Chapters (89)
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ONE
- HENRY
- TWO
- EMMA
- THREE
- HENRY
- FOUR
- EMMA
- FIVE
- EMMA
- SIX
- SEVEN
- HENRY
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- HENRY
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- EMMA
- THIRTEEN
- HENRY
- FOURTEEN
- HENRY
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- EMMA
- SEVENTEEN
- HENRY
- EIGHTEEN
- HENRY
- NINETEEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-TWO
- EMMA
- TWENTY-THREE
- HENRY
- TWENTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- TWENTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SIX
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- EMMA
- TWENTY-NINE
- HENRY
- THIRTY
- HENRY
- THIRTY-ONE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-TWO
- EMMA
- THIRTY-THREE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- THIRTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- THIRTY-SIX
- HENRY
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- EMMA
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- HENRY
- THIRTY-NINE
- HENRY
- FORTY
- EMMA
- FORTY-ONE
- HENRY
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- EMMA
- FORTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- FORTY-FIVE
- HENRY
- EPILOGUE
- ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JD: I’ve genuinely enjoyed getting to know you. Meeting in person won’t change that.
RB: You only get a few more days to call me VRG. Then you’re going to have to use my actual name.
JD: Nope. I intend to introduce you as such:
JD: “Mom. Meet VRG! My spectacular and wonderful girlfriend. She’s very real, and not at all fake. Here, let me show you the contract she sent me to seal the deal.”
RB: I’m giggling.
JD: I can’t wait to hear what that sounds like in real life.
JD: Shit. Sorry. That was weird.
RB: It wasn’t weird at all.
JD: Phew. Okay. Sunday at 8 a.m. it is.
RB: I’m looking forward to it :)
JD: Have a wonderful birthday, VRG! Don’t bowl too many gutter balls. I hope you get a Zebra Cakes cake! See ya in eight days.
JD: Go go Gadget Birthday Mode!
* * *
September 26th
JD: How was your night? I hope you didn’t stay out too late.
JD: I know the old folks home has a curfew.
RB: It was great, thank you! Bowling was so much fun, and dinner was delicious!
RB: How was your evening?
JD: Good! I hung out with my friends.
JD: My buddy had a full PowerPoint slideshow of engagement ring options. We had to sit through the entire presentation and give feedback about which one we liked best and why. There was a numeric ranking system, too.
RB: That sounds incredibly sweet.
JD: If by sweet, you mean cumbersome and exhausting, then yes, it was very sweet.
JD: I had no idea so many different rings existed. What the hell?
RB: I take it you don’t believe in marriage?
RB: Ack. Sorry. That was incredibly forward of me.
RB: I’m going off our previous dialogue.
JD: To be honest, I haven’t entertained the thought deeply enough to lean strongly to one side.
JD: No woman has been present in my life for more than a few nights, so thinking about marriage, a life-long commitment, is hard to envision.
JD: I do think if I ever found someone who makes me laugh, loves me for my stubbornness, and makes me grin when she walks into a room, I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.
JD: I truly don’t believe that’ll happen. It all seems kind of fake, to be honest. How is that kind of person possible?
JD: I’ll believe it when I see it.
JD: What about you?
RB: I think I could be married, sure. With a family and the whole shebang. No one has caught my eye, though. And I’m not in a rush. I’m doing a lot with my career right now, and it might make me sound selfish, but I’d rather dedicate my time to that instead of picking out china patterns and centerpieces, you know?