“Oh my God, please say I did not just yawn.”

A smile covers my lips as I pull back to look down in her flush, beautiful face. “You did.”

“I’m so sorry, ignore it. As you were,” she says, urging me on, but I can’t.

“No love, you’re tired. Let me take you home.”

Her eyes drift close in embarrassment, and I laugh before kissing her loudly on her lips. “Come on, love,” I say, getting off the car and pulling her with me. She comes unwillingly but once in my arms, she melts against me.

“I suck. I’m sorry.”

I shake my head. “Don’t apologize. It’s no big deal. We have all the time in the world.”

She looks away and shakes her head. When she looks up at me, her eyes are serious and I swear it’s as if she has kneed me in the gut. “No, we don’t. I could die, you could die, and then I would never get to have you like this again. All we have is now, and I don’t ever want this to end. I would honestly be lost without you, Declan. I know that’s crazy to admit, but it’s true. Don’t be freaked out! Oh my god, I just went completely off the handle there. It’s just scary, you know? I love being with you, I love your body touching mine, and I can’t believe I yawned. You don’t bore me, I swear!”

She says it all so fast, but each words pulls at my heartstrings. My mouth pulls up at the side before I hug her closer to me. “Amberlyn, calm down, jeez. It’s not a big deal. I know that our time is limited. I do treasure every second I have with you, don’t ever think that I don’t, but like you said, we have to live in the now, and, right now, I can’t exactly get off with ya while you’re sleeping.”

She snorts with laughter before hiding her face in the nook of my shoulder. I pull her away, holding her cherub cheeks in my hands before whispering, “And to be honest, I’d be lost without you, too.”

Her face brightens with excitement before she slowly goes up on her toes, meeting her mouth to mine. When our lips touch, I know that it’s the truth. That my life would be nothing without this girl in my arms.

“I’m a dumbass.”

Fiona lets out a laugh as she looks through the racks. “Totally. Who yawns while her guy tries to get off? Was it boring?” she asks, cutting me a look.

I flash her a dark look, shaking my head quickly. “No, I was just dead on my feet. Nothing is boring about Declan. He’s romantic, perfect, and can kiss like you can’t believe. It was amazing, and I didn’t want it to end even though I was so tired.”

“I suggest when you go out, make sure you are awake and don’t ever yawn again. You’re gonna give him a complex, and he won’t want to kiss ya.”

Like I hadn’t thought of that already. “Thanks,” I moan as I look through the racks that are full of white dresses. On a rare day where my aunt and uncle gave us a day off, Fiona and I are off on a mission of shopping for the ball before getting lunch. I am starving but Fiona said we couldn’t eat until after we got our dresses, since she didn’t want to be bloated trying them on. I didn’t care one way or another. I just wanted to eat, but she told me that she wasn’t buying a dress sporting a food baby.

While I am annoyed and hungry, Fiona is excited, wearing a bright smile with her blonde locks falling in her eyes as she searches the racks. She is more excited than I am because I guess it means Kane and her are coming out to everyone, which is great, don’t get me wrong, but while I can’t wait to get dolled up and spend the night dancing with Declan, I’m nervous. I haven’t been to a ball before. I don’t even know how to act at these type of things, but Fiona has and guarantees me everything will be fine. I just hope I can find a dress that suits me. I don’t want to look like a whore or a frumpy weirdo when I meet my boyfriend’s parents.

Turning to me, Fiona holds up a dress. It’s hideous! I shrug, not wanting to be rude, and then after a moment she does the same before putting it back. We do this for what seems like hours as my night with Declan plays over and over in my mind. The more time I spend with Declan, the more I get to know him, and the more I fall. I love his smile. I love his eyes, they are like coming home, and his arms are so warm. I was being honest when I said that I’d be lost without him—I would be. It’s become such a routine between us. We spend the day texting until the moment we are able to see each other, usually during lunch. Then we both return to work before joining up later that night. Tangled in each other’s limbs, we talk for hours, learning so much about each other, and I love every single moment of it. He keeps me on my toes, he makes me laugh, and he makes me feel so special. It’s perfect and everything I’ve ever wanted.

I remember when I was fourteen. I told my mom that I was going to marry Mr. Darcy. She agreed that he would be an amiable man and that we would need to get first-class tickets back in time to find him. For the next hour, we discussed what we would do to help my dreams come true and how Darcy would be a fool not to fall for me. I was convinced that he was the man for me. It was so innocent and perfect that it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Before my mom passed, she said not to settle for anything but Mr. Darcy status and I feel that I’ve found that. While it worries me that this is my first love and how people never stay with their first loves, I can’t help but feel so strongly about him—like he consumes me. Every single part of me is in love with him, and I don’t know how to handle my feelings. They are so scary.

“Why are you just standing there? Look,” Fiona says, playfully smacking my butt as she passes by me.

I smile before biting into my lip and looking over at her. She catches me watching her and asks, “What?”

I shrug, a smile still pulling at my lips. “Declan said I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”

When my shoulders sway back and forth with a girly grin on my face, I feel a little dumb but not enough to stop doing it. She smiles before leaning against the rack.

“That’s sweet. What did you say?”

Shyly, I answer, “That I’ve never felt like this before.”

Her brows come up as she sets me with a look. “Felt like what?”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I shrug. “I love him.”

“You said that?” she asks, her face visibly shocked.