We sit in the kitchen while she cooks. I decide to throw him under the bus. “Marco said your ring was pitiful when he saw it.”
Mere shoots him a glare, but he just shrugs. “He said it was what you wanted, but it does kind of makes him look bad. He has all that money in his bank account now, and he lets you settle for that?”
“He didn’t let me settle,” she snaps, and it shows both of us how annoyed she is by it. “I’m not settling at all. He’s given me exactly what I want. It’s no one’s fucking business either and I don’t care what they think about him.” She points the spoon at me. “You shouldn’t care either. What happened to our opinions are the only ones that matter?”
It’s not that I care what people think as much as it’s what I think. I want her to have better. We’re better now than we were then. Why can’t her ring reflect that? It does bother me, probably more than it should, and definitely more than it should considering she doesn’t mind in the least.
“You don’t care what I think?” Marc asks, trying to lighten the mood, but Mere isn’t having any of it.
“Not when it comes to my relationship with Noah.”
“What about a compromise?” he pushes.
Meredith sighs. “What kind of compromise?”
“I don’t know.”
She throws a noodle at him. “Such a big help. I’m not changing my ring.”
“What if,” I start, gathering both of their attentions, “your wedding bands could have a row of small diamonds, one on each side, and I’ll buy you diamond jewelry every five years on our anniversary.”
Meredith watches me for a long moment. “Does it matter to you that much?” she ask softly.
“Yeah, Mere.”
“Then, okay.”
I flash her a grin. She honestly doesn’t care, but she’s giving in for me. I love that she loves that ring, but I want to do more for her. Meredith turns back to the stove, and I drink in the sight of her. Long tan legs, long straight brown hair, green eyes, a killer smile, and a heart of gold. In less than a year, she’ll be my wife.
Finally.
I feel like I’ve been waiting for that moment since I fell in love with her. It can’t get here soon enough. I can already picture her in a white dress with a big smile on her face as she walks toward me. That will be the best day of my life, followed by the day I met her and the day I ran into her at the airport. And to think she was about to talk herself into not coming at all.
After the wedding, we’ll go on a cruise to the Caribbean for our honeymoon. We may just stay on the ship the entire time. It’s already my job to make her happy. Marrying her will make her happy. Making sure we do our best to get her pregnant and to have a healthy baby, whether it’s one or six. That’s something she wants, something I want, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she gets what she wants, what will make her happy.
“Is pasta the only thing you know how to cook, Meredith?” Marc asks her, dragging me out of my thoughts.
“It’s the easiest to make, and Noah likes my pasta,” she says with a shrug.
“Barf. You guys
make me sick.”
“You’re free to leave,” I tell him.
“I can’t deprive Meredith of her favorite Rebel. It wouldn’t be fair to her to leave just because you’re jealous.”
“Throw another noodle at him, Mere,” I order as serious as can be, causing her to laugh.
She tosses a penne noodle at him, but he manages to catch it in his mouth. “Not quite done,” he tells her.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do once you land a girlfriend,” she says. “You have to promise to still come around.”
I laugh. “Don’t hold your breath over Marco meeting a woman.” I know for a fact he’s still thinking about that girl from the Halloween party. He’s two seconds away from being desperate and interrogating everyone who was at the Halloween party. He says he’s given up, but I don’t believe him.
Meredith glares at me. “Why would you say that? He’s good looking and a great guy. He could easily get a girlfriend. Maybe the problem is you’re a bad wingman.”
Marc bursts into laughter. “She has you there, Rams.”