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The newlyweds started down the aisle. Mikayla turned to follow them, then glanced in my direction. Our eyes met. And she smiled.

Not for show. Not because her ex was walking down the aisle behind her. It was just for me.

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. Because I realized something. I didn't just want Mikayla to love me. I wanted to deserve her love. I wanted to be someone she could count on. Someone who didn't disappear when things got complicated. Someone who showed up, even when it was hard. Especially when it was hard.

I wanted to be the man who proved to her that not everyone left. That some people stayed. That some people chose you. Every single day.

And for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of making that promise. I was afraid I wouldn't get the chance.

Dean leaned closer. "You look like you’re about to throw up."

“I’m…fine.”

A knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You're in love with her."

I opened my mouth. The denial was right there. Easy. Familiar. Practically automatic. But I couldn't say it. Not anymore.

"Yeah," I admitted quietly.

Dean went still.

"Holy shit.” Then his grin spread. "Damon Lockhart is in love."

"Say it louder. I don't think the people in the parking lot heard you."

He laughed. I looked back at Mikayla as she disappeared around the corner of the barn.

"You're going to tell her, right?" Dean asked.

I swallowed. It wasn’t that easy. I couldn’t tell Dean why it wasn’t because that would reveal that we weren’t actually a couple.

“It’s not that simple.”

“It never is.” Dean shook his head.

"Thank you for that incredibly helpful observation."

"Anytime."

I stared at the spot where Mikayla had disappeared. I'd spent years running from anything that looked remotely like commitment. And now the one woman I wanted to commit to had absolutely no reason to believe me. I'd have to convince her. Somehow. Because I wasn't letting her walk away without knowing how I felt.

Not after finally figuring it out myself.

I was in love with Mikayla Parsons.

Now all I had to do was convince her. The woman with trust issues who didn’t take me seriously. And I had less than twenty-four hours to do it.

28

PENGUIN KNEES

Mikayla

Champagne was supposed to make weddings more enjoyable, not convince perfectly sensible women that dating a notorious heartbreaker might be a good idea.

Yet there I was, at my cousin's wedding reception, surrounded by hundreds of guests, unable to keep my attention off Damon Lockhart.

My fake boyfriend. The town's most eligible bachelor. A man whose relationship history made a revolving door look committed.