“You did. That one. I just got it back for you.”
She gasped. “Is this?!” She opened the envelope and pulled out the pink slip.
“That is your Range Rover that you bought with your money. It is yours again.”
Tiana’s arms flew around Niko’s neck, and she hugged him tighter than she’d ever hugged him before. She hugged him like she was never going to let go. He held her as she cried into his shoulder, repeating, “I love you,” over and over.
“She say yes!” Yaya yelled from the side of the river.
“Not yet!” Niko yelled and waved back, and there were scatters of laughter.
Tiana released her arms and wiped her cheeks. “Sorry, sorry.”
He reached into his pocket and realized he was nervous as he got down on his knee. His hands were shaking.
Tiana noticed, she wrapped her hands around his. “You’re shaking.”
He smiled up at her, not sure why his heart was going so fast or why he felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I know.”
She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair and leaned down, whispering in his ear, “I’m gonna say yes, does that help?”
He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
She straightened back up.
“Tiana, I’m not sure what happened when I saw you all those years ago, at that bar, but it was like I recognized you. I knew you. For years I told myself I was imagining it, making more of it than it was. But then I’d see you again at a charity event, a golf tournament, a gala, or an awards show, and it would still be there, I was drawn to you. So I stayed away. I did.
“Then you were single, and you moved to my grandparents’ hometown, and I still thought no, I’m going to stay away, because honestly, I thought you were way too good for me. And then I turned around on the dance floor, and you were standing in front of me, and it was like my soul said,finally. And when I took you in my arms, it was like I was home.
“I don’t know if I even believe in soulmates, but if I do, you are mine, I know that. And I know that this is fast and we’ve only been together for a month, but this has been the happiest month of my life, and I feel like I wasted ten years because if I had just spoken to you at that ESPYs…” He shook his head. “I can’t change the past, but I know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you because you are my home, my happiness, Tiana Marie Matthews, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
He slid the ring on her finger, it was a single solitaire diamond ring that Pops helped him pick out. It fit perfectly, and she bent down and kissed him.
“Wait, is this the?—”
“Tiffany ring, yes.”
“How did you…?”
“I cheated,” he teased from when she said asking Frankie would be cheating. “When I asked for Pops’ blessing, I also asked if he had any ideas on the ring. He said this was the ring you’d been eyeing since you were thirteen.”
“It is.” She leaned down and kissed him again. “Wait, you asked Pops for his blessing?”
“Of course.” Niko figured that was a no-brainer.
She placed both hands on his cheeks. “I love you.”
“Good, cause you’re stuck with me.”
She smiled. “Why aren’t you getting up?”
“Because, for the first part of your life, you were alone.” His jaw ticked, and she brushed her knuckles softly against his cheeks. “I can’t do anything about that, but that’s not the case anymore. It’s not just me that’s asking you something.”
He stood and turned her around. On the riverside, Liam, Frankie, Poppy, AJ, his mom, Dr. Sterling, Yaya, Mr. Santino, and Zion were each holding up letters that together read WILL YOU MARRY US and Pops held the question mark.
“Oh my gosh!” She covered her mouth and was crying again as she nodded her head yes.
