Page 46 of New Year's Faye

The way he defended me, supported me, saw me... that was real.

Wasn't it?

A soft knock interrupted my spiral.

"Faye?" Will asked. "You okay in there?"

I opened the door to find him leaning against the wall, arms crossed, expression gentle.

“Sorry. I just needed a minute.”

“I get it. It can be overwhelming.” He tilted his head to one side. “But you’re used to crowds. So that’s not it.”

I huffed out a laugh, mimicking his pose in the doorway of the bathroom. “I don’t know what it is. I just feel….”

“Untethered?”

Oof. Right in the feels.

I shrugged. “Maybe?”

“You know, it’s okay to be scared. Marriage is a big commitment.”

I bit my tongue to keep from admitting the truth.

"But I’m gonna let you in on a secret. As much as you’re worried, Sam will be ten times as concerned. The fact is, he doesn't know his own worth. Never has. Probably never will, unless someone shows him."

My throat felt tight. "I don't?—"

"You do." He smiled. "You see him. Really see him. Not the rock star, not the quiet helper, but Sam. And he sees you too. The real you, not just the perfect professional image you project."

"Will…"

"I know what it's like to be afraid of wanting things. To think you don't deserve them." He straightened. "But sometimes the best things in life are the ones you think you can't have."

"It's complicated."

"Love usually is." He grinned. "Doesn't make it less worth it."

Before I could respond, Sam's laugh drifted down the hallway, followed by Frankie's delighted cackling.

My chest ached. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're family too, Faye. Marriage certificate or not." He squeezed my shoulder. "Maybe it's time you both stopped pretending otherwise."

I stood in the hallway long after he left, listening to the sounds of my family—because they were all mine now, weren't they?—and wondering when exactly I'd lost control of this situation.

When I'd lost control of my heart.

"Oh," I whispered to no one. "Oh no."

Because that's what this feeling was, wasn't it?

That's what it had been all along.

Love.

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