“You didn’t get down on one knee,” she says.
“Oh.” Warren drops to his knee. “Will you marry me? Is that better?”
Bridgette nods. “Yes.”
“Yes what?” Warren says. “Yes, that’s better? Or yes, you’ll marry me?”
She shrugs. “Both, I guess.”
Holy shit.
What in the hell is happening tonight?
We sat down to dinner as three couples who were dating. Now four of the six of us are engaged. I look at Sydney and she looks radiant…smiling as always as she watches everyone else. Jake and Maggie and Sydney are all clapping for Warren and Bridgette.
Warren pulls away from Bridgette and looks over at Jake and Maggie. “Congrats. You might have been engaged longer than us, but we’re getting married first.”
Maggie laughs. “You go right ahead, Mr. Competitive.”
“Or…” Warren says, turning to look at me. “Maybe we should just do this right now. Ridge, ask Sydney to marry you. Then let’s all go to Vegas.”
I laugh. If there’s anything in our relationship I want to be taken more seriously than anything else, it’s the moment I ask Sydney to marry me. I have it all planned out already. I’m writing a song for it. I’m going to perform it on stage at one of Brennan’s concerts. Sydney deserves more than a spontaneous proposal.
“Oh, come on,” Warren says. “What are you waiting for? You gonna write her a love song and play it on stage like you’ve already done twice before?”
That fucker. “I mean…that was the plan,” I sign, defeated.
“Well, it’s predictable. And lame. But six best friends getting married all at once is memorable and fucking epic. Let’s all go to Vegas and do this shit!”
Bridgette is looking at me with her hands beneath her chin, mouthing, “Please, please, please, please.”
My heart is beating twice as fast as it was two minutes ago. I turn to look at Sydney—to gauge her response—and she smiles. “Just say when,” she signs.
“When,” I say. I blurt it out faster than I would have been able to sign it.
Sydney’s mouth is on mine and we’re both laughing. And…I think we just got engaged.
Holy shit.
“I’ll buy you a ring tomorrow.Whatever you want.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want a ring. Let’s get tattoos.”
“In Vegas,” Warren says, pulling out his phone. “I’ll look up flights.”
“I’m already on it,” Jake says, looking down at his phone. “We have to keep Maggie’s health in mind, so I’d like to get the shortest flight. And as soon as we land, I want to set her up an appointment with a colleague of mine as a precaution. Then after that we can do the whole wedding thing.”
That’s something I would have never entertained—going to Vegas with Maggie. I would have been adamantly against it. He really is better for her than I was. He’s throwing caution to the wind…while somehow still being cautious. My eyes move from Jake to Maggie. She’s staring at her ring with tears in her eyes. When she catches me staring, she just smiles and mouths, “Thank you.” Because she knows how Jake got the ring. I smile back at her, glad that I’m here to see this moment. I’ve always wanted the best for her, and now that she’s found it, I couldn’t be happier.
I honestly couldn’t.
This…right now. Everyone I love is exactly where they belong. My crazy best friend with the only girl on the planet I would say is perfect for him. My amazing, incredible ex-girlfriend about to experience life with a guy who is a better balance for her than I could have ever been.
And Sydney. The girl on the balcony I tried so hard not to fall in love with.
The girl I fell in love with anyway.
The girl I am confident I will stay madly in love with far beyond my last breath.
I take her hand and bring it to my mouth, kissing her ring finger that won’t be bare for long. “We’re getting married,” I say.
She nods, smiling up at me. “This better not be one of yours and Warren’s pranks.”
I laugh. I laugh hard. And then I pull her to me and whisper in her ear, “My love for you is forever off limits to our pranks. Tomorrow, you’ll be my wife.”
I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her hair. Maybe Warren was right. Maybe predictable isn’t always preferable. Because I can’t imagine this happening any other way than it did. I saw three people I love most in my life get everything they deserve and more.
As for me and Sydney…our maybe someday just became our absolutely forever.
The End