"Dylan!" I snap.

She clamps her mouth shut and drops her gaze.

"Don't ever bring that up again, Luce." I pull on her legs until she swivels in her seat and her entire body is facing me. "Don't ever question the way my mom feels for you. She loves you as much as I do."

Her eyes lift to mine, before she leans up and kisses me. Soft at first, but it quickly turns to something more. Her head tilts to the side as her tongue skims my lips. She opens her mouth, giving me access. I almost forget where we are and why we're here. Almost—until Mom's scream reminds me. We both turn to her, Lucy's hand still cupping my face.

Mom's on her knees, her hands covering her face. Her shoulders lift with each silent sob.

"Are you okay, Ma?" I laugh out. "What happened?"

Lucy swats my chest and gets off her stool. "Heather?"

Mom looks up now, her eyes red and filled with tears.

Mark walks in through the door that leads to the garage. "I heard a scream! What happened?"

Mom cries heavier, waving her hand at us.

Mark sees us for the first time. Then his eyes trail back to Mom. "What happened?" he asks again.

"She—he—they—prop—wed—"

His gaze moves back to us, his brows bunched in confusion. Standing over her, he asks, "Honey, have you been drinking with the girls again?"

She shakes her head frantically. "They—ring—and—" She's gasping for breath, unable to speak.

"Mark," I say, getting his attention.

Lucy wiggles her fingers in front of her face.

His eyes narrow at first, and then they go huge. He mocks a cry, before dropping to his knees next to Mom. He covers his face with both hands and mimics Mom's voice. "They—he—she—ohmuhguuuuhd!"

Lucy and I laugh and help them both to stand. "I just need a minute," Mom says.

We wait patiently for her to calm down. Mark brings her in his arms and holds her while she cries. He smiles at us, the power of it so infectious that I find myself smiling with him.

When Mom's settled, she removes herself from Mark and kisses my cheek. Then she goes to Lucy, her face already contorting with another cry. She lifts up Lucy's hand and looks at the ring. Then she lets out a gasp and covers her mouth. "Is this?"

Lucy nods. "Yes."

"Your mom's?"

She nods again.

"How did you know?" I ask Mom.

She ignores me and speaks only to Lucy. "It's exactly the way you've described it."

Lucy's eyes well with tears.

"It's beautiful," Mom tells her. She reaches up and cups Lucy's face with both hands. Her thumbs skim Lucy's cheeks, wiping the tears that must have fallen. "Just like you."

-LUCY-

I run a finger down his chest and over the ridges of his abs. "I can't believe I'm going to be your wife," I tell him.

He smiles and moves me so I'm on top of him.

We decided to stay at the cabin overnight instead of heading back to campus. He asked if I wanted to go back so we could tell our friends, I told him I just wanted the night to be with him.

His fingers move my hair to behind my ear. "And I'm going to be your husband," he says, a hint of a smile forming on his face.

"It's surreal." I sit up so I'm straddling him.

He chews his lip, his eyes drifting shut when I move, pressing myself into him. Two more strokes and he'll be hard.

He links our fingers and kisses the palms of each of my hands. "Now will you look at the apartments on campus?"

I pull his hands until they're flat on my back and take off my shirt. He smiles, that perfect smile with those perfect lips I've always loved. I lean down and kiss his neck, slowly licking and sucking and making my way down. "I think that would be an amazing idea."

He shifts underneath me, his hard-on now prominent. His hand runs up my back, unhooking my bra and freeing my breasts. He pulls the straps off my arms and then links his fingers behind his head, his eyes roaming my body. His gaze drops to where my scar is, but he doesn't flinch, his face doesn't change, he doesn't look away. He never does. He sits up, his outstretched arms holding him in place. His mouth finds my neck, kissing me gently and moving his way up to my jaw, across my chin, and finally up to my mouth. He sighs when his tongue brushes against mine. "Do you have an idea of when you want to do it? The wedding, I mean."

I push further into him, wanting to feel him on me. "Not really. You?"

"Tomorrow?"

I laugh into his mouth.

"I can't organize a wedding in a day."

"Fine." He sits up and grabs my ass, lifting his hips at the same time. I let out a moan, my back arching in pleasure. He kisses my neck again, down my chest, and the top of each breast. "A week?"

I snake my arms around his neck, holding on. "Babe," I whisper, my hips slowly thrusting, my center rubbing against him. "I can't do a week."

He pulls away and throws his body back against the mattress. "A month, Luce. That's as long as I can wait."

I chuckle lightly, but then cut myself off when I see the seriousness on his face. "One month?" I ask.

"One month, baby. I don't even want to wait that long to make you my wife."

A slow smile builds on my lips. "One month?" I say again. "I can do that."

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

-CAMERON-

"I'm fucking boss at this game," Logan shouts, his hands up in victory. We're at Jake and Micky's house having a few beers. Heidi told Luce she was going to be late, something about her sorority. The girls have been spending a lot of time together since Luce announced that she had a month to plan a wedding. The girls cried when we told them. The guys congratulated me, then took me out the next night to get fucked up. It was good times. Up until I stumbled into Lucy's room blind drunk and tried to have sex with her desk. She still laughs about it. Every now and then she sees me doing something stupid and calls me Deskfucker.

Jake kicks the Monopoly board in mock anger. "I don't know why we always play this when Princess Asshole always wins.

"Don't be a brat," Micky reprimands.

Logan laughs. "Because I'm a motherfuckin' gangsta and I make it rain on the bitches!" He throws his paper money at Amanda.

She shakes her head and glares at him. "Don't ever do that again."

"Here," he says, handing her a note. "Buy yourself something pretty, you deserve it."

Lucy's head throws back in laughter.

"Yo," I speak up. "Logan and I joined a casual baseball league. We play on weekends for shits and giggles."

"What!" Jake exclaims. "I wanna play with you guys!"

"Shut your MLB face," Logan tells him. "You're not good enough to play with the cool kids."

He feigns a pout.

"Wait," Lucy says. "You guys are playing baseball again?"

"Yeah," I answer.

"Do you wear uniforms?"

"Uh huh."

She turns to Amanda, whose eyes are wide. They share an unspoken message, just as a smirk pulls on both their lips.