“I mean, if I have to be a skater, I might reconsider.”

“Shut up and come on,” he said, scooting back some. “Skate to me.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You do.”

“Markus!”

“Mekena!”

“I don’t want to die. Don’t make me die.”

“Jesus, woman, skate!”

With a loud screech, she started for him, and he urged her on. “There you go. Shuffle, shuffle…you’re doing awesome. Whoa,” he said, catching her as she went plummeting to her death.

“Told you I was going to die.”

“I caught you.”

“But you won’t always be there.”

“Yes, I will. Now come on, keep going.”

With a loud huff as he put her on her skates, she glared up at him. “You’re a mean teacher.”

“I know. I love you too.”

“I didn’t say I love you.”

“Yes, you did,” he said, smiling as he led her around the rink. She wanted to say that she became a great skater, that she made Markus proud, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, they yelled at each other the whole time, she almost died twice, and she was pretty sure she elbowed Markus in the eye…three times. And only once was on purpose. Falling to the ice for the hundredth time, she leaned back onto it, the coolness welcome. She was burning up. Who knew skating was so hard?

“This is dumb. How about you be the skater, and I’ll be the cheerleader?”

“I might just have to agree with you. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a black eye tomorrow.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No, you’re not.”

“No, really, the second time, I didn’t mean to hit you.”

“Brat.”

“Love you too.”

He laughed as he reached out, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of her wrist. “Did you have fun at least?”

“No, this was torture, and my feet hurt.”

“Come on, it was fun. What else would you have done on your birthday?”

She looked over at him. “Lie in bed and watch Netflix while stuffing my face. Maybe add in some sex. Lots of sex, actually.”

He laughed. “We can still do that.”

“Oh, we will, and you’re gonna rub my feet.”

“That’s not all I’ll rub,” he said, waggling his brows, and she smiled.

“Damn right. Birthday sex, here we come.”

“Always about sex with you.”

She giggled as she looked up into the rafters of the arena. It was completely quiet, just the two of them, and she felt whole. All because of the man she loved.

“I do love you, though. Even if you planned a horrible birthday day,” she teased, and he laughed.

“Hey, I never said I had a great plan for the day. But tonight, I got you.”

She smiled happily at the endless possibilities the night would bring them. “We will see if you make up for it.”

“Maybe this will make up for it now.”

Confused, she looked over to find him holding a little blue box that made her heart flutter with excitement. “Ooh! A present!”

He smiled as she took it, sitting up and opening it. “I had planned on giving it to you on Christmas, but I feel like you might need it earlier since this is your first birthday without Skylar.”

She smiled sadly. She wanted to say she was doing better, and in a way, she guessed she was. But she did miss her sister. Thankfully, her mom was doing a lot better, and that was all Mekena could ask for. It was spotty for a little bit there, but luckily, much improved. She owed a lot of that to Markus; he made it a point to go over and just chill with her parents, which she thought was incredibly sweet. Libby had even come up too, staying with her mom and her dad, which Mekena was very appreciative of. Libby was still her angry self, threatening her father, but Mekena was convinced her mom needed her.

Though she could never replace Skylar.

No one could.

Blinking past the tears that had appeared all of a sudden, her heart sped up in her chest. She opened the box to find a beautiful pendant that looked like a galaxy of colors. It was stunning.

“Oh, Markus, it’s beautiful,” she said as she turned it over to find it engraved with “I’ll meet you in the stars.” “Oh, wow, it’s amazing. What does it mean, though?”

“It’s crushed gemstones mixed with Skylar’s ashes,” he said, and she looked up quickly, tears sliding from her eyes automatically as she gazed into his.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I had one made for you and your mom. I figured you guys needed a piece of Skylar with you at all times.”

Biting her lip to keep more tears at bay, she whispered, “That’s so thoughtful.”

“Do you like it?” he asked, and she glanced up from staring at the gorgeous pendant that she had no clue she’d desperately needed.

“I love it,” she whispered before crawling into his lap. “Can you put it on me?”

“Of course,” he answered, taking it out of the box and putting it around her neck. Holding the pendant in her hand, she smiled before looking back at him and leaning against his chest.

“It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“It’s not too painful, is it? I was worried about that.”

She shook her head. “It’s perfect, just like you,” she said, kissing his chin, and he laughed.

“I’m far from perfect, but you still have to marry me.”

“Yes. June tenth can’t come quick enough.”

“Agreed,” he said, kissing her jaw. “Think they’d let me drink our first drink out of the Cup?”

She laughed. “I don’t know. Have to win it first.”

“It’s on my list of goals for the year.”

“You have a new list?”

“I do.”

“What’s at the top?”

“Marry the love of my life,” he answered, holding her close. “That’s you.”

“Me? Little ol’ me?”

“You,” he said roughly against her jaw, kissing her. “And only you.”

Closing her eyes, she leaned into him and couldn’t help but smile with her whole face. Life had a funny way of playing out. She’d thought for the longest time she’d be alone and unhappy, but that all changed in an instant. And now she was marrying the love of her life. The only person she knew she could love unconditionally because he loved her the same way. Their future would be full of unexpected things—that was life—but for once, she wasn’t scared of them.