Page 160 of You're The One
When I ease back, my gaze finally drops to the box in his hand. A square diamond—though I couldn’t tell you the cut—flanked by two navy sapphires. And I take it back, I do care. Because nestled in the worn blue velvet is a ring I’ve only ever seen in photographs, or back when I was a kid sneaking into Dad’s desk to peek at it.
My mother’s ring.
“Where’d you get this?” My voice breaks.
“Remember when we picked up some of your stuff? And I told your dad I’d drop off tickets for opening day…”
I nod through fresh tears.
“Well, when I dropped off the tickets, I asked for his blessing. He gave it to me, along with her ring. Said she wanted you to have it.”
“It’sperfect.” I swallow around the lump in my throat.
He slips the ring onto my finger, and I stare at it gleaming in the morning sun before lifting my gaze back to him.
Some little girls dream about this moment. I never did. Never thought I’d end up here. But God, how thankful I am—for this love, for being seen for all I amandall I’m not. For him.
“We’re gonna get married.” The words spill out, full of happy disbelief.
Dom shoots up, scooping me into a spin. “Hell yeah, we are.”
EPILOGUE
THE REUNION
“Stick around.”Bodhi pivots to the nearest camera with a practiced grin. “Dominic and Mia are up right after the break.”
I could’ve gone the rest of my life without hearing his voice, but alas, here we are. Makeup on my face, tie too tight, sweat pricking the back of my neck. But Mia’s hand is in mine, and that makes up for everything else.
“How weird is it that Bodhi’s the host now?” I murmur against her ear. Guess the season worked out for him if it earned him a promotion.
“It kind of suits him,” she whispers back, just as a production assistant waves us toward a loveseat on stage. The hot seat.
At least we’re almost done. The women already had their turn, reliving the experience and reconnecting. The headline, though: Victoria was announced as the next bachelorette. OurYou’re The Onefan club will be cheering her on from the couch.
I thought I’d get away with one viewing party. Yeah, no. It’s turned into a weekly thing. They’re all at Logan’s tonight, watching the live recording.
Any grudges I had against the show? Gone… mostly. Questionable tactics or not, I can’t hate something that brought me Mia.
“Rolling in three, two…” the PA calls, hand slicing the air.
“I hear congratulations are in order.” Bodhi jumps right in.
I glance at Mia before answering, her lips tipping up. My daily fix. I could live off that smile.
I raise her hand like it’s the Cup after a Game 7 victory. “She said yes.”
The crowd erupts, clapping and cheering. But it’s Mia’s laugh that cuts through the noise, her head shaking. She’s used to my theatrics now, even said she finds them endearing. I’ll take endearing over attention hog any day.
Bodhi rolls a montage of bloopers and behind-the-scenes clips. Mia and I on the paddleboards; of course the cameras catch me checking her out. Helm shamelessly flirting with all the women at the hockey date. A zoomed-in shot of our morning walks. Guess we weren’t as inconspicuous as we thought.
Bodhi runs through a handful of questions for Mia and me—favorite date, biggest surprise, how we handled watching it all back. Nothing too painful. Easier than half the post-game interviews I’ve done. For once, it feels like production actually meant it when they promised “nice and tame.”
“Okay, okay.” Bodhi raises his hands to settle everyone. “One more question for our bachelor?—”
“No longer that,” I cut in, giving Mia’s hand a squeeze.
“Fair enough.” Bodhi doesn’t miss a beat. “What would you say your biggest lesson was from the whole experience?”
