“Forever, Ada Kelly.” He kissed the corner of my eye. “Forever. I love you. I can’t wait to keep loving you. You are my pursuit of happiness.”
“I love you too,” I whispered, my words choked by emotion and tears I held back with my bare mental hands.
He kissed me fully on the mouth. He tasted like creamsicle and whiskey, and I wanted to tear his clothes off right here. When he pulled back, his expression was alive with love. With forever. With happiness. “I signed a six-month lease. I have about five months left. We can talk again then.”
Before I could figure out how to respond or how to close my mouth, Will walked into the office with a baby strapped to the front of him in a light-pink wrap. In contrast, he wore baggy gray sweats, a thin black Craft T-shirt, and slides. His hair was mussed, and his usually short-cropped beard was longer and unkempt. Also, he was wearing glasses—which I had never seen him wear. They looked like those drugstore readers you could pick up next to the pain meds and feminine hygiene products.
Eloise’s smooshy face was peaceful as she slept against his chest. She was the picture of perfection. Will was... not.
And there, on his shoulders, was a streak of white something I identified as a spit-up stain.
Charlie spun around, equally as shocked to see Will like this as I was. He crossed his arms smugly and said, “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“Shhh,” Will snapped, looking slightly manic. “Don’t wake her. She’ll want to eat. And I don’t have the right parts.”
“Where’s Lola?” I asked in a gentle voice.
“Sleeping. She hasn’t... uh, we haven’t... slept in a—” His words were cut off by a violent yawn. Then he collapsed in Eliza’s chair and scrubbed his face awkwardly, careful not to bump Eloise.
“She’s so precious,” I cooed.
“She’s a devil,” Will croaked. “And she hates us. And sleep.”
Charlie and I shared an identical smile.
Eliza walked in next. Her gaze fell straight on Will. “You have a baby. In a bar.” Then she looked at me, and we both said, “Sweet Home Alabama!” referencing Reese Witherspoon’s iconic line.
Before Will could respond, she turned to me, held up her left ring finger newly adorned with a gigantic diamond, and beamed.
I pounced on her. Our argument be damned. “OH MY GOD!”
We hugged. And it wasn’t awkward or weird or anything but wonderful. She was engaged to the man she loved most in the world. And who cared what she’d said before because this was the most perfect moment of her life, and I couldn’t help but be over the moon for her.
She started crying. Then I started crying. Then she said, “I’m so sorry, Ada. I shouldn’t have said any of that. I love you so much, and I want the best for you, and I was just surprised—”
“No, I’m the sorry one,” I gushed back. “I should have told you first. I should have come straight to you. But I was nervous you wouldn’t understand. And I—”
“Will you forgive me?” she pleaded. “I need you to be my maid of honor, and if you’re mad at me, I know you’ll plan the most vindictive bachelorette—”
My gasp cut her off. “I would never.” We pulled back from each other and burst into laughter. “Okay, maybe I would. But no, I’m not mad. I love you. I want the best for you. I am so freaking happy for you!”
Her eyes watered again, and she pulled her ring finger from my admiring grip and laid her palms on my shoulders. “I’m so happy for you too. And don’t worry, Charlie will never hurt you. Because if he does, I will personally murder him. So I know, I just know, you guys will have the best happily ever after.” Her grin widened, but in a psychotic kind of way, and her gaze moved to Charlie. “Mostly because he should be very, very afraid of me.”
Charlie held up his hands in surrender. “I am.”
“Wait,” Will said, seeming to have just woken up. Had he dozed off while Eliza and I were hugging and squealing? “You’re not mad at Ada anymore?”
Eliza laughed. “How could I be? They’ve loved each other forever. We tried to keep them apart, dear brother, but here we are. And honestly, who are we to stand in the way of true love?”
He blinked at her. “If you’re not mad at her anymore, then why am I here?”
Eliza wiggled her ring at him. “I’m engaged. I want to celebrate with the people I love. Jonah’s parking the car, but we brought champagne.”
“We have champagne,” Will said, still not fully understanding. “We’re a bar.”
“This is better champagne,” she said confidently.
“I can’t drink it,” Will explained groggily. “I have a baby who didn’t come assembled right. She doesn’t know how to sleep through the night. Why is she like this?”
