Page 153 of That Moment
“Adrienne Slade,” I say, voice steady now. “Will you marry me?”
For one heartbeat, the world stops. It’s like every single sound is sucked into a vacuum, and time is standing still while I wait for her reply.
Then she’s moving, launching into me so hard I lose the mic and my balance, catching her by the waist as the square erupts. She’s crying and laughing at the same time. “Yes,” she chokes, nodding so hard her hair slips free over her shoulders. “Yes. Yes.”
My hands shake as I slide the ring onto her finger. Her mom’s diamond catches every light in the square like it’s been waiting all these years for this exact night to shine.
She looks at it, then at me, like she can’t decide which one to stare at, and then she’s kissing me, smiling against my mouth. The band picks up, playing “Marry Me” by Train.
Brooklyn’s full-body sobbing into Tyler’s shoulder at this point. Dolly’s got her phone up and is narrating live to absolutely no one. One of the kids yells, “Ewwww,” which only makes everyone laugh harder.
I break the kiss enough to rest my forehead against hers. “Hi, fiancée.”
She laughs, breath hitching. “Hi, fiancé.”
Over her shoulder, I catch Hudson at the front of the crowd, hands in his pockets. There’s the faintest hint of a smile on his face, but it’s the look in his eye that tells me everything I need to know. He gives me a single, steady nod.
“Welcome to the circus,” Axel yells, then cups his hands around his mouth. “’Bout time, Bescher!” He tries not to look at Sadie as he says it and fails miserably.
Adrienne wipes her cheeks, then looks down at the ring again like she can’t help it. “It’s perfect,” she whispers.
“You can actually thank Axel for his help.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I only had to threaten his life half a dozen times to keep his mouth shut and not ruin the proposal.”
We turn back to the crowd, Phil finishes up the song, and grabs the mic. “Well, hell, that’ll warm you up better’n cider and whiskey.” Laughter rolls. “Now let’s get these two dancing.”
He eases into a slow song. I pull Adrienne in, her hand light in mine, the new weight of the ring a pulse between us. We sway in the wash of string lights and cheers and the smell of October,the town moving around us like a tide. Her family circling close, cousins cutting through to hug her and me.
She tilts her face up. “You nervous?”
“Was,” I admit. “Not anymore.”
“Good.” She presses closer. “Because I’m not letting you out of this. You hear me?”
“Not a chance.”
“Ready to go home?” I murmur when the song ends.
She smiles up at me. “Ready to go anywhere, as long as it’s with you.”
I lace our fingers together, our old lives and silly games we played falling behind us, and step down off the stage with my future in my hands.
Chapter 31
Adrienne
One Year Later…
The bridal suite looks like a bomb went off., one filled with tulle, champagne, and screaming toddlers.
Brooklyn is chasing her twins in circles, Amelia is wrestling with the cork on another bottle while she tells us which specific grapes were used for it, and Dolly is brandishing a curling iron like it’s a cattle prod.
“Can we please get one more group selfie!” Milly says over the madness, her tenth request in as many minutes.
I stand in the middle of the storm, satin, corseted gown fitted to every curve, my veil draped carefully over a chair. My mimosa is untouched in my hand, bubbles going flat while my heart beats so hard I swear everyone can hear it.
