Page 22 of Why Not Forever?

I look down to where our hands are still clasped on the table and draw my thumb over her knuckles. “Vic, maybe we should talk about our relationship.”

She unlinks our fingers, sliding her hand back across the table toward herself, drawing in. It hurts, but it’s probably for the best.

“What about our relationship?” she asks.

“Spencer made a good point last week. We’re attracted to each other. We’re going to be married for at least a year. We won’t be seeing anyone else. We’ll be married. We already know we’re compatible.”

“We won’t be having sex, Tanner.” Her voice is firm and resolute.

I meet her eyes. “I agree it would be a bad idea. Throwing sex into this, and all the endorphins that come with it, is probably a recipe for disaster. I’m not saying we should try it. I’m saying there’s a possibility, after a while, one or both of us is going to change our minds about how much of a bad idea it is. What happens then?”

She looks down at her hands, then back up at me. “I don’t know, Tanner. Maybe that’s something we can decide later? When it happens?”

I appreciate that she sayswhenand notif. If I could be sure she wouldn’t cut me out again, I’d take her to bed right now. But if we sleep together and she ghosts me again, I’m not sure I could survive it a second time.

“We can decide later,” I say, putting off the inevitable. “For now, let’s take a look around the apartment. Tell me what you think I should do with my things.”

Chapter 8

Vic

WhenTannerarrivesatmy apartment before the family dinner, I’m a nervous wreck. We’re telling my family we’re engaged tonight, and I’ve been pacing for the last half hour, waiting for Tanner to get here.

He takes one look at me when I open the door and raises an eyebrow. “Nervous?”

“What if he questions how quickly this is happening?”

“Then we tell him all the things we’ve practiced. We were friends in school, we met up again and everything clicked. We don’t want to wait for two years, but you also insist we get married at Blue Vista in the summer.”

He lists all the things we’ve discussed over the past couple weeks in such a calm, rational way, he almost has me convinced that these are exactly the reasons we’re getting married immediately and not because we’re trying to stage a coup on my father.

“You want something to take your mind off it?” he asks, pulling a small black box out of his pocket and turning it in his hand.

I stare at the box, intensely curious to see what’s inside. I take a breath and try to conceal my reaction. “Sure.”

He snorts and I know I haven’t fooled him. “Should I get down on one knee?” he asks.

I fold my arms over my chest. “I don’t think that’s necessary. You already asked me to marry you. I already said yes. Just give me the ring.”

He smirks. “I knew it. You’re not patient at all, are you?”

“Not right now, I’m not.”

He opens the box, facing toward himself, not letting me see. He chuckles at my sound of frustration and holds out his hand. I place my left one in it, and he slides the ring onto my finger.

As soon as I see it, I gasp.

“Tanner. It’s gorgeous.”

It’s a rose gold ring with an oval diamond. On either side of the diamond are three smaller ones of different sizes in a line along the band, the biggest next to the main stone, getting smaller the further away they are.

“You like it?” he asks.

“I love it. It’s perfect.”

I look up at him and catch the relief that crosses his features before he smiles. “Good. It has a matching wedding band. I bought that, too. So we just need to find one for me.”

“The man’s wedding band often matches the woman’s. You don’t mind that it’ll be rose gold?”

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