Not the awkward kind of quiet, but the charged kind—the kind that happens when everyone senses they’re about to witness something that matters. The string lights glow softly overhead, reflecting in the polished wood and glass, turning the bar into something intimate despite the crowd packed shoulder to shoulder.
Harper’s eyes are wide now, her confusion giving way to realization in real time. Her voice is so soft I almost don’t hear her say my name.
From the edge of the room, Mason appears.
He’s wearing the nice shirt Harper made him put on for pictures, his hair combed neatly, his face split into the biggest grin I’ve ever seen. In both hands, he’s holding a small velvet box like it’s the most important object in the world. He walks toward us carefully, deliberately, the way kids do when they know this moment is serious.
The crowd parts for him without being asked. Harper’s hand flies to her mouth.
Mason stops in front of me and beams up at his mother. “This is my very important job,” he announces proudly, then hands me the box like he’s completing a sacred mission.
“You did great, buddy,” I say quietly, my throat tight. I take the box and sink down onto one knee.
The reaction is immediate—gasps, hands flying to faces, someone whispering oh my god from somewhere near the bar. I don’t look at anyone else. I only look at Harper.
She’s shaking.
Maybe I am, too.
HARPER
One second, Clover & Mint is loud and alive and overflowing with voices, music, clinking glasses, the kind of joyful chaos I’ve spent months dreaming about. The next, everything narrows until all I can see is him on the floor of my rebuilt bar, the place that almost didn’t exist anymore, the place that now feels sacred in a way I never anticipated.
Aiden is steady, even kneeling there, even with every eye in the room on him. Even with his heart on his sleeve.
His voice doesn’t shake when he speaks, but it’s threaded with emotion so raw it makes my chest ache. “Six years ago, I met you at a cabin in the woods,” he says, and the words hit me so hard my breath stutters. “I fell for you in one night—your laugh, your kindness, the way you saw past all my walls like they weren’t even there.”
The room is silent now. Completely. My heart beats in my ears.
“And then,” he continues, eyes never leaving mine, “I made the worst decision of my life. I called it a mistake and let you walk away.”
Tears spill before I can stop them, hot and blinding, my hands trembling uselessly at my sides. I don’t wipe them away. I don’t care who sees. I’ve lost too much already to pretend I’m composed in front of strangers, and there aren’t that many strangers here tonight, anyway.
These people are my family. All of them.
Aiden sighs. “I’ve regretted that every single day since.” His voice thickens just enough to make it clear how much that regret has lived inside him. “When you walked back into my life, it felt like the universe was giving me a second chance. And this time, I’m not screwing it up.”
My knees threaten to buckle. I grab the edge of the bar for balance, the solid wood grounding me in the moment.
“You are the strongest, bravest, most beautiful person I’ve ever known,” he says. “You rebuilt your life from ashes—literally. You are an incredible mother, an amazing businesswoman, and the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
A soft sound escapes me, somewhere between a sob and a laugh.
That’s when I notice Mason again.
He’s bouncing beside Aiden, barely containing himself, holding the small velvet ring box with both hands like it’s precious cargo. His grin is enormous, proud, electric. The sight of him there—part of this, included without hesitation—cracks something open in me so completely I can barely see through the tears.
Aiden takes a breath, still looking only at me. “Harper Lane,” he says, and my entire world tilts. “I don’t want to waste another second. Will you marry me?”
I try to answer. But nothing comes out. My throat closes, my vision blurs, and all I can do is nod—fast, desperate—my hands flying to clutch at his jacket like it’s the only thing keeping meupright. “Yes,” I finally choke out, voice breaking completely. “Yes. God, yes.”
The bar explodes around us.
But all I feel is him rising to his feet, pulling me into his arms, and the undeniable certainty that everything I lost was leading me right here.
The sound comes back in a rush, like someone turned the world back on all at once. Cheers slam into me from every direction, loud and unrestrained, hands clapping, voices shouting, someone whistling so sharply it makes me laugh through my tears. The air feels charged, electric, and for a moment I just cling to Aiden, my forehead pressed against his chest, letting the reality of what just happened settle into my bones.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, his eyes bright and stunned and impossibly tender. Then he slides the ring onto my finger.
