me a helpless shrug. “Either way, I had to see your face.”

“Come in.”

I stepped back, and Vincent strode by me. The tension practically radiated off him.

“Let’s sit,” I suggested.

“Piper, you’re killing me,” he sighed as he dropped onto the couch. “Pleasetell me what you’re thinking.”

I sat on the far end of the couch and crossed my legs. Why was I so shaky?

“I’m so touched by what you did today,” I began. “I know how private you are, and that it takes a lot for you to open up that way. It was beautiful. Thank you.”

Any happiness in his expression was draining away as I spoke. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ in your voice?”

“But,” I inclined my head toward him, “You have to know that you really, really hurt me. And you publicly humiliated me, as well.”

He started to interrupt me, but I shook my head to stop him.

“I know that part wasn’t on purpose. But it happened, and it was awful. I felt broken because I trusted you, Vincent.”

He looked downright wounded now, like I was hitting him with body blows, and he was just waiting for the knockout punch that would end it all.

“But what you said today…” My eyes welled up. “It touched me, Vincent. I needed to hear that from you. Granted, it didn’t have to be in front of the world, but you always go big.”

His pained expression broke into a half smile.

“It told me everything I needed to hear. And now I think it’s finally time for me to be just as open and honest with you.” I took a deep breath, because I was about to jump into the abyss.

“I love you too, Vincent Forde.”

His reaction was immediate. He closed his eyes, dropped his head, and let out the longest sigh I’d ever heard.

“Oh, thank fucking god. You nearly killed me, Piper.”

I slid closer to him, placing my hand on his knee. “I’m sorry, I just needed to get everything out first. Being honest is important if we want to do this right. We have a pretty shaky foundation, you know.”

“We have aridiculousfoundation, but the feelings are real. And they always have been. It just took me too goddamned long to admit it.”

We stared at one another in silence as the realization of what we’d just admitted took hold. It was love, real love, that had brought us here. What happened next was a gigantic adventure I couldn’t quite wrap my head around.

I held my wrist out to him. “This isPerpetual. Like us.”

He clasped it gently and raised it to his nose, his eyes locked on mine as he breathed in my skin.

“It’s perfect,” he said as he closed his eyes and inhaled again. “Likeyou.”

“Is that a fact? Why don’t you tell me about it?” I murmured.

His lips danced inches from the delicate skin of my wrist, and just the warmth of his breath was enough to make me feel fluttery.

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