Page 188 of Come Break My Heart Again

“If you knock up Elle soon, our kids could be the same age,” Tuck tells me. “Raise hell at Fernwood High together, just like we did.”

“Raise hell? What was the craziest thing you did in high school, Tuck? Go to a One party?”

“Hey! I was crazy.”

“Uh-huh. Ask Reese. She’ll back me up. Your kids will be baseball or softball stars with great grades, trust me.”

Tuck’s giant grin appears again. “God, I can’t wait to play ball in the yard with my kid.”

I clap his shoulder. “Really happy for you, man.”

“Thanks. And don’t tell anyone I told you, okay? Keira wants to—hey, Elle.”

“Hi, Tuck.” Elle pauses beside me, glancing between me and Tuck, who shoots me a nervous look. I’m not sure how much of our conversation Elle heard. “I came to ask you to dance,” she tells me.

“Thank goodness,” I say. “My mom wassoworried we wouldn’t get to.”

“Ha. I saw you two out there. Come on.” She grabs my hand.

“See ya,” I say to Tuck, then let Elle pull me away.

“How much did you hear?” I ask once we’re swaying on the dance floor.

“Enough to know Tuck told you a secret,” she replies.

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”

She rolls her eyes. “You can stop worrying about choosing between your guilty conscience and me being mad at you. Keira isn’t drinking, and her boobs barely fit in her wedding dress. She’s pregnant. I’m right, right?”

I nod. If Tuck asks, I can swear I never said a word.

“I’m so happy for them.”

“Yeah, me too.”

We sway in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the moment.

“Do you want to get married?” I ask.

After my conversation with my mom, I’m realizing I don’t know her answer to that. I just assumed it was something she wanted—the diamond ring and a fancy wedding like this one.

Beneath my palms, Elle’s spine stiffens. She pulls back a couple of inches, her blue eyes wide as she glances up at me. “Is this your idea of a proposal?”

I laugh. “No. I’m more romantic than that.”

She relaxes a little, but continues staring at me. “Then, why are you asking?”

“Because I don’t know the answer. We’re at a wedding. I was just wondering if this is something you want. If it’s something you’ve thought about.”

“With you or just in general?”

I pinch the side of her ribs.

Elle smirks.

“I’m not talkingthathypothetically,” I answer. “With me.”

“I wondered if a bigger commitment would have made it harder for you to end things,” she tells me. “We weren’t even dating back then really.”

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