The fury in my gut softens into something more complicated. I think about what it must have been like for him—watching marriages crumble on both ends of the spectrum.
“I told myself I’d never do that to someone,” Duke continues. “Never ask someone to carry that weight.” His eyes finally find mine. “And then there was you. I told myself I couldn’t do that to you, most especially you.”
“You don’t get to make that choice for me.” The words come out sharp, but my voice shakes.
“I know.” His throat bobs. “I know that now.”
“You think I don’t know the risks?” I lean forward, heat rising in my face. “You think I haven’t already lived through your deployments? You think I haven’t spent nights staring at my phone, terrified it would ring with bad news? I’ve been loving you from the sidelines for fifteen years, Duke. The only difference now is you’d actually be mine. You’d have someone to want to come home to.”
“I know, Riley. I’m sorry,” he says, but he’s not looking at me anymore.
He’s looking over my shoulder, and something in his expression shifts. His jaw sets with determination. He gives a small nod to someone behind me.
“What are you—”
The music starts.
The opening notes of “Love Me Tender” swell through the air, and I spin around in confusion, trying to locate the source.
That’s when Elvis steps out from behind a pillar, white sequined jumpsuit catching the dying sunlight, microphone raised to his lips. He’s singing, his voice rich and warm, and I’m so confused I can’t move.
Then another Elvis appears.
And another.
They’re emerging from everywhere—from behind planters and pillars and clusters of tourists—spreading out in a wide semicircle around us. All in white jumpsuits. All singing in harmony. I count them in disbelief: seven, eight, nine...ten Elvis impersonators.
“Duke.” My voice comes out strangled. “What did you do?”
He doesn’t answer. He’s already on his feet, moving to stand in front of me.
The fountains explode to life.
Water rockets into the sky in perfect synchronization with the music, hundreds of jets shooting upward in cascading patterns, catching the sunset light until they glow gold and pink and amber. The spray drifts across the plaza like mist, and the Elvises keep singing, their voices swelling over the rush of water.
The crowd has gone absolutely insane. People are shouting, laughing, and holding up phones. A woman near me grabs her friend’s arm and squeals, “Oh my God!”
Duke drops to one knee.
“I’ve been a coward.” Duke’s voice is rough, barely audible over the music and the cheering and the pounding of my heart. “I let fear make my choices. I told myself I was protecting you, but I was just running from the truth—from the possibility of having you and losing you.”
Tears stream down my face.
“I watched a family today,” he continues. “A soldier with his wife and kids. They were messy and tired andhappy. And I thought—that could be us. That could be our future.” He takes my hands, and his fingers are trembling. “I almost threw it away because I was scared. Because I was too much of a coward to admit that I’ve been in love with you since I was seventeen years old.”
The fountains surge higher, water dancing against the darkening sky. The Elvises shift into the final verse, voices softeninginto something tender. The sunset blazes behind him, painting everything in fire.
“I can’t promise it’ll be easy.” His eyes are bright with tears. “But I can promise I will fight like hell to come back to you. Every single time. I will never let fear make my choices again.”
He reaches for my left hand and gently slides off the ring from our drunken wedding. Holds it up between us, the gold band catching the last rays of the sun.
“Riley Walsh.” His voice breaks. “Will you stay married to me? Not because we were drunk. Not because of Vegas. But because I love you. Because you’re my best friend and the love of my life, and I can’t spend another day pretending you’re not. I’m also sorry for marrying you while we were drunk. You deserve better than that, so if you say yes, please let me marry you with our family and friends there to witness it. I swear you’ll remember every Valentine’s Day for the rest of our lives.”
The fountains hit their peak—a massive wall of water shooting impossibly high, framed by the dying sun—while ten Elvises hold the final note.
“Yes!” The word tears out of me as my heart threatens to explode from happiness. “Yes, I’ll stay married to you.”
Duke slides the ring back onto my finger, and the crowd erupts.
