Page 21 of Nice to Meet Boo

But because this is the only way I know how to make it clear: I’m not running. Not anymore.

“For a long time, I didn’t know who I was or where I wanted to be,” I tell her. “I wasn’t just hiding behind a costume last Halloween. I was hiding behind my work and my loner life. But you… you tore it right off me. You made me laugh. You made me want to stay. And I don’t ever want to do another Halloween—or any other night of the year—without you.”

Her cat ears tilt when she nods, tears bright in her eyes.

“So…” I clear my throat. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes. God, yes.”

My hands are steady sliding the ring onto her finger. Steadier than they’ve been in years. When I stand, she launches into me, arms tight around my neck, mouth pressed to mine as the room erupts in cheers.

I kiss her deep, ignoring the whistles, ignoring Cyrus’s, “About damn time” and her brother’s cat call.

It’s just us, like it always is when I’ve got her this close.

I brush my lips over her ear, my voice rough. “Nice to meet you, Boo.”

She laughs, happy and teary all at once, and for the first time in a long time, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.