I rub my eyes again. “You know, this is one of those things I really don’t want to talk about this late, Connor.”
“Me…either,” Lily yawns and begins to scoot underneath the covers.
“Wait,” Connor says, stepping forward. “I need you to answer me, please.”
I only hesitate because of the please. Connor rarely pleads for things, not like that. I shake my head as I try to pick through my emotions on the matter. “I don’t know…” I do know. “I mean, we’re not looking forward to it.”
“Why?” Connor wonders.
“You know why,” I snap, frustrated and tired. “Connor, I don’t know if this is the time when you do your best thinking, but the rest of us—the average people—sleep now.”
Connor stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I needed a time where Rose wouldn’t be awake to hear us.”
“Is this a riddle?” Lily asks sleepily.
I don’t even know.
“What if I told you that you don’t have to get married?”
Now he has our attention. Lily’s eyes snap open fully, and my back straightens like a board. “What?” we both say in unison.
“You don’t have to get married,” Connor repeats. “Not in one month. Not in six months or seven. You choose the time, the date, the place, everything on your terms, no one else’s.”
“This is a dream,” Lily says under her breath.
He shakes his head like it’s not.
When I look at her, I see tears just streaming down her cheeks. “This is a dream…” she repeats as though to convince herself that it can’t be real.
I feel something wet slide down my face. Good things don’t happen to bad people. Lily used to tell me that all the time. This does seem too good to be meant for us.
“My father…” I start, not able to finish. I lift my knees and rest my elbow on one, pinching my eyes to dam the waterworks.
“I talked with Lily’s parents and briefly with Jonathan.
Everyone agrees that the reality show helped improve your reputations. It’s hard for any media outlet to deny that you’re in love, and so the wedding, at this point, isn’t as important as it once was.” He continues, “Lily will regain her inheritance since the wedding won’t be a stipulation anymore.”
Neither of us really cares about the money. I drop my hand.
“Won’t it seem suspicious if we suddenly cancel the wedding?”
He takes a deep breath. “I want to marry Rose on that day, if you’ll let me.”
My mouth opens in surprise. “What?” I breathe.
Lily is nodding repeatedly, overwhelmed with so much emotion that she begins to sob in her hands. I hug her to my side.
It’s like someone finally gave us a break, and then went one step further, clearing a dark storm into a bright blue sky.
I am about to ask if he loves Rose, but the expression that washes over his face—it says it all. Connor is smiling, his gaze far off as he’s picturing that future already, glowing with something innately human.
Hopefully one day he’ll accept how much love has actually overcome him.
And then he looks back to me, and I nod at him. “If you’re serious—”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life,” he says. Connor rarely exaggerates, so I’m flooded, once again, with the power of his words.
“Yes,” I say. “Marry Rose.” I let out a short, stunned laugh and shake my head. I can’t believe this is real. “If you survive your wedding day, that is.” Rose not in control…how is that going to blow over? “She’s going to be pissed that she only has one month to fix everything.”
Lily calms a little and wipes her eyes with the blanket.
“She’s so particular,” she says.
“That’s why I’m not going to tell Rose. It’ll be a surprise to her.” He adds, “And I know her well enough to plan a wedding that she’ll love.” He walks to the door, solidifying this as a night that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. And it had nothing to do with our addictions.
“And darling,” he says to me, his grin lifting his lips, “you’ll be a great best man.” He taps the wooden frame and shuts the door gently behind him.
Lily sniffs and says, “When did Connor Cobalt become the tooth fairy, granting wishes in the middle of the night?” We’ve known for a long time that Connor Cobalt possesses some form of magic.