The Girl Who Read The Dating Manual

rule twenty-three: food, friends and fairytales

"I have never once questioned who I love more, because it's always been you," I cried desperately. "You're the one I'm choosing to marry. You're the one I've spent the last eighteen months dedicating my life to. You're the one I wanna be with for the rest of my life." I reached up and brushed my fingers down his check, and almost unconsciously he shut his eyes and leaned into my touch.

"Do you have any idea how much I want to believe that?" Will whispered. "Do you know how much I want to believe I'm all you want? There are no words on this earth to describe how much I love and adore you. There is not a single thing I wouldn't do for you. But I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if you're in love with somebody else. It's not fair."

"You're right," I whispered, stepping back. "It's not fair. No one should ever have to wonder that. You don't have to wonder that. What I said in there, it was taken out of context. I told Chance something tonight, and it broke his heart. So much so that he felt he had to go back to America just to escape it. He was my first love. He was the one who opened my eyes to the world. He's the reason I fell in love with you. But there will always be a part of me who remembers Chance with love. I love Chance, like a friend, or like a wonderful memory. But I'm in love with you. And in two days when I'm in that white dress walking down the aisle, it's going to be you standing on that altar. And I wouldn't wish it to be anyone else."

"Do you really mean that?" Will asked. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Have I ever lied to protect your feelings?"

"No," he admitted, smiling. "Your honesty is what I love about you."

"So it's just my honesty you love?" I replied dubiously, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, that and your incredible taste in men."

"Shut up," I replied, punching him jokingly in the bicep.

He reached out and pulled me into a hug, and I settled into his arms. Like a house on the lake or a blanket with a good book, he was my home. My safety. My comfort. I hadn't lied to him with anything I'd said. I loved Chance for the boy he was and the happiness he gave me. But I was embarking on a new adventure now. And I wouldn't trade my time with Will for anything.

"Are we okay?" I whispered.

He kissed the top of my head. "Yeah. We're okay."

I pulled back and looked up at him. "I don't want you to think there is anyone I'd put before you. You're my family. You're the only one I'll ever love and need. Chance will always be a part of my past. But you're my future."

"And the present?" he replied with an adorably crooked grin.

I leaned up and kissed him, pressing him playfully against the metal wall of the elevator. If we were already on Emergency Stop, we might as well make the most of it. "I think the present belongs to us."

~ * ~

I entered my apartment later that night with a large smile on my face. Ava was in the kitchen texting on her phone, and looked up with a cocked eyebrow. "Took you long enough. Did you bake him an apology cake, or something? Oh, wait, did you tell him about the pregnancy?" It came out as more of an excitable squeak than actual words.

"Shh!" I said, out of habit more than necessity. I rubbed my stomach, which was a little bigger, but not much. "And, no. I didn't tell him. I'm going to tell him when we come home from the reception Saturday night."