Page 88 of Forbid Me Not
I nod. “Love you too.”
“We’re good?”
“We’re good.”
And then he releases me because Ivy is whining next to him about it being her turn. I go to her immediately, and we laugh as we hug, rocking back and forth. “This is far better than an evening out,” I say to her over the music.
“I thought you might say that,” she answers, grinning from ear to ear. She releases me and picks up my hand, eyes wide at the ring. “Jesus, that’s huge.”
It twinkles under the lights as we both marvel at it. It really is. I’ve never thought about my dream wedding ring, but Reid has good taste. It makes me wonder if his mom helped him pick it out. I met them just a few days ago, and at first, his motherdidn’t seem to like me, but as the night went on, she was talking to me like I was a new friend.
“A drink for the soon-to-be bride,” Jacob says as he approaches, balancing three drinks in his hand. He passes one to Ivy, then one to me, and keeps the third for himself.
“Thanks,” Ivy and I both say together.
A girl slides up beside him and smiles at us. She’s stunning with light brown hair that reaches her shoulders and is curled in beach waves, and a pair of blue eyes so blue that they look like ice. “Hello,” she greets.
We look questioningly at Jacob before he gets the hint and introduces us. “Guys, this is Jill.”
Jill rolls her eyes at the awkward way he said it. “His girlfriend. Honestly, getting him to say that out loud is like cutting a cat’s nails.”
I laugh and turn my grin to Jacob. “Oh, she’s good for you.”
“That’s what she keeps telling me,” he grumbles behind his cup.
“And you know it’s true.” She turns her attention to me. “I hear you’re in the nursing program. I started the program last year. Any tips to get on the professor’s good side?”
I cringe. “They don’t get along with you?”
A slow grin spreads across her face. “I made the mistake of correcting one last semester and made an enemy out of her. She must have gossiped to her professor friends because now the entire nursing program is giving me the stink eye.”
“Oh man, that’s rough.”
Ivy chuckles. “I like her.”
I bump against Ivy’s shoulder. “Me too.”
She’s going to fit in great with the group. I don’t know why Jacob hid her for so long. Probably because she terrifies him. But he clearly has feelings for her if he’s finally introducing her to us.
I squeal when firm hands grip my shoulders and spin me around. My drink nearly spills out of my cup and onto the carpet as Reid presses me into his chest. He starts to sway us back and forth with the music, and I melt into him. I can’t get enough of the way I fit perfectly into him. I don’t think that will ever get old.
“No regrets?” he asks in my ear.
I shake my head. “None.” And it’s the truth. Everything he said in his proposal speech made me want to say it all back to him, to tell him I feel exactly the same way. I’ll never regret saying yes to him. He’s everything I didn’t know I needed and everything that’s good for me. My mom keeps reminding me of that fact. She adores him almost as much as I do. But then again, she liked him before we started dating.
Kissing my ear, he murmurs, “I love you, future Avery Rathe.”
I pull back and press my lips to his. Our lips slide over each other a few times before I break the kiss and say, “And I love you.”
For the rest of my life.
