Page 44 of Gracefully Yours

“What about the stuff in the car?”

“We can just grab it afterwards. Come on.”

“Right. My room. Perfect. Lead the way.” I pasted on a fake smile, adjusting my slouchy pink sweater.

Daniel led me through the house, up the stairs and to the bedroom across the hall from his. When we walked in, my eyes tracked over the pink velvet tufted bed frame, nightstands and dresser all sitting there, just waiting for me to fill them.

“I thought this might be more comfortable for you. So you’d have your own space.” He leaned against the door frame as I sat on the mattress. I couldn’t decide if I loved how thoughtful he was or if I hated it.

After all, wasn’t I going to be his wife? Wasn’t he the one who had come up with this inane idea in the first place?

“Wasn’t this your guest room?”

He scratched the top of his head, the tips of his ears a little red. “Yeah. But it’s yours now. You can fill it with all of your pink.”

I’d been over to his house so many times, for movie dates on the couch or eating pizza after a long day, but everything felt different now. Maybe it was because I knew this wasn’t a temporary thing. I was going to live here—together, with him.

“I have one more thing I want to show you.” He tugged my hand towards the front of the house, into the empty bonus room. But it wasn’t empty at all—multiple bookcases sat there, just waiting to be filled up.

“You did this for me?” I was feeling a little choked up. Building me bookcases for my books shouldn’t have made me feel like this, but I couldn’t help the flutters in my stomach from the action.

Daniel squeezed my hand. “Yeah. I wanted you to have somewhere that you could make into your space. I cleaned out the closet, so you should be able to store your dress projects in there, and then I was thinking we could put your sewing desk against the wall.” He looked at his watch. “Shoot. I only have an hour till guys are meeting me at your apartment to get everything else. Are you okay here while I go?”

I nodded my head. “I’ll just start unpacking, I guess.”

“Let me go get the rest of the bags out of the car.” He kissed the top of my head before heading outside, leaving me standing in my space. It was bigger than I’d ever had at my apartment, and I could already see it now.

Maybe everything wasn’t perfect, but things were going to turn out just fine.

I needed to protect my heart. So I didn’t get confused about what this was and what itwasn’t.We weren’t two people marrying for love. Sure, we loved each other, but not the way I needed. The way I craved.

And I was just going to have to accept that.

* * *

The guys had comeand gone, Matthew’s truck carting over my sewing desk and the rest of my stuff, leaving the two of us alone once again.

Which meant that I needed to make the call that I’d been avoiding.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mom.”

“Charlotte!” I could hear my mom’s surprise over the phone. “How’s everything been?”

I looked at Daniel, who sat in the other room, fiddling with his guitar as he played with a few strings. “It’s good. But listen, Mom, I have something I need to tell you.”

My sketchbook was in my lap, the page opened to something I was working on for a dance commission, but I knew if I flipped a few pages back that my dress was in there. That I could run my fingers over the lines I’d drawn, and redrawn, over and over, until it had been perfect.

I shut my eyes as I prepared to drop this giant bomb on her.

“You’re moving home?”

I scoffed.As if.I loved California, and I’d always be a California girl at heart, but this place was my home now. With these people, especially the guy sitting in the next room, over. “I’ve been in Oregon for almost ten years, and that’s what you jump to? No. I’m…” I took a deep breath, trying to get over my initial hesitation. Why hadn’t I done this sooner? “I’m getting married. Next month.”

“What?!” she exclaimed. “To who? When did this happen? We’re invited, right? Do you need my help? I can call my friends, and we can—”

I sighed. There it was. That was why I hadn’t called. “Mom—”

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