Page 62 of An Engagement Pact

ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, we go to the coffee shop to hang out, and we find a bunch of our friends there.

They all seem to know something has changed between me and Dan. I’m not exactly sure how they know. Maybe it’s obvious on our faces. But they’re happy and congratulatory, and Carlton somberly apologizes for putting his foot in his mouth—as he’s been repeatedly informed he did—and messing things up.

I accept his apologies with no hard feelings, explaining his accidental stumblings might have been exactly the push Dan and I needed to get certain things said.

Dan and I are sitting together on the love seat, pressed up against each other and his arm around me. The others tease him for falling for me at first sight. Joey explains that she was actually there when Dan saw me for the first time, and she knew he was a goner from that moment on.

I’m flushed and self-conscious but smiling at the teasing. And I come to the realization that Dan is wrong about no one loving him for real.

These people don’t just like him. They care about him sincerely and deeply. They love him.

I can’t wait until we’re alone so I can share that recognition with him.

As the afternoon progresses, I have another revelation.

These people are my friends too. And with time I’ll probably feel as close to them as Dan does.

I’ve never had a group of friends before. I’ve never had a place where I felt fully known and at home.

I’ve never had a relationship where I felt truly loved.

All of it has happened, somehow springing out of a fake, practical engagement.

I have no idea what the future will hold for me and Dan, but I know—I’m sure—that it will only get better from here.

Epilogue

IT’S THE DAY BEFOREour one-year wedding anniversary, and I’m all stressed out.

I’m not anxious about what’s going to happen tomorrow. The past year has been the absolute best of my life, and I’m one-hundred-percent certain that Dan feels the same. He’s going to want to renew our wedding vows tomorrow exactly as we agreed last year. And he’s been kind of secretive lately—he’s not good at keeping things from me—so I’m sure he’s planning something big.

But I decided months ago that I want to beat him to the punch. He’s probably got some big romantic gesture set up for tomorrow evening, so I’m going to do my thing first thing in the morning.

For the entirety of my morning walk with Oscar, I mentally review every step of my plan. He’ll wake up at six and go to the bathroom to shave and take a shower, so I’ll have no more than fifteen minutes to set up the table, fancy breakfast, and decorations I’ve prepared. When he comes out of the bedroom, I’ll start the music and do my “proposal”—offering him a gift in lieu of a ring.

The gift was the hardest piece to figure out. It seems appropriate to give him some sort of engagement ring, but Dan doesn’t wear jewelry. Nothing at all except his wedding ring and the very nice watch his parents bought him for his college graduation. He’d wear anything I give him without hesitation, but I want this gift to feel likehim.

---