Page 183 of Never Not Friends

“How many cards do you have left?” Vinny asks while trying to find a home for his two of hearts.

I don’t answer him because I’m in my competitive zone. When there are no other moves, we flip the next two cards, revealing a king of spades. We both go for it at the same time, but it’s my ace of diamonds that gets there first.

My arms shoot straight up. “Woo hoo!” I stand, jumping up and down around my kitchen. “I won! I won!”

Vinny throws down his cards in frustration. “I don’t know why you’re acting like this is the biggest moment of your life. You’ve literally beaten me ten times in the last half hour.”

I fall into his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Because this just solidifies it: I’m the best card player ever.”

“You’d think you’d let me win just once. Go easy on me.” He leans in for a kiss.

“Never.”

“You’re a terrible girlfriend.”

Girlfriend.

Vinny Brooks’s girlfriend.

I’ve been a lot of things to Vinny.

Friend.

Ex-girlfriend.

Friend again.

Fiancée’s best friend.

But girlfriend is by far my favorite one so far.

“You’re smiling,” he says.

“I’m just thinking about you and us.”

He smiles too. “What about us?”

“About the endless possibilities of our future.”

“Hmm.” He kisses me softly. “Future. I like that word.”

I pull back, looking at him. “Do you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. I just thought that commitment always scared you a little, and that’s okay. I get it.”

“Emma.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “I’m learning that when you have the right person, nothing about the future or lifelong commitment seems scary. The hard part is just finding that person and, in our case, getting the timing right. And now that we have the timing right, I’m not going to mess it up. You’re my future, Emma. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

I stare back at him, and suddenly, I think about my Vinny box.

“There’s something I want to show you.” I hop up from his lap.

“Where are you going?”

“Hold on.” I reach for the box on the top shelf of my closet. Right where I left it.

I pull it down and turn to face him.