“Clem?” He broke away after another round, his forehead to mine.
“Yeah?”
“Marry me?”
I sat unmoving, taking it in for two breaths. The boy who was once one of my dearest friends had grown and deepenedinto the man of my ultimate dreams. And he wanted me to be his wife.
“I don’t have a ring yet. I’ve been too busy doing this.” He waved around the room. “I didn’t know if it was false hope to think you’d ever say yes?—”
“Yes. Absolutely, yes.” I peppered kisses up the bridge of his nose, along his forehead. “Ring-shming. I just want you. Everything else can come later.”
He kissed me harder, with a touch more lust and a little less respect. He growled into my neck. I moaned and my back arched involuntarily.
He swore and slammed a fist against the floor, frustrated. I threw my head back and laughed.
“When?” His question came out in a rush.
“When will I marry you?”
“Yes.”
I cupped his wonderful face in my hands. “Yesterday, Silas. Tomorrow. A month ago. You name it. I’m there.”
He grinned. “Can we seriously elope? I mean, is that a possibility? Or do you want a big wedding? I honestly don’t care about any of that.”
I tilted my head and shrugged. “I think we should at least invite our parents. And Anna, of course.”
“Yeah. Of course, Anna.”
We stared at each other for a second and I knew he was regretting losing her, just like I was. But somehow I knew it would be okay. As hard as we’d fought for each other, we’d fight for Anna.
I pecked him on the mouth. “But yeah. Eloping. I’m here for it.”
His expression dropped. “I’m sorry about the baby. Sorry I w-wasn’t there”—his voice broke, but then he recovered—“for you when you needed me. Can you forgive me?”
“Yeah.” I pressed a kiss on the tip of his nose and nodded. The edge of the hurt threatened to pull me over. But I didn’t want to do that right now. Tonight was for the happy stuff. “Hey.” I chewed the inside of my cheek. “So, I read your note finally.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “My note?”
“You know, the love note you almost gave me in high school, right after The Fated Football Game. But Billy got to me first.” I quoted Sophie’s words.
His expression turned guarded for a second. Habit? Then he lowered his force field, probably when he remembered I was his now. His eyes narrowed. “How did you get that?”
I lifted my shoulders in awe. “Sophie. She tucked it inside her letter. I guess she had it all this time.”
His mouth parted and I could see a decade’s worth of light bulbs coming on. “Are you kidding me? I lived in fear for months after that went missing. Freaking thief.” His jaw clamped and his nostrils flared. “I’m gonna ki—” The words died in his throat.
I smiled into his wonderful, apologetic eyes. “You were gonna say kiss her, weren’t you? When you see her again? She deserves a big, juicy one, on each cheek, from both of us.” I shrugged. “Because if it weren’t for her…”
He nodded, his eyes turned down, a little sad. “Yeah. If it weren’t for her.” He pulled me closer, forehead to forehead again, closed his eyes as if he was going to pray, and whispered reverently, “Thank you, Sophie.”
My best friend had been the best there ever was. I’d known it when she was here and she’d left no doubt now that she was gone. There was no battle she would not run into for someone she loved. And she’d loved me since the first day of Pre-K. I would miss her with all my heart. But I could do this. Because she’d given me the best gift of all. An unsurpassed legacy offriendship and a love that would last me the rest of my life and beyond.
She’d asked us to do this one last thing for her. But in truth, she’d done one last thing for us. And I would never stop being grateful.
I tapped my nose against Silas’s.
“Amen.”
