Page 74 of Faking With You

“Good morning.” I fight the urge to wiggle in his arms relishing in the comfort of being held by him again.

He loosens his arm around me and slides back enough for me to roll onto my back. He smiles down at me, tucking my hair behind my ear and brushing his fingers over my cheeks like he’s checking to see if I’m real. I roll my lips together, loving seeing him like this, just like me wanting to make sure we’re both actually here, together.

“Can you stay today?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

He leans down slowly, and his lips brush mine in a soft kiss. It’s so light I almost miss the feeling of his lips on mine. I lean up and kiss him harder. His hand finds my hair in a tight grip as he presses closer to me. He slows the kiss and places a few pecks on my lips before pulling away.

“Let’s get some food and talk,” he says.

I don’t say anything right away. Ideally I’d love to stay right here wrapped in his arms and never leave, but I know there’s more to be said after our conversation yesterday. I nod and follow him out of bed and into the kitchen where he puts together a quick breakfast of beans and toast and we sit at the table.

Mac has my chair pulled as close to his as possible for us to still be able to eat. His left hand is on my leg, his thumb moving along the outside of the thigh, and as soon as he’s finished, he has my legs draped across his.

“I want to marry you,” he says out of nowhere, jumping right into it.

I cover my mouth as I cough and pat my chest. When I’ve gathered myself, he continues.

“I love you and know you’re the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to make that commitment with you.”

I slowly wipe my mouth with a napkin, trying to put my thoughts into words. “Mac, we’ve only been dating six month, and I don’t even know if we can really call it dating because it was all an arrangement.”

“All dating is is getting to know someone, sharing the parts of you that you don’t share with just anyone, and we did that. We may have thought there was a deadline, an end date, but what we did was dating. I’ve shared more with you than I have any other person in my life, and that's because I knew it would all be safe with you. I hope I make you feel the same way.”

I grab his hands with mine and hold them tight. “You do. I had so much trouble sleeping these past few days not having you in bed with me. It felt like I was missing a part of me, but I don’t want to rush anything.”

He tucks my hair behind my ear again, the same touch that has me wanting to crawl into his lap. “The ring is a physical sign of my commitment to you. I’ll wait to make it legal if that’s what you want. We’ll take it all at your pace, but I’ll be counting down the days until I get to call you my wife.”

The idea of something tangible to remind me of him and this commitment to each other does make my heart flutter in a way it’s only ever done with him and only when I’ve known something felt right. I pull my legs off his lap and stand, sliding onto his lap, a huge smile on my lips as I whisper, “Yes,” and kiss him. The kiss is weird and awkward with both of us smiling so big.

I rest my forehead against his and say, “I don’t think I can spend another night alone in bed.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think I can either. We’ll have to do something about that.”

“I’m thinking maybe we move in together.” I press my teeth into my bottom lip as I wait for his response.

“That sounds like a brilliant suggestion.”

He stands, and I squeal, wrapping my legs around him. His grip around my waist is tight, and I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. He walks to the couch and falls onto it, lying down with my on top of him. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and inhales, and my smile stretches. We spend the entire day together, always finding ways to touch each other while we read and watch movies together.

Finding Mac has allowed me to live my life in the same comfort and predictability I’ve always enjoyed, but with the one person who allows my entire soul to feel at peace.

Epilogue

ELIZA

ONE YEAR LATER

Istare in the mirror in Hannah’s bedroom, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m standing here in my wedding dress. In less than ten minutes, I’ll be walking down the aisle towards Mac and we’ll read our vows to each other and officially be husband and wife.

The last year has been an adjustment, but it’s also been the best year of my life. Mac took on the role of CEO of his father’s company and told him in no uncertain terms that he’d be running the company from Vancouver. He’s made several trip to other offices around the globe, and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with him. I’ve had to bring my work with me, but at the end of every day, Mac and I find things to do in the cities we’re visiting.

His mom came and visited us for Christmas, and it was so nice to have her here. We text a few times a week, and I’ve noticed Mac talking to her more than he used to. I’m still ahomebody, and Mac joins me in that. We find comfort in each other’s company with little needing to be said at times.

We’ve watched our chosen family grow with Josh and Liv welcoming their son Oliver, and Matt and Zoey welcoming their daughter Sydney. Watching Mac with them has me wondering if maybe it’s time to start talking about if we do want kids or if we just want to continue being an aunt and uncle to the wonderful little kids we get to have in our family.

Hannah stand behind me and adjusts a piece of my hair as she smiles at me in the mirror. “You’re a beautiful bride,” she says. “Although I never had any doubt you would be.”