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“I tried to get her here earlier,” Kat insisted. “But, no…she said we needed to be like the upper crust and pretend that time means nothing to us.”

Megan laughed.

“I’m just glad you’re here, you know that,” she said.

“Where’s the missus?” Abby asked.

Megan rolled her eyes.

“She’s not the missus yet,” she said, smacking Abby’s arm playfully. “You should know, you’re the best woman at the wedding.”

“Jesus!” Kat exclaimed, looking at Megan’s left hand. “Are you able to lift your hand with that rock on it?”

Giggling, Megan held her hand up for Kat to examine the ring, which did

in fact have quite a nice-sized diamond on it.

“My woman did good,” Megan said. Looking at it, she smiled at the memory of this past Christmas. That night, long after all their presents to each other had been opened, her and Vanessa were relaxing on the sofa in the beach house they had just bought, after spending the day with their friends at Angela and Desiree’s place.

At one point, Vanessa asked, “Did you enjoy your Christmas, love?”

Megan had nodded and said, “This is honestly the best Christmas I’ve ever had. What about you?”

Vanessa had pretended to consider it for a moment and then said, “It was almost the best Christmas I’ve ever had. Almost.”

Megan, thinking that Vanessa’s statement was a prelude to a night of great sex, had shifted on the couch and started running her finger along Vanessa’s cleavage, amply displayed in the V-neck sweater she had on.

“Oh, really?” Megan had asked, licking her lips. “And what, pray tell, would make it the best Christmas you’ve ever had?”

Even to this day, Megan had no idea where the box came from. Had it been stuffed between the cushions of the couch? Had Vanessa stored it underneath the couch but within reach? Whatever the case, suddenly Vanessa had produced a black velvet ring box and showed it to Megan.

“It’ll be the best Christmas ever if you agree to be my wife,” Vanessa had said.

Megan, after screaming “Yes!”, then couldn’t stop crying for a solid half hour.

***

“Oh god, you’re not tired of showing that thing off yet?” Vanessa said, coming up behind Megan and wrapping her arms around her.

“Leave her alone,” Kat said. “That’s a ring worth showing off.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Megan said with a smirk. “She’s actually super-proud of how bling-y this is. How’s it going next door?” Megan asked her fiancée.

“Great! Chloë and Luli have it running like a well-oiled machine and a bunch of new people just signed up for the coffee tasting club. I’m going to have to add another day a month for that to accommodate them all.”

The coffee tastings and coffee flights idea Megan had suggested months back had turned into quite the money-maker for La Vida Mocha. Vanessa had taken her time implementing it, though, because she had wanted to be sure to locate a variety of coffees from around the world that were not only delicious and responsibly-sourced but also not available in any grocery store in town. Now, the coffee flights were one of the most most-asked for menu items at La Vida Mocha, and the monthly coffee tastings were so popular that Vanessa and her staff were hosting them three times a month now, two of those being for women who love women because of Chloë’s success with Operation Hashtag Lesbian.

“Well, speaking of coffee, I wouldn’t mind one your five-thousand-dollars-a-pop Americanos,” Megan said, turning around to face Vanessa.

Vanessa smiled.

“Seeing how business is so good, I think I can drop the price back down to around three bucks.”

Megan quirked an eyebrow. Suddenly, it was as if everyone else disappeared. All the gallery visitors? Gone. Abby and Kat? Gone. The Kleinmanns? Gone. It was as if it was now just her and Vanessa standing here, all alone, together. Warmth burst inside Megan and spread throughout her body. She had never been happier. It still amazed her every single day that this gorgeous woman in her arms was hers and would one day be her wife.

Vanessa could charge her three bucks for an Americano, or five-thousand; it didn’t matter to Megan. The price of a cup of coffee, the price of anything was nothing compared to finding and experiencing this kind of love.

She pulled Vanessa closer until her lips were millimeters from Vanessa’s ear.