Page 106 of Switching Skates

Tears burst from my eyes like a dam breaks, and I throw myself into his lap, straddling his legs. “Oh my God!”

Grabbing his face, I crush my lips to his, peppering kisses all over as I repeatedly murmur, “I love you. I love you. I love you!”

I don’t have to say goodbye to this place. I don’t have to move. And we … we get to turn this place into ourhome. Maeve already had plans to move in with Jackson after this semester, so we’ll have it all to ourselves, for good.

A burst of energy shoots through me, and I think I’m getting the human equivalent of zoomies. I hop off his lap as my eyes look at the house in a whole new light.

I spin around, trailing my hand along the railing as I picture Mason and me coming out here in the mornings for coffee and late-night snuggles.

Maybe one day, we’ll have a little one running all around too. Who knows? When it comes to him, I can picture our future so vividly, so fulfilling and loving. I want it all with him.

“I cannot believe you did this.” I spin around and find Mason bent down on one knee with his hands behind his back. “What are you doing?” The dumb question leaves my lips in an exhale.

A humorous smirk tips up the side of his lips as he holds my stare, my gaze not that much higher than his.

“What does it look like?”

My mouth opens and closes, over and over, as every word in the world escapes me. My heart leaps into my throat, and my eyes burn as I take in the image of him.

Pulling his hands out from behind him, he reveals a red velvet box, his stare never leaving me as he flips the lid up.

“What do you say, Sunset? Will you marry me?” His voice is low, his tone eager and excited but shaky with nerves.

My heart takes the controls from here.

Lunging forward, I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as I possibly can before pulling back and kissing him intensely.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I stand up to my full height, lifting my shaky hand out in front of me. “Of course I will.”

I’ve never seen a smile so big take over his face. An exhale of relief and excitement leaves him.

He plucks the big diamond ring from the box and grabs my hand, sliding it onto my left ring finger.

A suspiciouslyperfectfit.

“How’d you know my size?” I ask, admiring how it fits like it was made for me.

He looks up at me with absolute adoration. “I might have had your finger sized when we were switched.”

My jaw falls to the porch as he stands up in front of me, my gaze staying glued on his. “We weren’t even together then.”

He scoffs and shrugs, his hazel eyes sparkling. “Yeah, we were. You just didn’t know it yet.”

This man is insane. I laugh and shake my head. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m finally getting the happily ever after I craved my whole life.

Reaching up, I stand on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. “I love you.”

He plants a quick kiss on my forehead before bending down and picking me up, spinning me round and round on the porch as my heart swells. “I love you, baby.”

Spinning me around a couple more times, he lowers me down and pulls me back into his lap on the swing, wrapping his arms around me and rocking us back and forth.

As I admire my pretty new ring, Mason tightens his hold on me, and I lean my head back against his chest, looking out at the lake.

“I love you too.”

A thought crosses my mind, and I suddenly realize something.

The love stories I’ve been obsessed with my entire life were never just about getting the foot-popping kiss, the expensivediamond ring, or the grand gesture. Don’t get me wrong; they’re a great bonus.

But it’s the little things that add up the most. The constant effort to make each other smile and laugh. To fall in love with each other over and over again as time goes on and we evolve.

I love the nostalgic rom-coms because they make me feel giddy and hopeful about life and love.

In the final scene, when the main characters are happily together and those feelings of hope and love become overwhelming, two words float on the screen—the end.

But now, with Mason, I can’t help but feel like the movies got that part wrong. That’s where they made their biggest mistake because that moment isn’t the end of the story at all. It’s simply just …

The Beginning.