Page 98 of Miss Matched

That I can live with.

Zac’s dad also stayed. Two floors down, so we have our space. But every morning he pops up for breakfast, and I enjoy that quiet time over eggs and English muffins. It feels like the family I never grew up with.

Zac leads me out of the car, and a salty Seattle breeze tickles my bare legs, hinting that we must be near the water. A few more steps, and I catch the quiet sound of waves at a distance.

Once we stop, Zac circles behind me and presses his chest against my back. His fingers tangle with the blindfold strings as he peels it away.

My eyes fight to adjust, blinking a pier into view. I recognize it as a newer developed portion of the Waterfront. The darkness is cut with the sparkles of Christmas lights twisted around the thick wooden railings, and white rose petals make a carpet on the dock.

“It’s beautiful,” I say.

Zac wraps his hands over my shoulders and squeezes. “Not nearly as beautiful as you, though.”

I tip my head back against the crook of his neck and look up to the open sky above us. Stars paint an obsidian night. I’m not sure what I did to have this incredible man, but he’s mine, and I’m never letting him go.

Zac runs his hands down my arms, sending goose bumps with them, trailing all the way down into one of his pockets and pulling out a silver string with a charm dangling from it. A simple, small arrow.

“For my Cupid,” Zac says, placing it on my neck and moving my hair aside to secure it. “I didn’t think love was in the cards for me, or even possible, for that matter. But the night I met you in that gorgeous red dress, I knew with absolute certainty I was wrong. Because you were the arrow to my heart, Kennedy. And I’ve been yours ever since.”

“It’s perfect, thank you,” I whisper, placing my hand over the charm at my throat.

Zac turns me to face him and tips my chin up with his thumb. “The only perfect thing I see is you.”

“You know I’m already a sure thing, right?” I say, nudging him with my elbow, and he chuckles. “Although I don’t mind the sweet talk, Mr. Vincent. So feel free to keep going.”

He leans in, planting a gentle kiss on my lips, and renewed electricity runs through me. As he pulls away, he reaches into his jacket pocket once more, and this time he pulls out a small black velvet box that catches my breath in my throat.

“Z-Zac?” I stammer, looking at him for an answer.

He drops down onto one knee and looks up at me with the brightest green eyes. “Kennedy Caroline James, no one has challenged me, confused me, or surprised me the way you do. I thought I had everything I could ever want. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. I learned the hard way what happens when you don’t hold on to the things that matter to your heart. I never want to feel that again.” He flips open the lid. “Will you marry me?”

My mouth falls open as the tears start to fall. They’re running over my cheeks, and I’m sure they’re taking my eyeliner with them.

“Yes. Of course,” I say dropping myself onto his knee and wrapping myself around him.

He doesn’t have time to remove the ring before my lips are on his and I’m clinging to him like he’s my love, my soulmate, my home. Zac laughs against my mouth, and it crawls all the way down into that cave I used to live inside, filling it with light.

When we finally break apart, he pulls out the most perfect ring: a rose gold band with a cushion cut diamond that will probably weigh down my finger. On the inside of the band is a carving of an arrow pointing to the word Always.

Zac slips it on and then brings my hand to his lips to kiss the back of it, planting them first over my knuckles and then directly onto the diamond.

“Did you have to get this thing its own zip code?” I flick my gaze to the ring with a grin.

Zac laughs. “Making sure the world knows you’re mine.” He sprinkles my jaw with kisses.

“Always,” I tell him, melting against his body. “Don’t ever doubt it.”

I used to think playing matchmaker for everyone else meant I’d inevitably be alone. But as I curl into Zac’s arms and he shields me against the crisp Seattle night, I find everything I didn’t know existed. And that girl who locked herself away in a tower, never wanting to be rescued or saved, against all odds, met a prince.

Or maybe it was Cupid.

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