Lifelong Joy Is All I Want

Summary

At my twenty-fourth birthday gala, I searched for Marcus to start the dance. Outside the VIP lounge, I heard him tell Nate he’d spent five years humiliating me because he lost a bet to his childhood friend Melody. They agreed to make me a fool for six years running. Today marked the sixth. Next year, he’d propose, he said.

He fingered the deep blue tie I’d embroidered through sleepless nights, smiling. “I’ll give this to Melody’s golden retriever, Duke. It’ll make her laugh.” Nate gaped. Marcus shrugged, voice thick with indulgence. “If I don’t humor her, our little princess throws tantrums.”