Page 82 of Wanna Bet?

Third, she was physically incapable of ordering food without stealing half of his afterward.

And fourth—most importantly—being loved by Myah was loud. Not in a bad way. Just… in a Myah way. Everything about her existed at maximum volume. Her laughter. Her affection. Her excitement. Her personality. And somehow she'd decided all of that belonged to him now.

It still didn't feel real. Some mornings he'd wake up to a text message from her and spend a full minute staring at it. Not because it was unusual. Because it wasn't. Because it had become normal. That was the part that kept catching him off guard. Normal.

He'd spent so much of his life feeling like relationships belonged to other people. Confident people. Outgoing people. People who knew what they were doing. Not him, not the quiet guy who spent his days organizing records and recommending albums to strangers. And yet, every morning his phone buzzed. Every night she kissed him goodbye. Every day she chose him. Over and over again.

His phone vibrated. Speak of the devil.

From: Myah

I have a surprise.

Jace immediately frowned. That never ended well.

From: Jace

Should I be worried?

Three dots appeared instantly.

From: Myah

Absolutely.

From: Jace

Myah…

From: Myah

Just meet me at the coffee stand.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

The coffee stand was busy when he arrived.

The lunch rush had hit and cars wrapped around the building while people stood outside chatting. Music drifted from the open service window. And behind the counter stood Myah. Chaos incarnate.

She spotted him immediately. The grin that spread across her face should have been illegal.

"Boyfriend!" She shouted, opening her arms.

Several customers turned and Jace immediately regretted coming during rush.

Myah looked delighted.

A customer, Jace had never met, laughed. "Oh, that's him?"

Jace froze and Myah pointed dramatically. "That's him."

The customer examined him. Then nodded approvingly. "Good choice."

"Myah."

"What?" She looked completely innocent. It was a lie. She'd never been innocent a day in her life.

Another customer leaned forward. "She's been talking about you all day."