Page 121 of The One I Love
I groan, because of course now I’m going to have to get her one. “Fine. A Goldendoodle. But we need to learn to navigate this. Navigate us. We still haven’t even done that, and I know that now. We need to figure out what we want. We should talk to the kids and make sure they’re on board. And we can do all of that on our time. Not because we want to stick it to Paul. Not because we want to make our mothers happy. Not because it’s the easy fix, but because we love each other and we’re ready to spend our lives together. I want to make your dreams come true, but only when you’re ready for them.”
I stand in front of her, but I don’t kneel. No, the day I kneel in front of Amelia, it’s going to be for one reason and one reason only.
“Amelia Renee Evans, will you not marry me?”
She laughs and nods her head. “Shane Thomas Cunningham, I will not marry you.”
“Yeah, you won’t!”
I laugh at Simon’s words as I pick Amelia up and kiss her as our studio audience makes their way outside—that being Simon, Oliver, Wes, and Luke.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you more.”
“Doubtful.”
“You did it!”
I hear Mariah just seconds before she barrels into me, hugging me around my waist. She may be growing up, and talking to boys and using swear words, but she’ll always be my Pipsqueak.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” I whisper as I let go of Amelia to hug her.
“I’ll forgive you. After you get me my Goldendoodle. Yes, I was eavesdropping.”
I laugh as Amelia and I continued to get bombarded by hugs, slaps on the backs, and ear-piercing whistles.
“I can’t believe this is happening!” Oliver says through tears, pulling Amelia away to wrap her in a hug. “I’ve never been so happy for people to not get married.”
“Good job,” Simon says as he gives me a back-slapping hug. “And I can say that I was a part of the not happily ever after.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “You’re something, you know that?”
We share a knowing smile. If anyone would have told me I’d go through all of this with Amelia, and Simon was going to be the closest one to me during all of it, I would have laughed in their face. Simon, the egotistical, doesn’t-believe-in-love asshole, is the one who helped me get, and get back, the love of my life.
I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t lived it.
Then again, I still can’t believe I’m with Amelia. Who’d have thought all those years ago, on this very porch, that we’d end up back here.
I sure as hell didn’t.
Chapter 38
Amelia
“I still don’t knowwhat I’m more upset about, that you guys kept this from me for months. MONTHS! Or that my wife knew and didn’t tell me. Or that I missed out on screwing with Paul because I could have taken the engagement story to a whole new level. You know what? No, that's it. That’s what I’m most mad about.”
We all laugh as Oliver asks to hear the story again with Paul, which of course Simon loves to tell. I take the chance to sit back and look at everyone who came tonight on short notice. Of course, Wes, Betsy, and their kids. Oliver and Izzy. Simon. We’ve set up shop at the firepit, which is where we tend to gravitate when we’re over at Wes’s. Then, because we left them out for far too long, we decided to invite our mothers. But let’s be real, even if we hadn’t invited them, they would have shown up.
So we leaned into it and invitedallthe mothers over. It’s been far too long since the five women who raised us were all together. When we were younger, this would be a common occurrence. The five of us getting into trouble somewhere,and the five of them playing cards, or working on some project. Right now, they’re currently sitting around one of the tables, laughing and telling stories.
And of course, there is my crew. Emerson and Mariah are doing something on their phones. No surprise there. But then I glance into the pool, where I see Luke, who is with his girlfriend Kylie.
I almost cried when he asked if he could bring her. Not in an overbearing mother kind of way. More like “my baby boy isn’t so much a baby anymore” kind of way. It also shows me how serious he is about her. He realizes everyone who’s here. He introduced her to his grandmother. Me. Shane. The rest of the crew. And he knows his uncles won’t pull any punches if they see any red flags—from him or her. But he just smiled and nodded. He knew. He knows. He said he wanted to introduce her to all the important people in his life.
And I can’t be mad. Kylie’s a sweet girl. Shy. Cute. Apparently, a hell of an athlete. And from what I can tell in the short time I’ve known her, the perfect first girlfriend for my son. I don’t know what she’s saying right now, but my son is all smiles and hearts in his eyes. His arms are around her waist, and I don’t think he realizes there is anyone here besides the two of them.
“I know that look,” Shane says as he wraps his arms around me. “The boy is smitten.”
