When Nothing Else Matters (Heartstrings, #1)

by Katherine Jay

I knew loving her was going to be dangerous; it was a big risk to my heart, a risk I was willing to take. I’d prepared myself for Summer to run, and I was ready to fight for her. For us. I never once thought I’d be the one causing her pain.

Am I? Have I ruined everything? Of course, I have, it’s been a month.

“Very poetic. But don’t you think that’s exactly what she’s been telling herself about you for your entire friendship. From the first time I saw you together, I knew there was a spark. Hell, everyone could see it, even you. Summer’s been fighting it this whole time, trying to not only protect her heart, but to also protect you. From what? I don’t know. But someone, probably her father, put it into her head that she wasn’t worthy, and she didn’t want you caught up in that.”

“I’m not finished. When she finally opens up and lets herself not only accept love, but feel it…you ran. You fuckin’ ran. So, you shouldn’t be asking me ‘what the fuck?’ You should be turning that question on yourself. And you’ve been messaging…Who cares? You need to talk to her.”

I fucked up. I really fucked up. But I can’t lose her.

My heart beats out of my chest, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s love. I love her.

She’s it. She’s all that matters and I’ve lost my chance. I can see it in her eyes. But I have to try.

“I remember every moment we’ve shared and even the ones we faked. I’m so sorry for the way I’ve treated you since Thanksgiving. You deserve so much more than a text message friendship.

“Summer, we may have begun our friendship as a game, but everything I feel for you is one hundred percent real. I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to be around you all the time. To hear you laugh, to see you smile, to kiss you…

God, I’m such a fuckup. I should have been showing her every day that she deserves love, that she’s worthy.

“Summer, you are perfect to me. Everything about you is perfect for me. When I look at you, I see my future.

I love you. I’m in love with you. I should have focused on that instead of everything else we had going on. Because Summer, nothing else matters.

We still have things to work through, but this beautiful, intelligent, playful, and loving soul is mine, and every part of me is hers.

This is it. She is it for me. I’m going to marry this girl.

“Summer, you’re all that I see. God, I love you.”

I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face, because I know this is a moment I’ll be reminding her of for years to come. Game. Over.

He’s lucky I trust him with my life, and yes, I mean Summer—she’s my life.

And Summer…she looks at you like you hung the moon.

“Wait! Before you say anything, I need you to know that I love you more than anything, and I know you think I have plans in my head of how I want our future to be, but I would happily do life any way, in any order, as long as it’s with you.”

“I was going to wait and do this on New Year’s Eve. I don’t even have the ring, but right now it feels even more perfect. Summer, I knew there was something about you the second I laid eyes on you. I had this intense need to protect you and I never even knew who you were. When I met you again over two years ago, I had the strongest feeling of déjà vu, like we’d met before, and an even stronger desire to never let you go.

I may have fought it, but deep down my heart knew it was you. You were the one.

“I used to think that becoming your fake best friend was the best thing to ever happen to me, but now that I’m on one knee, looking into your eyes and seeing our future, I know that the best is yet to come. Every day with you is ...

We’ve been through so much, and I know he’s my end game.

I love this man with all my heart.

And just like that, I’m engaged to my best friend, and there is nothing fake about it.