Page 152 of Fumbled Into Love

“Hallelujah!” Sawyer cheers, “This is a cause for mimosas!”

She lifts two bottles of champagne out of her bag and Henry lifts orange juice.

“Happy for you, man,” Henry says, gripping my shoulder, “Welcome to the Zing Club.”

“And what a wonderful club it is,” Jack adds, glancing at Maren as she drops trays of food onto my kitchen counter. “It all went well?”

“I barely stumbled over my words,” I admit proudly. They had to listen to several versions of my speech and each time, I could barely choke out the words. “I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without you guys. Thank you.”

“What are friends for?” Henry shrugs with a smile, “But, if you’ll excuse me, I want to get a good bagel before they’re all gone.”

He slips away, leaving Jack and I standing in the doorway.

“I’ve never seen you happier,” he comments. My eyes dart to Nathalie, who’s sipping her mimosa, laughing with Sawyer and Maren. “It looks good on you.”

“She makes me happier than I knew was possible.”

I stand beside Nathalie and she leans against me, picking at fruit and bacon. She slides a plate in front of me, full of eggs, hash browns, and bacon and I kiss the crown of her head in thanks.

Nathalie and I are bombarded with questions about how the grand gesture went and Nathalie gracefully answers them all while I eat. I simply watch the interaction, realizing how blessed I am that I have the friends I do and that I get to stand beside the woman I love.

There’s a parade around the house so Maren and Sawyer can see what the guys and I put together and Nathalie shows off her friendship bracelet and scrapbook like they’re shining jewels.

Declan slides beside me.

“How does it feel to zing with someone?” he asks quietly.

There’s uncertainty in his voice.

“It’s like taking a fresh breath of air after being underwater.” He hums and when I look at him, his gaze is unfocused. “It’s not loud like you would expect. It’s safety and stability, knowing the person beside you has your back. It’s an inexplicable sense of comfort with someone else.”

“That’s nice,” he says, though it sounds like he means the exact opposite.

I want to say something, to reassure him that it will happen for him, when Nathalie and the girls return to the counter, passing out mimosas to everyone.

Nathalie hands one to me and places a soft kiss on my lips.

“I want to raise a toast,” she says, eyes fixed on me, “to fake dating proposals and broken pipes. To wonderful friends and grand gestures. But most of all, here’s to a lifetime with someone you love.”

A cacophony of cheers echoes through my home, followed by the clinking of glasses, but my eyes never leave Nathalie’s as I lift the mimosa to my lips, savoring the tart champagne.

Backed into a corner, I made a wild declaration that I had a girlfriend. It turned out to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Nathalie tumbled into my life, bringing light and chaos, and hope. The person I was before our deal is long gone, replaced by someone who’s still growing and healing, but with her love and kindness she brought me back to life and despite my past, I fumbled into love.

EPILOGUE

“I’m gonna love you till the planets die”

Back For More – Nia Hendricks

Deon

Six months later

“Nathalie,” I hiss, voice low, as we weave through the Paris Catacombs. This place is creepy and my skin crawls as my head dips to fit the opening into the next open area. Some parts of history give me the heebie jeebies, and this is one of them.

Hundreds of thousands of bones lay on either side of the dirt path, neatly stacked. Towers of femurs lay beside shin bones. Skulls are arranged to resemble a heart or cross andthe air is cold and damp. There’s a chill in the air like this is not a place that we were meant to see.

My girlfriend does not harbor the same fears of curses and ghosts as she snaps photos and ohs and ahs at the wonder of human existence.

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