Page 85 of Texting My Valentine

I let out a trembling breath as he stares at me in that unique way of his.

“That night at the bar, I knew you were rare; rescuing you from that jerk was my only care. But the truth is, my heart was already undone. I knew you were the one the moment you’d come. I’vewatched you perform, each verse a flame; your passion, your magic, never the same.”

Several people gasp when he takes the mic from the stand and lowers himself to one knee. I can’t, though, my throat closing with emotion, my heart pounding hard as my body floods with pure happiness.

“You call me your protector, but it’s you who’s my rhyme…” He places the mic down, reaches into his jacket pocket, and takes out a ring box—the diamond glistens under the stage lights.

“Will you be my forever, my perfect Valentine?”

Cleo nudges me. “If you don’t get up there, I will.”

I laugh, but it comes out as a happy sob too. “What happened to keeping it casual, huh?” I joke.

“You two are making me rethink a few things…” she mutters.

I rush onto the stage as everybody begins to applaud. Up close, I see that the ring has a little Cupid figurine, the diamond at the tip of Cupid’s arrow. My vision gets blurry as tears flood my eyes.

“Tori Hart,” he says, in a voice low enough for only me to hear. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” I cry, offering him my hand.

He slips the ring onto my finger and then sweeps me into his arms. I hold onto him tightly, knowing I’ll never let go and that this is forever, feeling like the luckiest girl alive.

I found my ‘one and only’ when I wasn’t even looking.

Maybe there’s something to this Valentine’s magic after all.

“I love you so much,” he says roughly, bringing his lips to mine.

“I love you too.”

EPILOGUE

ALEX

Six Weeks Later

“What do you think, Uncle Alex?” Elliot says, gesturing to the table where he’s built a wedding scene out of LEGO’s.

“I think it’s brilliant, little man,” I say, ruffling his hair.

“Uncle Alex, you know I’m almost eleven, right?”

“Does that mean you’re too old for hair ruffling?”

He grins, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s cool.”

“What about tickling?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m too old for that…”

He erupts into giggles when I leap on him. As he laughs, the last six weeks replay in my mind: the proposal, my woman moving in with us, the love we share every night, the way she nudges me to bond on a deeper level with Elliot,herbonding with Elliot.

Last night, in bed, she lay in my arms and whispered,“I can’t believe how deluded I was when this first started, Alex. It’s like I wanted you to be the bad guy. I was looking for a way out, a way to ignore what I knew I was feeling when I loved you already.”

I told her the truth:“I loved you the first moment I saw you.”

I put Elliot down when my phone buzzes.

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