Page 132 of Reluctantly Yours

“That diamond is ginormous!” she says.

Emma, Carl, Lindsay. Colleagues from work. Bea and her husband, she introduces as Stan. My parents. Wait.My parents.

“I can’t believe you flew to New York for this,” I say, laughing through happy tears.

“Barrett is very convincing.” My dad chuckles. “Especially when he picks you up in a private plane. Makes it hard to say no.”

My mom rolls her eyes at him. “We wouldn’t have missed it, even if we had to fly ourselves,” my mom says with tears in her eyes. “We love you so much.”

We greet the rest of the guests and sip on champagne.

Once everyone is mingling, Barrett and I find a quiet corner and he pulls me into his arms. My fingers stroke his midnight blue tie.

“I was wrong,” he says. “I can’t wait two years to marry you.”

“I can’t wait two years either.” I press my lips to his jaw. “One year.”

“Four months.”

I laugh. “Six.”

“Done.”

There in JoAnna’s penthouse apartment, where our fake dating scheme began, we celebrate our very real engagement with family and friends.

THE END