“No way.” I laugh and hug her tight. “That song gripped me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.”
“It’s our song,” she says softly.
“No, baby, it’s your song. We don’t need a song. We are a song.”
She takes a long, shaky breath before kissing me sweetly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” We sit for a long while, quietly watching the water, listening to the wind in the trees and enjoying the sunshine as it breaks through the leaves above, when something occurs to me. “Hey, does this mean I can have my job back?”
“Do you want it back?”
“Yes. I enjoy watching the audience as they sing along with the songs. Max and I get a kick out of playing harmonies and just giving each other shit onstage. And I love being close to you, and that’s just another way that I can do that.”
“Well, then the job is yours. It was always yours.”
“I’ll always be yours,” I reply softly. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
“Good.” She kisses the underside of my chin. “Because I plan to keep you pretty much forever.”
“Excellent idea.”
Epilogue
Addison
Three Months Later . . .
“I can’t believe it,” Kat says with a scowl as she eats a croissant with strawberry jam. The five of us are having brunch on a Sunday morning. It’s a beautiful early fall day, and the patio out here in northwest Portland is perfect this morning.
“I need to see it again,” Riley says, motioning for me to shove my hand across the table so she can get another look at the ring. “I mean, this is impressive, Addie.”
“Thanks.” I grin happily and take a bite of bacon. Jake outdid himself with this ring.
But the best part was the proposal.
“I can’t believe that he shared just about every aspect of your relationship with us, meeting you in the restaurant, enlisting our help to get you back, and then he did the proposal all by himself!” Kat scowls. “That’s not fair.”
“How did he do it?” Cami asks, resting her chin in her hand and smiling dreamily. God, that girl is such a romantic.
“He just asked me to marry him,” I reply simply. Jake and I agreed that the details would be left between us. It was a surprise. He took me to our place, the falls, late in the day when it would be pretty much deserted. I thought we were just going up there for a little peace and quiet. We were standing on the bridge, exactly like that first day that he took me there.
But suddenly, he lowered himself to one knee and held up a little blue box.
“I fall for you every day, Addison. Not just because you’re beautiful and smart and so damn funny you make me laugh until I cry, although you definitely are all of those things. I want you because there is simply no one else in this world like you. I know there’s no one better than you, or more right for me than you, and I don’t ever want to start a day without you in it. You are my happy place. You are my safe place. Please marry me. Go on this adventure with me.”
“Earth to Addie,” Mia says, waving her hand in front of my face. “Are you going to join us?”
“Sorry.”
“So you’re not going to tell us how he did it,” Riley says, disappointed. “That sucks.”
“I’m allowed to have something just for me,” I say with a smile. “But, I will say that it was incredibly romantic and that he made me cry. But in a good way this time.”
“Okay, I can live with that,” Kat says with a sigh.
“And, get this, he called my parents and is flying them in for our engagement party. Mom’s going to help me plan the wedding.”
“That’s awesome!” Mia says with a smile. “I know you miss them.”
“Brian went out on a date!” Cami exclaims and claps her hands. “I set him up with my neighbor’s daughter, and it sounds like they had a good time.”
“You’re so weird,” Mia says, shaking her head. “You really need to let the man find his own woman.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want another woman,” Riley says quietly. “Maybe he still wants you.”
Cami swallows hard. “He can’t have me.”
Mia’s phone rings, and she frowns down at it. “Mom doesn’t usually call me this early in the day. Hello?”
“He’ll move on,” I assure Cami.
“What do you mean?” Mia demands, making us all freeze and listen. “Well, when will we know? Oh my God, Mama.”
“It’s Landon,” Cami whispers hoarsely.
“Call me, as soon as you know. Do we need to go there?” Mia’s eyes find mine.
Oh, friend. What’s happening?
“Okay. I love you too.”
Cami’s hand grips tightly to mine.
“What’s happened?” Cami demands as soon as Mia ends the call.
“Landon’s been hurt.” Mia’s eyes are full of fear as she wipes tears away. “We don’t know how badly yet.”
“But he’s alive,” Cami says. It’s not a question.
Mia’s eyes meet hers. “He’s alive.”
“When will we know more?” I ask.
“She didn’t know.” Mia buries her face in her hands and lets the tears come. I wrap an arm around Cami, but she just stares straight ahead.