Page 129 of Structure of Love

“This house is fucking fantastic, who wouldn’t love it!” I swiped right, and sure enough, there was the floorplan of the main floor. “Hon, you even put in a gaming room.”

“Considering how much we play with friends, of course I did.”

I hauled him in for a kiss, so touched and excited in the same breath, I couldn’t form words. Kissing him was the only way to show just how happy he’d made me.

He kissed back, grinning against my lips. “You haven’t even seen the second story yet.”

“I don’t need to, I know it’ll be perfect. I mean, do show me. I’m curious now.”

Gage showed me the second story, explaining a few things that were harder to imagine with this plain rendering of the space. There wasn’t a single part I would change. He’d given us four bedrooms, so friends and family could stay over, which was a huge thing for me. I was set to be my grandma’s caretaker when she got to that point. Gage knew that, so him including her own mother-in-law apartment at the back of the property told me without words that he would continue to protect anything I cherished.

And to think, other men had only been interested in quick sex with this man. How blind they’d been. Luckily for me.

“I love it,” I told him, meaning every word, “but I’m also mad as hell we can’t start building right now.”

“Snow’s kind of a deterrent.”

“Damn weather. But we can buy a lot and get permits, right?”

“We absolutely can. That way we can start in spring, when the weather warms up enough to allow it. If we tell Riggs now, we can probably schedule it in with our other jobs. I want to be right on top of the crew for this.”

I nodded fervently, because yes, please. “We’ll sit down, discuss financials and how much money we need to throw into this, and all the details. Later. Right now, we’ve got fifteen minutes before people descend. So, two questions for you, love. When do you want to get married and how big of a party do you want it to be?”

Gage pursed his lips, clearly thinking. “I’m not one for the big white formal wedding. I don’t think you are either.”

“Ha, no. I could go to Vegas right this minute and be happy.”

“In that case, want to get Si to marry us? I know he’s ordained. Let’s do something casual and fun and have a catered lunch somewhere for everyone and call it a day.”

I’d kind of known that’d be his answer. I felt relieved, because like him, I wasn’t huge on pomp and ceremony. Also, having one of my best friends marry us would be awesome, and I was thrilled he’d suggested it.

“I’m sold. When?”

“Well, how about January? Gives us two months to plan and send invites out.”

“That should be enough time. Most of my siblings are nearby, or close enough to drive in. I know yours are the same.”

“Then let’s say…January twenty-eighth.” Gage was looking at his phone calendar and jotting this in. “That’s a Saturday.”

“Perfect.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d known Gage would say yes, so his answer wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was that he’d had so much prepared for our lives together. That house was incredible, even on paper, and showed me how much he wanted us to live together forever.

He paused, head canted. “What?”

“I was just thinking, this almost didn’t happen.”

“What didn’t? Us getting engaged?”

“Yeah. ’Cause I almost didn’t flirt with you. I almost didn’t ask you out. Since the day I met you, I thought you were out of my league. I was being a little shit by asking and was surprised and delighted when you said yes. Still, I never expected us to get to this point.”

Gage’s eyes softened. “Stop selling yourself short. You’ve always been exactly the man I need. I mean, I said yes to that first date because you’re hot as sin—”

I snorted.

“—but when I learned more about you, I realized you were exactly the man I’d fantasized about having as my own.” He kissed me, soft and slow. “I love you, Logan Sebastian McNair. Don’t you ever forget it.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” I returned the kiss but also realized the rest of our guests had arrived. “Oh, they’re here. Gage. Wanna pull a prank?”