“Oh my god, Em!” Poppy lunged across the table to hug me, nearly knocking over the coffee cups. “I’m so proud of you!”
The buzz kept going until Cassidy cleared her throat.
“Okay, okay. This is incredible news and we’re all thrilled. Honestly, Emily, it’s just the best news.” She reached into her bag. “But we’re actually here for another reason.”
She placed a heavy, tattered book on the table.
The Yearbook.
My stomach did a little flip.
She opened the scrapbook that Poppy and Hannah had made in high school. It was ridiculous, full of glitter and inside jokes, assigning a ‘Most Likely To…’ for every girl in our group.
Silence fell over the table as she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She turned the book around and slid it across the table toward me.
My own teenage handwriting stared back at me, loopy and uneven. And there, in glittery purple letters across the top of the page:
Most Likely to Doubt Love.
“We had no idea what you were dealing with back then.” Cassidy’s voice was gentle. “You had every reason to doubt love, Em. Every reason in the world.”
I blinked hard, forcing the tears back.
Maya gave me soft look. “But things are different now, right?”
Samara spoke next. “Cam loves you. And even if you haven’t admitted it to yourself yet… you love him too.”
Cam.
The image of him filled my mind. The way he’d held me on Mia’s bathroom floor when I was falling apart. The way he’d shown up every single time I needed him, even when I’d tried to push him away.
I’ve got you.
His hands on my skin. He touched the scars on my stomach with the same reverence he touched my face. There was no hesitation in him. No flinching. Just pure, unadulterated adoration.
For over ten years, the mirror had only shown me something broken. Something unlovable.
But when I looked at myself through Cam’s eyes, I didn’t see the damage anymore. I saw a survivor. I saw an artist. I saw a woman who was loved.
The heavy, cold stone of doubt that had dragged at me for a decade was gone.
A deep certainty settled around my heart, warm and heavy and golden.
“Yeah.” My voice was steady. Sure. “I do. I love him.”
They all exhaled at once.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Annie asked quietly.
“Yeah, Em.” Poppy’s eyes were bright. “What’s the plan?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What the hell was I meant to do? March over there and just... tell him?
Mia was already digging in her purse. She pulled out her car keys and pressed them into my palm.
“Go tell him.”
I stared at the keys, then back at her. “What, now?”
