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"We should get married."

I’m worried I might’ve broken Jade. She’s standing there blinking at me like that’s the only way she can communicate.

“Married,” she croaks.

Good, a word.

“I know it’s a lot, but it seemed like an obvious solution.”

“Obvious?”

Her voice is still high-pitched and choppy, and my confidence wanes slightly. When I came up with it, I thought I was brilliant. Then I thought about it and toned it down a smidge, but I still thought it was smart. It’s a big deal, sure, but watching Jade’s face right now, I’m realizing maybe the idea is a little more unhinged than I thought.

“I’m a romance narrator and you’re a romance author. We both know people have gotten married in books for a lot dumber reasons than this.”

“Those are… books.”

“Right.”

“Fiction!” she yells, turning on her heel and pacing like a caged animal.

It’s a good thing we’re having this conversation in private.

Still, she hasn’t outright refused me, so I’m not giving up hope.

“Married!” she yells.

“Yes. Didn’t we already cover that part?”

She stops and spins to face me, eyes wide. “No. We did not cover that part. How would that even work? We live states away from each other. Call me crazy, but I think most healthy marriages involve being in the same state, preferably the same town, and usually the same house!”

My lips pull flat. I forgot I didn’t tell her where I was planning on moving yesterday. The conversation quickly turned to other things, and I was so focused on finding a solution to her insurance problem that I never even thought to look up how far Ida is from… what did she say? Woods Junction?

I hold my hands up as I approach her, well aware anything I say right now might spook her, and that’s the last thing I want.

Fuck, I’m offering to do this to help her, but I want to do this. It won’t just be a bruise to my ego if she says no. Another part of me will feel it too.

I rub one hand over my chest.

Why is this so important to me?

“We didn’t get to talk about this yet, but I mentioned yesterday that I was planning to move.”

Her brow scrunches. “You mentioned that. But you didn’t mention you meant moving in with me.”

Oh, I like sassy Jade.

“I was planning to move to Ida. One of my friends lives there and loves it.”

“Ida? Ida, New York? As in twenty-two minutes from me?”

“Well, I didn’t know that until right now, so I’ll have to take your word for it, but yes. And if you don’t want to do this, then that’s still my plan.”

She stares at me for a long moment.

“I don’t even have two bedrooms,” she says, like she’s just realizing that for the first time. “Well, I do. But one is tiny and mostly just storage for all my books.”

My stupid ass takes her lack of rebuttal as a win, and I lean into our playfulness again.

“Only one bed. One of my favorite tropes.”

“I have a couch,” she says flatly.

“And yet the two people almost always end up sharing a bed for some reason or another.”

“Justin!” She throws her hands up in exasperation.

Dick, do not get hard right now. Do you hear me?

“I like when you say my name like that.”

“Like you’re clinically insane?”

But then a smile ghosts her face, and something inside me relaxes. She’s going to agree to this.

Read it now!

Tropes:

💍marriage of convenience

💍plus size romance author

💍swoony romance narrator

💍cute small town

💍caretaking

💍found family

💍no third act breakup

Read it now!

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If you've already grabbed your copy or just can't wait for what's next, you can pre-order the last two books in the Baker Girls series.

The Last Thing

A MF surprise pregnancy, single dad x nanny, age gap (8 years), small town romance

Pre-order The Last Thing

The Last Person

A MM bisexual awakening, friends to lovers, introvert x extrovert, football romance

Pre-order The Last Person

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Happy Jade & Justin day! I hope you love their story! Until next time, take care and happy reading!

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