Wes stepped out of the blur of bodies and slowly removed his cowboy hat.
They stared at each other, five feet apart, the cacophony of noise falling into a hush around them.
“You’re here,” she whispered, rooted to the spot. Held there by the sheer overwhelming pleasure of being near Wes, seeing him, absorbing his presence. How did she ever go a day without him? How would she ever do it in the future?
“I’m here,” he echoed, taking a step closer. “Right where I’m going to stay. What about rock solid didn’t you understand?”
Bethany started to tremble. Was he forgiving her? Was she dreaming?
“I’m late because I was filing the appeal. Next time I saw you, I wanted to have a next time on the horizon. We don’t quit, Bethany. We muddle through it together. We’re in everything together.”
Her lungs released their contents in a rush. “I love you so much.”
His eyes became suspiciously damp. “I heard.”
Neither of them moved to close the gap between them.
“I promise to be rock solid for you, too.” A sound welled up in her chest and burst free. “I’m so sorry—”
Wes surged forward, dropping his hat at her feet in favor of cradling her face in both hands. He took a moment to search her gaze before his mouth landed on hers with eager precision. Determined fingers tangled in her hair, his tongue stroking hers in a way that was at once tender and hungry. “You’re my first home, Bethany, and my last,” he rasped against her lips. “I’m yours, too. And sometimes a floorboard is going to get creaky or a porch light will need fixing. We’ll repair it and be good as new. That’s love. I wouldn’t have known what love felt like without tea parties. Or a beautiful woman showing up at my window at midnight. Or that same woman opening up her home even though it scared her.” He kissed the tears off her cheeks. “I am your destination. And you didn’t get lost on the way to me, you just circled the block one extra time. Now park the goddamn car, darlin’, come inside and tell me you love me again.”
Her laugh was joyful and watery. This man was a marvel. Her marvel. Not to mention her future. “I love you.”
Wes pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her forehead. “I love you, too, Bethany.”
“Hate to interrupt,” Slade broke in, making Wes growl, “but I don’t think you’ll mind what I have to tell you. There is an actual prize for this competition. Something slightly more substantial than bragging rights.”
“Make it good, Slade,” Wes said, never taking his eyes off Bethany. “I need to kiss this woman until she can’t taste the word ‘ex-boyfriend’ anymore.”
Slade laughed. “Stephen has officially conceded victory, making Bethany and Wes the winners of Flip Off.” He dangled a set of keys in front of their faces. “You’ve raised the house value and you’ll be receiving a check for the difference, plus a year in paid property taxes. How does that sound?”
Bethany and Wes turned to each other with identical expressions of shock. Wes recovered first, scooping Bethany up into his arms, parting the sea of crew members as he carried her toward the house—and over the threshold.
“What do you think?” Bethany smiled into Wes’s neck. “Should we keep flipping houses? We make a pretty good team.”
“We make the best team.” He set Bethany down and pressed her to the closest wall, letting his mouth travel over hers slowly, adoringly. “Just stay off rooftops during storms.”
“It’s a deal.”
Their shared laughter lifted and faded. “There’s one more reason I was late this morning, Bethany.” He reached into his pocket and took out a ring box, lifting it between them to the soundtrack of Bethany’s gasp. “We can wait a week or ten years, but I want you to know I plan on loving you straight through eternity. “
How much happiness could one heart withstand? “I’ll love you, too, Wes. Fiercely. Even when we fight. Especially when we fight,” she vowed, her voice shaking. “And I would be honored to be your wife.”
His lips jumped at one corner. “Don’t you want to see the ring?”
“No. All I need to see is you.”
Epilogue
Eight Months Later
They were the scourge of the kindergarten graduation ceremony.
The Castle-Daniels contingent required an entire row to cheer on Laura as she accepted her diploma. Bethany winced over the dirty looks they were receiving from the other parents, but what could she say? She’d gotten there an hour early to secure seating. When you snooze, you lose.
Crammed into the front row of the elementary school auditorium were her parents, Georgie, Travis, Dominic, and Rosie. Kristin and Stephen were there, too, behaving as if Kristin had the future king of England strapped to her chest, glaring at anyone who sneezed or spoke too loudly in his vicinity.
Bethany had to agree about one thing. Her new nephew was pretty great. Bethany, Laura, and Wes had a secret pact to expose the kid to as much normalcy as possible, in the hopes he turned out slightly less bananas than his parents. Although, to be fair, Bethany and Stephen had grown a lot closer post-flip. She’d even let him sit in on a Just Us League meeting around Kristin’s due date, because he’d been too paranoid leaving her there alone.
He’d ended up buzzed on tequila and engaged in a group hug, crying and promising to be a better friend to women. Bethany was still traumatized.
But she loved her big brother. Or whatever.
The day he’d conceded Flip Off to her, she knew he’d meant it. And along with her own growth during those wild three weeks, she’d truly started trusting herself. Believing in herself. And now she never questioned her ability to love or be loved.
Love wasn’t perfect.
Well, some days it was. Other times, it was just muddling through and ripping off your T-shirt to make a bandage. Or her, Wes, and Laura all getting a cold at the same time and piling like zombies in her once-pristine bed for days on end.
They did what worked—and the result was wild, chaotic, beautiful happiness.
Bethany craned her neck to see if Wes had arrived yet. She was saving the seats next to her, right on the aisle, so Laura would be able to see him. And their special guest, if she was able to make it.
The school principal tapped on the microphone, unleashing a peal of feedback. He welcomed everyone to the graduation ceremony, but Bethany was only half listening. For one, she was worried Wes wouldn’t make it on time. But mainly, she couldn’t help but reflect on how much things had changed over the last eight months.
For one, she’d married Wes.
Had she planned a big, perfect wedding?
No, they’d invited everyone to their new house, formerly known as Project Doomsday, and ambushed them with a surprise wedding, right there in the living room. A living room full of finger paintings and framed pictures and dust on the mantel. That’s right, Bethany Castle had gotten married barefoot in a messy house without a single stroke of professional makeup. There was no place she’d rather be.
They didn’t leave her home behind due to a lack of warmth or hominess. They’d simply wanted to create their own space top to bottom, as a family. She’d stood in that haphazard living room with a smile on her face a mile wide. Why wouldn’t she be smiling when she was marrying the most incredible, loyal, steadfast man on all of planet earth and gaining a quasi-daughter in the process?