“Pearl Moreno,” he said into the microphone. “Will you be my girlfriend? Just to clarify, it’d be real this time. I wanted a few witnesses, in case people are skeptical given our history.”

His words opened something in me. Something I’d been trying desperately to close off these last few months. It was hope. I felt all the hope come pouring out of me. It rushed from my center, warm and brilliant, washing over me like some kind of cleansing fire.

This was what I wanted. It was what I didn’t dare to hope for anymore. It was what I needed so desperately I couldn’t admit it, because that would be admitting how imperfect my life was.

I rushed forward, practically tackling him in a hug.

“For the sake of the crowd,” Dean said into the microphone over my shoulder. “I think we need an official ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

He lifted the microphone to my lips. “Yes,” I laughed. “Yes!”

Molly was the first to jump up and pump her little fist into the air. “So freaking romantic. Yesss!” There was scattered laughter and then people were clapping for us.

It was ridiculous, over-the-top, and so totally Dean that I found myself loving every bit of it.

“Sorry about the frog necklace,” he whispered to me. “Once my little sister helped me realize what an idiot I’d been, I came straight here. I didn’t want to wait.”

“I’m glad you came,” I said.

“You know,” Dean said. “You could’ve dressed up a little bit.”

I pulled back to glare at him. He was smiling, and then his smile faded when our eyes met. He put a hand on my cheek and pulled me in for a soft kiss. I’d forgotten we weren’t alone until there were more whoops and some clapping from the crowd.

I kissed him, not caring if anyone watched. For the first time in months, I felt at peace inside. I didn’t have to hide from my feelings anymore. I didn’t need to wonder what was wrong with me–to wonder why I could feel so much for someone who didn’t feel the same way for me.

All along, he’d just been trying to care for me in his own way, misguided as it might have been. I hugged my arms around him. He was my big, stupid, well-intentioned boyfriend. My boyfriend who I wished had just tried not to be so freaking noble and saved me all the heartache. “My butt is getting really cold,” I said. My pajama bottoms were thin and the night was near freezing.

Dean raised an eyebrow. “My lady. If you need help warming up your butt, you only have to ask.”

I bit my lip. “Hmm. I don’t know. I’ve never been on a real date with you, and I don’t do that with guys I haven’t dated. I’m a proper kind of lady, you know.”

“That’s a shame, because I’m not a proper kind of gentleman.”

It turned out, that was not a bluff. Once the people from town had cleared out and congratulated us, Dean practically rushed me into his car and back to his room at the Ashford Inn. Our clothes were off before we hit the bed, and for the first time, I slept with Dean and didn’t even try to pretend it wasn’t everything I’d always wanted. That he wasn’t everything I’d always wanted.