eady. I had rehearsed our story, picked out the perfect "effortless

ut in a dark suit that looked like it had been sti

. Wolfe," he sa

. "Don't get ahe

ough our backstory met at a tech conference, bonded over our shared hatred for terr

I propose?" Liam as

imagine your life with

ed into a grin

owd gathered on the porch. My mother was waving like a ship spotting land. My fa

m murmured, and I wasn't sure

me so tightly I could barely breathe. Then she turned to Liam,

h. "It's an honor, Mrs. Cross. I've heard so m

ushed. My mot

rmly, sizing him up.

x of humility and confidence. "But more importan

d. Where had t

cousin Julia asked if Liam had any single friends. Grandma quizzed him about his fav

to the kitchen under the prete

ect," she

a smile.

agazine like old friends. When his eyes found mine across the room, he gave me a look a sub

n brought out an ancient famil

ed, but Liam was already

Mint chocolate chip. Correct again. The story of our first kiss? He made it up on the spo

miling and my pulse was doing strange things e

be an act. So why d