Andright now,Ledgeris up by one.I’mhoping that changes by the end of this date.
Iturn around to faceLedgerand grin. “Andwe’ve got ten minutes to jump off that cliff, starting now.”
“Tenminutes, huh?”Ledgersays, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me in close. “Thatmeans we have time to spare.”
Hebrushes his knuckles along my jaw, which always drives me crazy.Thenhe cups his hand on the side of my face, cradling it, likeIam more precious to him than anything.Iaccepted long ago that his feelings are true, but it still takes my breath away to know thatIam so fully loved by this man.
Irise up on my toes, put my arms around his neck, and press my lips to his.Hemoves both hands to my back as we kiss, andIsoak in the feeling of being held byLedger.Iwill never tire of this.Idon’t thinkLedgerwill, either— we are both just as crazy for each other as we’ve always been.
Ionce thought that if we were in this exact scenario except with a real mission on the line,Ledgerwould spend the entire ten minutes talking to whoever was on the cliff with him about something other than the mission, right up until it was time to jump off the cliff, not even getting his paragliding equipment ready.Justjumping with the hope that he can get his equipment on and ready during his fall.Ithad annoyed me.
Now, though,Iget it.Iunderstand how he works and why he prioritizes relationships with people— it’s one of the thingsIlove about him.AndIhave to say,I’mokay with him spending ten minutes not preparing for the mission if it means kissing him this much.
Well, mostly.Ido still want us both to survive this.
Butwe can definitely take kissing time, too.Ofcourse,I’llalways say yes to any time withLedger.OrwithLedgerand any of his family.
Overthe past six months,I’vegotten to go to so many of his family dinners.Ihad forgotten how great it feels to experience that feeling of family.I’veeven gotten to meet more of his family.Likehis dad’s parents— his grandparents— who are the nicest people.They’relikeTVshow grandparents.Thekind who show up to spoil their grandkids, have a great time, enjoy lots of laughs, and make cookies.I’mtalking real, made-from-scratch cookies.I’veeven met a couple of aunts and uncles on his dad’s side, too.
AndI’vemetReese, who isMiles’sbest friend.I’veeven met her bees, which is a whole thing.I’vegotten to be good friends withCharlie,Ledger’salmost sister-in-law,Mackenzie, andMackenzie’sfriend,Livi, whoInow consider to be my own friend.AndI’vemade friends with so many other people throughLedger.Ieven got to play a game of hurling withEvan, the ambassador’s aide friend thatLedgermade on our plane trip toDublin.Ourlife will never be void of people becauseLedgeris so good at making friends with everyone.
Icare greatly about all the relationshipsI’veformed.Especiallymy relationship withLedger.Hehas added more to my life thanIever thought one person possibly could.
I’vealso had more “family” in my life thanIever imagined.Ilove them all, andIknow they love me, too.Ihope that one day they will officially be my family.WhenLedgerandIare ready.Whichisn’t somethingIever really thoughtI’dbe hoping for.
Isigh into our kiss and pull back just a bit, even thoughIleave my arms around his neck. “Asmuch asIwould love to continue kissing you until long after the sun goes down, we better get moving if we’re going to jump off this cliff before neither of us can win a point for this challenge.”
“True,”Ledgersays, then gives me one more kiss. “Webetter get moving.”
Weboth race to strap on our harnesses, making sure each other’s is secure, then put on our gloves and helmets.Thenwe each lay out our own canopy and connect it to our harness.
Aswe are doing our last-minute checks,Ilook at my watch. “Thirtyseconds.”
Ledgergrins. “OnethingIknow for sure is that our life is never going to be boring.”
Ishake my head. “No, no it is not.”
ThenLedgerwhoops loudly as we run toward the small clearing, and then we both leap off the cliff.
EPILOGUE 2
OPERATION HONEY POT
CHARLIE
Livi, my almost-sister-in-law’sBFFand the woman with whomI’msharingMaidofHonorduties, stands up in front of the guests, who are all seated in chairs in a big circle on the grass behind the row of townhomes whereIlive.Shesays, “Okay, and now we’re going to play a gameIlike to call, ‘Howwell do you knowMackenzieandJace?’”
Mackenzieis seated right next to whereLivistands, and she’s practically glowing with happiness.Mybrother,Jace, has had the same look as her for quite a while.Iam so excited for the wedding coming up!
Everyone’shere.Mackenzie’smom, her three sisters, my mom, some people fromMackenzie’swork, my roommateReese, who is also my brotherMiles’sbest friend (and he makes sureIremember that she was his best friendfirst), two of my aunts, and three ofMackenzie’s, and my future sister-in-law,Zoe.
Well, she’s notofficiallymy future sister-in-law, yet—Ledgerisn’t the type to rush into something as big as an engagement, andIdon’t thinkZoeis, either.ButI’mcalling it right now that theywillget engaged.
JustlikeIcalled that they were going to have their enemies-to-lovers arc on that mission.I’mrather good at noticing all the little things that show when someone likes someone else, butI’mnot the only one who sees it withLedgerandZoe.It’splain as day to see that the two of them got in a car together, put the top down, turned ontoItWillOnlyEverBeYouboulevard, and are currently driving, music blaring, hands in the air (except for the one on the steering wheel), straight towardWeddedBlissandBabiestown.
Itmay take a while to get there, but they’ll get there eventually.Thosetwo look at each other like skydiving, sunsets, and fireworks didn’t even exist until the other stepped into their lives.
LedgerandZoecan take as long as they want to make things official, butI’mnot waiting to claimZoeas my sister-in-law.She’sone of us, now.I’vespent my whole life as the only sister in a family with five brothers— it’s about time we started evening out the numbers.
