Page 125 of The Fiance Dilemma

I only need her. Jobs are replaceable. Careers are fickle. Roots grow anywhere there’s ground. Commitment and love are shown with actions. And I plan on doing that every fucking day of my life as long as I have her.

Easy as that.

(Long moment of silence)

NICK: I… Wow.

SAM: (clears throat) Holy shit. I— That was not planned.

NICK: I did not expect that, no. I— Wait. Matthew. Matthew? Where are you going? We’re not done. We—

MATTHEW: (muffled, then clearer) Josie won’t be happy with me after I get this one last thing out, but as I’ve said many times, she has a class I lack. Duncan Aguirre? If you ever so much as think to use my woman or anyone in our circle in the future for your own benefit, I’ll tell the world where you were on September 15. And who you were with. And yes, I’m talking about her mama, too. I might have principles sometimes, but I’m still a petty man. That’s it. I have a flight back home to catch.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Matthew

Irony had a sick sense of humor sometimes.

Or maybe it always did.

Either way, something had to explain why the only structure still set up on the farm was the arched arbor. The one at the end of what should have been the aisle Josie would have walked down.

There was no grief in the sight or the thought of something she wouldn’t do. I would have loved to watch her make her way down to me, dressed in a gown, a veil hanging delicately off her head. But I never needed that dream.

And Josie had always been Technicolor in my head. Not white.

The only reason I was here was because Josie hadn’t been home when we’d pulled up to her place. She’d been here, surely trying to help finalize clearing the farm. So I’d asked Cam to drive me here instead of waiting for her.

My own words were still whirling around my head. I’d always suspected I was a hopeless romantic. Mostly because that would explain why I was so good at looking at everyone else’s love affairsunder a clinical lens. One needed to really know about a topic to be able to pick it apart. It was either that, or the fact I was incapable of taking shit seriously. Serious people didn’t believe in the things I did or go on a podcast with national reach and swear a total of seven times, then threaten a senator and walk off.

Ma wasn’t impressed with me in that regard. I’d been saved by the fact I’d asked them to tune in and she somehow believed my words had been the first real thing I’d said in a long time.Years.They would be getting to Green Oak tomorrow instead of today, after my father’s suggestion to give everyone a little room to breathe. I didn’t regret lying to them, but I regretted not giving them more grace. A little more credit. I owed them everything, and now that included an apology. But I didn’t even mind catching some heat. They were meeting Josie. And I couldn’t fucking wait for them to meet her.

There was something I’d kept from someone else, too. I’d always been looking for jobs in the Charlotte area. From the moment I was laid off. It hadn’t been just about Josie, although I’d be a fool and a liar to deny that, after going on air and saying all of that. It partly was. But there was always more. Ever since Adalyn had found a home here, it had made me see things differently. Wonder what the fuck I was doing with my life. Josie hadn’t been wrong to ask me why I wasn’t doing something I loved. Something in sports. That was a dream I snuffed out a long time ago in favor of being pragmatic. Comfortable. Content.

The only reason I hadn’t told her that was fear. Fear of chasing a dream I wasn’t sure was for me, and fear of scaring her away. It had always been difficult not to come off too strong around Josie. And it had never been like I’d decided she’d have me in her life, whether she wanted me or not. I would have settled for being her friend. I simply hoped for the possibility of becoming more than that to her.

Steps sounded behind me, and I immediately knew who wasthere at the other end of what could hardly be called an aisle anymore.

Blue eyes met mine when I turned, and man. She was so beautiful standing there, looking at me like that. Watching her smile had always overwhelmed me.

“You knew I’d be here,” she said. Her lips were pink today, and the idea of kissing that lipstick off them made my chest flare. “You also went rogue.”

“I did.”

“We had a plan,” she added.

“I’d hoped you wouldn’t mind me changing it.”

Her frown was small, but it was one. “I minded.”

I took one step forward. It was small, too, and it made her raise a hand to stop me.

“I also made plans on my own,” she said, voice going breathless in that way that told me she was also overwhelmed at the sight of me, walking toward her. “They were great romantic plans. To reward you.”

“You are my reward.”

She nodded her head, her gaze going a little crazy for a second. Taking in every inch of my expression. Then all of me. Head to toes. Toes to head, stopping at my chest, shoulders, then eyes. I loved the way her face went hazy when she did that. “I found your ring. Your grandma’s. In my box. It doesn’t belong there.”

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