Page 41 of Gracefully Yours

“I don’t need one.” Daniel chuckled. “You can give it to me at the wedding. It’s alright. I’ll wait until we’re married.” He winked.

Married.Oh, god. I thought I was fine, and then he went and said stuff like that.

“You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I said, giving him a weak smile.

Daniel leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “We got this, darling.”

“Yeah.” I looked over at their house, trying to will myself to believe the words, and slipped my engagement ring into my pocket. We just needed to fool our friends into thinking we were in a real relationship, not that we were getting married because of a marriage pact we’d made when we were practically kids.

Daniel got out of the car, opening my door for me, and then we were walking up the paved sidewalk that led to the two massive front doors.

Before I could even ring the doorbell, it swung open, and Angelina was there. Her hair twisted up into a clip with her signature shade of red lipstick on, even though she was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and jeans.

“Hi,” I said, smiling at the rest of our friends as Daniel and I walked into the living room. Handing Angelina the little plant I’d picked up for her as a housewarming gift, everyone crowded in to say hello, and then we all got swept up into a tour of the house.

Angelina showed us her new walk-in closet, and Noelle was jealous, because she wanted a room for her shoes, too. Afterwards, we went back to the kitchen to keep talking.

When Hunter and Benjamin came back inside from looking at the patio, Hunter tried to nestle Gabbi into himself when she practically yelped from the cold. I couldn’t hear their exchange, but she was glaring at him, brushing the droplets of water from his coat. From his grin, I could tell just how much he loved my friend. Hunter leaned in and kissed Gabbi’s cheek. I was glad they were happy.

But I couldn’t help but wonder if Daniel would ever look at me that way.

“Anything cool out there?” she asked him.

Hunter nodded. “Benjamin was just showing me the place he wants to build a pool.”

Gabbi raised an eyebrow, looking over at Ben. “A pool, Benjamin?”

“It’ll be perfect for the kids.” Benjamin grinned.

We all turned to Angelina, who waved her hands. “No, I’m not pregnant. I promise.” She glared at her husband. “We’re not even going to try until I’m thirty. At least.” Ang pointed a finger at him before turning back to the rest of us. “But, one day, it might be nice if we can have all our families out there. And if we build a structure over it, we can keep it heated in the winter, so it’ll be usable all year round.”

“I like it.” Gabbi grinned.

I felt lost in my thoughts all night. It was strange to see my friends move on to the next part of their lives: engaged, married, thinking about having kids.

I supposed that would beussoon, too. Maybe thatwaswhy I’d said yes. I didn’t want to be alone anymore. And he… was my best friend.

Daniel handed me a glass of lemonade, and I gave Gabbi a small smile. Taking a sip, I made eye contact with him. He gave me a slight nod, as if to say,go for it.I set the glass down and took a breath before turning back to the rest of our friends.

“Hey, guys? Um…” I knew I was fidgeting, rubbing my ring finger almost absentmindedly, thinking about the ring that sat inside my pocket. The one he’d surprised me with tonight.

Daniel gave me another nod, as if he was encouraging me—and somehow, his eyes locked onto mine gave me the strength to keep going. “I have something to tell you all.”

They all looked at me expectantly, not sayinganything, just standing there staring.

I scooted closer to Daniel, who picked up my hand and wove our fingers together.

“Wehave something to tell you all,” Daniel confirmed, squeezing my hand. “We’re… together,” Daniel finally said.

I expected gasps, some surprised expressions, but they all looked so excited for us.

“Youare?!”Angelina shrieked.

“That’s not all though.” My lips curled up into a hint of a smile, and I pulled my hand free from Daniel’s, grabbing the ring in my pocket. Sliding it on my finger, felt right. Like this was the correct decision. “We’re getting married.”

If it was possible, I was pretty sure the other six of our friends all collectively gasped at once. “You—what?”

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