Page 164 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
Alice had been there for all of it—every summer, every argument, every time Marc and I had gone head-to-head growing up.
Her gaze moved between us, lingering just long enough to take in the way I leaned into him. A grin tipped her lips, her cheeks rounded in happiness. She gave me a small nod. One that said,I see it. I’m happy for you.
The acknowledgement barely had time to settle before sadness flickered through her eyes. “And I’m so sorry to have missed Auntie Jem’s services. The food truck competition is doing another season, and they wanted Maddox and me to be judges. We were on set for a few weeks around the time she’d died.”
My throat tightened as I nodded.
Alice sniffed. “It still hits hard. I know.”
Maddox slipped an arm around her waist, and I was so happy my friend had found someone to love and support her.
“Alice! We need you in the kitchen,” someone called out over the noise.
“Duty calls. Please don’t be a stranger, Del.” She gave my arm a light squeeze before she and Maddox headed back to their respective stations.
Marc tightened his hold on me, as his lips found my ear. “Doing okay?’
I turned within his arms and snuggled in. “Yeah, I think so.”
He kissed the top of my head, and we lingered like that for a few minutes before taking our seats. Somehow we’d ended up at the center of the table without us planning it, but I had a strong feeling that our friends had done so on purpose.
I know Marc. He’d wanted to retreat and lick his wounds in private. And I could respect that to a degree. I’d let him do it all this week. But this was different. Now it was time to let the people who loved him show up in the way they always did.
I’d been watching for the past fifteen minutes and the way people organized themselves around him without anyone fully deciding to. His parents had shown up to the shelter yoga class because they’d known he’d needed them. Same with Grace, Drew, Wyatt, and Ellie. Even Josh made an appearance after an offhand comment from Marc about the classes and the grant riding on this particular one. And Glamma—the instigator, meddler—had planted herself there every single week.
They just came. To the yoga class. To this bar. Wherever he needed them, they would be.
Maddox dropped a fresh round of drinks onto the table, nudging a glass closer to me, like I’d always belonged. “Delaney, you’re going to want to try this one,” he said, already moving on before I could answer.
Grace leaned over a second later, bumping her shoulder into mine. “Scoot in—you’re part of this madness too. I need you to back me up.”
Just like that. No hesitation. I shifted closer, sliding into the space they made for me—no idea what I was agreeing to, only that I wanted in.
Marc sat in the middle of it, laughing at something Drew said. Wyatt talked over him, and Ellie chimed in—and it all spoke of the easy love and affection between his family and friends.
And then—without looking—Marc’s hand found mine under the table.
Like it was just what we did.
Something in me loosened. This quiet knowing that I’d held tight onto the feeling of not belonging longer than I should have.
I’d spent months watching for signs. Waiting for something—anything—to tell me I’d made it. That I was allowed to stay. My gaze flicked between them—Grace already pulling me into the next conversation, and Ellie smiling at me like I’d been here all along.
I hadn’t been standing on the outside. I’d just been holding myself there, and a gentle peace flowed over me. I hadn’t been waiting for this town to choose me. I’d been the one hesitating. And somewhere along the way—between showing up, staying, and choosing Marc—I’d stopped needing permission.
Marc’s thumb brushed over mine, and I tightened my grip, grounding myself in it.
And Marc had met me there—exactly as I was. No conditions. No expectations. And somewhere I’d done the same.
A quiet laugh worked its way up my throat. All this time, I’d been trying to earn something that had been given freely from the start. I just hadn’t been ready to accept it.
Marc leaned in close. His mouth near my ear, his voice low enough that it was only for me. “Thank you,” he said. “For tonight. For making this happen.”
I leaned into his shoulder. “You needed your people around you.”
“I know.” His thumb moved across my knuckles. “I didn’t know that though, not until you decided for me.”
The noise of the table surrounded us—Grace laughing at something Josh said, Drew and Ellie with their heads together looking impossibly sweet, and Adele and Wyatt pretending to ignore each other at opposite ends of the table.
