Page 76 of Fixing to Be Mine

“You will,” she says, walking into the room and flopping onto the end of the bed. “But I know you. You only do the full routine when you’re either going to a wedding or falling for someone.”

I pause, one hand hovering over the cologne bottle.

“She’s not like anyone I’ve ever known,” I admit.

Remi smiles, and it’s kind. “I’m concerned you’re going to get hurt.”

“True love is worth the risk,” I explain, feeling the weight of what this is. Tonight is a bridge between what Stormy and I have been and what we could be. “Our connection isn’t like anything I’ve experienced with another woman. I can’t ignore that even if heartbreak is part of it.”

Remi stands, smoothing the edge of the comforter before stepping over to me. She squeezes my shoulder once. “I want you to be happy.”

I turn around and hug my sister. She’s been beside me through everything, even birth.

“Just look at her the way you always do. Flowers and the picnic basket are in the living room on the coffee table. Now, gotta head to work.”

“Thanks, sis. Love ya,” I say.

“Love you too,” she says, then moves toward the door. “Still convinced you met your wife?”

“Without a doubt,” I tell her with a laugh.

“Love that for you!” she says as she leaves.

A minute later, I hear the front door creak open, then click closed.

When I’m alone again, I sit on the edge of the bed and slide on my boots.

Whatever happens tonight, I won’t play it cool. I’m going to show Stormy exactly what it means to be chosen.

The truck is clean. I even vacuumed the floorboards and wiped down the dash with one of the lemon-scented wipes Remi had left in the glove box months ago. I take the long way to Kinsley’s house because I need the time to stretch a little, to give myself space to think.

When I pull into Kinsley’s driveway, her house is the same it’s always been. It’s small, a one-bedroom cabin that she’s lived in since she was eighteen. Now she and Hayden live there together. Eventually, they’ll upgrade because it’s barely big enough for the two of them, but they make it work. The front windows are open enough to let the sound of music drift out, and it’s followed by laughter.

I grab the flowers from the passenger seat and head up the front steps. Before I can knock, the door swings open, and Summer appears, grinning like she already knows this is the beginning of forever.

“She’s almost ready,” Summer says, stepping outside onto the porch. “You’re lookin’ real nice.Wow.”

“Thanks,” I tell her.

“Don’t worry; we didn’t overdo it or get too personal,” she explains. “But that woman likes you …a lot.”

The smile that touches my lips might be permanent. “Reckon you’re right about that.”

“It’s funny because I can see how compatible you are. I’mma need you to go ahead and marry her so that the three of us can be The Three Musketeers. Oh, Kinsley did a tarot card pull. True love, apparently.”

Laughter spills out of me. “Okay, but when has she done one and it hasn’t said that?”

Summer nods. “You might be onto something there.”

Before I can respond, I hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and then she appears.

Stormy.

Every damn thought in my head disappears.

She’s wearing a soft rose-colored dress that hits above the knee. It’s simple, but it fits her like it was made for this exact moment. Dark hair falls in loose waves around her shoulders, and there are small gold hoops in each ear that catch the late afternoon light. Her bright green eyes find mine as she walks toward me, and something in her expression slightly falters.

Summer and Kinsley move inside, giving me waves, and then we’re left alone.

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