Page 54 of Mr. Not Nice Guy

I step away from the microphone and stand in front of him. “August, Iamserious. You promised me you would love me so much that I’ll never have to feel like I lost everything because I lost Maw-Maw. You said you would be everything I need and want professionally and personally, and Ipersonallyneed and want you to marry me.”

His eyes shift, and I can’t get a read on him. “We just spent nearly half a year fighting with each other.”

I scoff. “And? Why do you think we were fighting?” I throw my hands down at my sides. “We bring out the worst in each other, but we also bring out the best in each other. Okay? We bring outeverythingin each other, and I can’t imagine anything better than that.”

He swallows. His face looks deadly serious andfearful, if I’m being honest. “Scarlett…what if I can’t—”

“You’re doing it again,” I snap. “You’re doubting yourself.” I lower my voice to a whisper and bring my face close to his. “Youareenough for me because all I want is you.”

He pulls his lips between his teeth as his shoulders rise and fall under the weight of his breathing, and then helaughs.

I scoff again. “Oh my God, I asked you to marry me, and you’re laugh—”

He cuts me off with his lips on mine, giving me another of those hard, searing kisses that I love so much while he scoops me up with his arm under my ass, and I wrap my legs around him.

“Yes,” he whispers between kisses. “I can’t imagine anything better than that either.”

On some level, I can hear the whole bar basically exploding with more shouting and whistling and hooting and hollering, but I can’t even be bothered to acknowledge it. I couldn’t care less that I impulsively added the biggest, most exciting exclamation point imaginable to this shindig.

All I care about is the fact that I’ve got my whole body wrapped around a man who really is everything—someone I’ve ugly cried in front of; someone who showed up for me in the middle of the thing I was most afraid of; someone I’ve already fought with and made up with countless times; someone I’ll probably keep fighting with and making up with for the rest of my life. And I think that’s perfect. After all, it’s real.

And that’s just how love should be.

It doesn’t have to always be pretty, or sexy, or evennice.

It just has to be real.

Becauserealis where the magic happens.

That’s where the best music is made.

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