Page 71 of Faking It with the Firefighter

“Yes, Donny. A good one.”

He typed on his phone as he said, “‘I promise to be a good husband.’”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah, but more specific. Somethinglike, I promise to support you and love you just as you are. To always be there for you, through good times and bad. To unclog the hair from your sink and never make fun of your tools. I promise to do my best to get along with your cat, even when he poops in my shoes. Pick up the pizza when we don’t feel like cooking, and bail you out of jail when your rebellious side gets the best of you. Because I love all of you. And I want all of you forever.”

Donny looked at me, stunned for a moment. “That was pretty good. Can you say that again?”

After another hour or so,Donny had drafted up something decent, and we had just enough time to get back to the house to get ready for the ceremony. When I walked inside Abigail’s, she was standing in the living room. My eyes drew up her long legs to the flowing hemline of her burgundy dress, past the curve of her waist, and up the exposed center of her chest to her pretty red lips. God, she was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe that we were actually doing this. That we were together now, and it wasn’t fake at all.

She smiled. “There you are. I was wondering when you were going to be back.” She walked over and took my hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I stared into her eyes and pulled her in. “You look amazing, Abigail.”

She grinned and gave me a little twirl to make the hemline of her dress flutter out around her. “You mean this old thing?”

I thought about my talk with Donny and wondered how he could be unsure. When you were with the woman of yourdreams, you knew she was the one. It was bone-deep certainty. It was the twinkle in her eye as she swayed closer, draping her arms over your shoulders. It was the promise of thousands of days, memorable and mundane, that would make a life worth living.

I wanted her to know. I took a deep breath and said, “Abigail?—”

“Where is my garter belt!” Blair screamed. Abigail and I turned our attention down the hall.

Abigail let out a long sigh and rested her cheek against my chest. We swayed slightly while Blair’s screeching continued. “I can’t wait until this is all over,” Abigail whispered.

“They’ll be leaving on their honeymoon tomorrow, and then it’ll be just you and me,” I said and kissed her again. “I’d better get in my tux.”

“Mmhmm, let’s get this show on the road,” Abigail said and smacked my butt as I walked away. I looked back at her and she sent me a wink.

Laughing, I turned the corner. A thousand days, memorable and mundane, with someone at my side who made life worth living. The possibility of it made me feel like I was floating.

TWENTY-THREE

REX

I metDonny and the other guys near Abigail’s back gate, where we’d enter the ceremony space. Peeking over the fence, I noticed the guests had been seated, acoustic love songs played in the background, and an extensive film crew was set up to stream the entire thing. Just an intimate wedding of 2.4 million. I spotted Abigail seated on the groom’s side, and her skin glowed in the midday sunlight.

The only blight on the day was the smell of the compost bin beside the back gate. I noticed the lid was slightly open, so I walked over and tried to stuff it down. A few paper coffee cups from the Magnolia Café fell out and rolled onto the freshly shorn grass. Over the fence, I met Abigail’s eyes as she cringed and mouthed,Sorry!

Huffing a laugh, I shoved the coffee cups back in and did my best to get the lid down. The heat coming off the bin was intense, but I was in a tux, and minutes before my brother’s wedding was not the time to start turning compost.

Being with Abigail would require picking up her slack—and I welcomed the challenge. I could turn her compost and cut her grass. I could build her a new fire pit and unclog her sinks. I couldn’t cook much besides an omelet and toast, so we’d have to have a hefty takeout budget. But those were small prices to pay to get to sleep next to her every night.

Once the lid was secured, I found my brother and clamped my hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re good?”

He nodded. “As good as I’ll ever be.”

The music changed, and soon the wedding coordinator was instructing us to begin the groomsman procession. One by one, we walked down the linen-covered aisle that Abigail and I had nailed down the day before. The sheer fabric along the arbor swayed with the warm autumn breeze. The last few days had felt more like summer than fall, and today was no exception. Their wedding would be beautiful; I was sure Blair’s followers were already flooding her live stream with love. When I’d taken my place behind Donny, I looked out to the guests again, finding Abigail in the crowd. I smiled at her and she blew me a surreptitious kiss.

I couldn’t wait to speak to Gabe. I didn’t want anything between me and Abigail to be secret anymore. I wanted her by my side where she belonged.

I hardly noticed when the bridesmaids walked toward the arbor. And while everyone stood and watched Blair in her wedding gown saunter down the aisle to take her groom, I kept my eyes on Abigail.

As the guests took their seats again, Blair’s gaze lingered on me for a moment. She should have been looking at Donny.Something about all of this wasn’t sitting well with me. Was Blair just as apprehensive about marrying Donny as he’d been that morning? I felt that twinge of protective older brother surface, and I wanted to get Donny out.

But it wasn’t my place. He was a grown man. I had to stop looking out for him all the time, just like Gabe needed to back off of Abigail. That’s when I looked at her again—and all I could see was the strong, independent woman who could do anything.

She inspired me. I’d spent the majority of my life, from the time I was a young teen until now, feeling like I needed to bend over backward for other people in order to deserve their love and respect. I needed to go out of my way to clean up after my brother’s mistakes. I needed to put on a brave face when he started dating my ex-girlfriend. I needed to house him, and coach him through his vows, and be there whenever he needed.

For what?

---