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“Yes, if I get this job I’ll be moving here. Or, if not, I guess I’ll keep trying until I find something nearby. I mean, if you want me to stay in the area.”
“Of course, I want you to stay in the area woman, why wouldn’t I?”
She shrugged.
“You heard me say that I love you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You did say that you love me too, right?” I confirmed. “It’s not just the concussion making me hallucinate?”
She shook her head, then threaded her fingers with mine, giving my hand a little squeeze.
“It’s not the concussion. I know it’s ridiculous for people our age to fall in love in a month like we’re crazy teenagers, but it is what it is.”
“Well, that was the romantic declaration we all hope for in life,” I teased.
She shook her head. “Neither of us are romantic people, George.”
“I know, that’s how I know that this is real and not just some fantasy we’ve created in our heads.”
We just stared at each other for a few seconds, grinning like idiots, before Cassie spoke again.
“Hey, I’d better let your sister come back before she freaks out. She was really cool about me coming in first to see you, but I don’t want to get on her bad side if we’re going to keep hanging out together. She kind of scares me a little.”
I squeezed her hand and held tight until she met my eyes again.
“I’m not big with words, Cassie. Or, you know, talking about feelings. But I want to do more than hang out. I love you, and I have loved you since the minute I laid eyes on you. I love you in a way that I’ve never felt for anyone else before. And someday when you’re ready, I’m going to put my ring on your finger.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
She smacked my hip with her free hand.
“Jeez, give a girl a hint, would you? I had no idea you felt that way. I didn’t know what you were thinking.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I promise to tell you I love you every day for the rest of our lives.”
“You really want to get married?”
“Someday, yes. Or tomorrow, I’m not picky. Although maybe we want to wait for this head wound to heal up first so it won’t look weird in the wedding pictures.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “Bart’s going to be in the wedding party, isn’t he?”
“Of course. I could never leave my little buddy out of the festivities.”
“He’s going to need to eat his special food then,” she said firmly. “I will not have your flatulent dog stinking up my wedding reception.”
“You got it, baby.”
Epilogue—Cassandra
“Aunt Cassie! Aunt Cassie! Look what I made for the baby!”
I smiled as Sofia came barreling into the living room, holding a large piece of paper with a crayon drawing covering the surface. Josie waddled in behind her, pregnant with her second child. She still had two more months to go, but the poor thing was huge.
I looked at her daughter’s picture carefully, then gave her a smile.
