“Will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life knocking over your carefully arranged displays?”
The hall fell silent as Eveline rose to her feet, tears streaming freely down her face now. She didn't remember walking to the stage, only finding herself suddenly there, standing before Emery.
“Oui,” she whispered, then louder for the entire hall to hear. “Oui, of course I will marry you.”
As Emery slipped the ring onto her finger with trembling hands, the audience erupted in applause and cheers. Behind them, Eveline could hear Maya sobbing happily and Zara's camera clicking rapidly.
But all that mattered was Emery's smile, as bright as the lights of Paris.
“TO EMERY AND Eveline!” Maya declared, raising her champagne glass high in the private dining room of the restaurant overlooking the Seine. “May your shelves always be full and your hearts even fuller!”
“To Emery and Eveline!” everyone echoed, glasses clinking in a symphony of celebration.
Eveline couldn't stop smiling, couldn't stop looking at the sapphire ring catching the candlelight on her finger, couldn't stop glancing at Emery beside her, her fiancée. The word itself felt like magic.
“I still can't believe you all kept this secret,” Eveline said, looking around at their friends. “Even you, Maya. I thought you were constitutionally incapable of keeping gossip to yourself.”
Maya pressed a hand to her chest in mock offense. “I'll have you know I am the soul of discretion when it matters. Ask anyone!”
“She practiced by baking in silence,” her wife Billy said dryly from beside her. “It was the most peaceful three months of our marriage.”
Laughter filled the room as servers brought out course after course of exquisite food. Eveline watched Emery attempt to eat escargot, nearly sending one flying across the table before mastering the technique.
“So the French lessons were your secret?” Eveline asked, linking her fingers with Emery's.
“Four months of intensive study,” Emery confirmed.
“And giving us all first-class tickets to Paris was another secret,” Jax added, lifting her glass again. “Quite the use of Abe's inheritance.”
A moment of silence fell over the table at the mention of their absent friend.
“He knew,” Emery said softly. “Before he died, I told him I wanted to propose. He insisted I use some of the money to 'do it properly.' His words.”
Eveline blinked. “Of course he did.”
Ollie cleared his throat, his arm around Jax's shoulders. “He's the one who suggested Paris, actually. Said you needed to reclaim the city with better memories.”
“To Abe,” Eveline said, raising her glass toward the empty chair at the table where a glass of whiskey stood untouched.
“To Abe,” everyone echoed.
After a moment, Zara broke the silence. “The shop's social media is absolutely exploding, by the way. I posted one picture of the proposal and we've gained three thousand followers in two hours.”
“The Turned Page, internet sensation,” Domi said with a smirk. “Who would have thought?”
“And who would have thought that you spoke such beautiful French,” Eveline said.
Domi shrugged. “With a name like Dominique, you’re surprised? My mother was French.”
“And yet you’ve never mentioned it,” said Eveline.
“You never asked,” Domi said, helping herself to more wine. “Speaking of things you’ve never asked about, my literary ears have heard rumors about your ex. Are they true?”
Eveline sighed. “His publisher dropped him, that’s all I know.”
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” Domi said with a sniff. “Just as well you replaced him with an actually successful author.”
“Domi!” Emery said, but Eveline was laughing.
