think so,” I admit. “I love him, and I can’t lose him, even if I’m scared.”
Jessa gives me hug. “Go get your happily-ever-after,” she says. Then, smiling, she adds, “And I’ll be here to make your wedding cake whenever you need me, sweetie.”
I laugh at her ability to read my mind. I give her one last squeeze, and then head for the back exit.
But as I am rounding the corner, I hear a voice. His voice.
“Trista, stop,” Trent says.
I turn, my eyes wide. “Trent? What are you doing here? I was just leaving to go to your house.”
He steps closer. We are in the back hallway of the bar, alone in the dark, and I just want him to press himself against me, to wrap me in his arms and tell me he loves me the way I love him.
“I was invited by the guys I work out with to come to Tacos and Trivia Night. I thought it would be a good way to get my mind off the fact that the girl I am in love with won’t return my calls.”
I swallow hard, my eyes filling with tears again. “You still love me?”
He nods, taking hold of my hands. “I’ll quit my job for you. I know this is crazy — but you know what would be even crazier? Missing out on the love of a lifetime because of a job.”
“You don’t have to quit your job for me because I already dropped out of college.”
His eyes fill with concern. “No, Trista, you can’t—”
I cut him off. “Actually, I can. And I did. I was even able to get a refund for my tuition since it was the first day of school.”
“There is so much I don’t know about you, but Trista, you can’t put your dream on hold for me.”
I smile, big and real, and I wipe the tears away. “I’m not. A university education was never my dream, Trent. But I do want to go to school.”
“I’m trying to follow.”
“I registered at a technical college today. I am going to get a certificate to be a nail technician.”
He draws me closer. “Seriously?”
I nod. “I wasn’t seeing the signs that were in front of me, and you being my professor in class this morning was what I needed to push me over the edge. I’m not cut out for a four-year education — but I do want to pursue something I am passionate about.”
“This is more than I imagined… but why didn’t you return my calls?” he asks.
I bite my bottom lip. “I was scared. I made this massive decision and wondered if you would think it wasn’t good enough — my dream. You are so intelligent, so educated, and I didn’t know what you might make of my dreams being so different than yours.”
He cups my face with both his hands. His eyes lock on mine and all my worry fades. One look and I know I am his. He is mine. We are going to work.
“I don’t need our professions to be the same to make a relationship work.”
“I don’t either,” I say, wrapping my arms around him, kissing him with relief and hope and promise. A promise to be his.
In the bar, we hear everyone cheering, clapping over something, and I frown.
“I know we just confessed our love, but can we go see what is happening?”
Trent nods, his fingers lacing with mine. We walk into the bar, standing in the back and watching from a distance as my brother, Kaden, gets down on one knee, proposing to his girlfriend, Kourtney. He met her over tacos… and I met Trent over pho… I guess our family is a bunch of foodies.
I smile, leaning against Trent as we witness Kourtney fling her arms around my brother, accepting his proposal.
My stomach fills with butterflies. Soon enough, Trent will be mine pho-ever too.
Epilogue 1
Trent
Six months later…
Class has just ended for the day, and I’m clearing papers off my desk when I hear a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I call out as the old wooden door opens. I look up and see Trista carrying an umbrella.
“It’s pouring out there, and freezing too,” she says. “I thought maybe you’d like to go to lunch with me to warm up.”
I smile, walking toward the woman I love. We’ve been dating for six months, and each day is a gift. She makes my stuffy university world so much brighter.
“You know what else might warm me up?” I ask, lifting a brow.