Page 100 of The Secret Play

She gestured around the room, where clothes and shoes were strewn across every surface. “As much as I love the idea of shooting off to Vegas on a moment’s notice, you’re not exactly the spontaneous type, Gem. You’re already deep in planning mode. I can tell. This is all happeningveryfast for someone like you.”

I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers curling around the edge of the duvet as I considered her words. She wasn’t wrong—I liked making plans and knowing exactly what was coming. As a single mom, I’d gotten used to trying to keep order on my own. Sometimes it worked out, and sometimes it didn’t, but having a plan was a comfort, even if it was just an illusion.

But as I sat there, my thoughts circling Casey and everything we’d been through, the answer came to me as clearly as if it had been waiting all along.

“It is fast,” I admitted, my voice steady. “But it feels right. Casey and I…we just fit. It’s like finding the missing puzzle piece—you just know when it’s right. Hell, the first night we were together, we were in bed in under an hour. There’s no timetable for love or marriage. I fell for him harder, faster, and deeper than anyone I’ve ever known, and it feels like it took us forever to get here, even though the real part of things happened in a blink. I think everything with us is fast because it’s meant to be. We have five years to make up for.”

Her expression softened, and I smiled, a thought hitting me.

“Kind of like how you and Nico?—”

“Don’t even start,” she interrupted quickly, cheeks flushing a deep pink. My best friend had never been an easy blusher, but when it came to my brother, she radiated with color. She admitted, “I like Nico, okay? I’ve always liked Nico. And yes, he hasn’t called me since you left town, and now…now there’s something between us?—”

“I knew it!”

She laughed. “But I’m not overthinking it. Whatever happens, happens. If it doesn’t work out, then we can leave things at me being your best friend and him being your brother. This doesn’t have to get weird or mean anything beyond what it is.”

I smirked, recognizing the familiar pattern. Megan couldn’t admit her feelings outright, but I knew. Whatever had happened to me and Casey was happening to them. The signs were obvious to anyone who knew them.

I couldn’t have been happier about it. “Sure,” I said lightly, zipping up my bag. “Whatever you say.”

In the living room, Casey and Nico huddled over their phones, scrolling through flights with the intensity they usually reserved for hockey. Winnie was happily playing with her toys on the floor, completely oblivious to the whirlwind unfolding around her. I wasn’t sure if she understood what any of this meant. When a wedding popped up in a cartoon, she watched it with little to no interest.

Would it be different if it was for her parents?

“Score!” Nico announced, holding up his phone triumphantly. “Flight leaves in three hours. Plenty of seats in first class, loads of time to get there, check in at the hotel and get you crazy kids hitched, along with all the other stuff you want to do. The hotel has the wedding package you wanted and, most importantly, availability.”

“Perfect,” Casey said, pocketing his phone. “Thank you, Nico.”

I didn’t know what I had expected, but it wasn’t that. “Flights already?”

“And hotel rooms,” Nico said with a wink. I was pretty sure that wink was for Megan, and I refused to think about it too much.

Casey crossed the room, took my bag from me, and set it down before pulling me into his arms. “Are you ready for this?”

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

His grin was infectious, and he kissed me deeply, making the world blur around us. My future husband had a magic mouth.

“All right, lovebirds,” Megan said, breaking the moment with a laugh. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”

“Did any of you geniuses think to pack a bag for Winnie?”

Casey smiled, walked around the corner to the foyer, and held up her Sesame Street suitcase. “All set.”

“I knew there was a reason I was marrying you.”

We called a rideshare for the airport drive. No sense in paying for parking if we didn’t have to. This whole fiasco would be expensive enough as it was. The rideshare was one of those big SUVs with plenty of room for all of us to stretch out. Nico and Megan bickered over who got to sit where, while Winnie chattered happily in the backseat. I leaned against Casey, trying to find something to tether myself to in such a wild moment.

Casey held my hand tightly, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in a soothing rhythm. He had a tan line there from the ring, and I loved what that meant. That I was worthy of it. Of him. I glanced at my fiancé, my heart skipping at the way his eyes sparkled with excitement.

This was happening. We were doing this.

For someone who had spent her whole life planning, overthinking, and second-guessing, the spontaneity of it all felt exhilarating. As I looked around at the people I loved—Casey, Winnie, Nico, and Megan—I knew, without a doubt, that this was exactly where I was meant to be.

Epilogue - Gemma

Isat at the vanity, staring at my reflection, trying to take it all in. Not just the stellar makeup job that Megan had done for me, but everything that had led to this moment. How could I have known I had met the man who would become my future on that fateful night? I hadn’t even wanted to go to the masquerade. I wanted to stay home and make sure everything was packed according to my list.

---