“You’re going to get someone to make sure he’s not late to your wedding, right?” Moira asked. She’d snuck it into every conversation, trying to figure out if I’d asked. Trying to figure out his answer. Not telling her was impossibly hard. I’d told Moira everything since we met. Matt was the love of my life and my romantic soulmate, but Moira? She was my platonic soulmate, a best friend tailor made by the universe just for me. I bit my tongue, refusing to answer. She stomped her foot like a petulant toddler and scowled up at me. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Torture me. Forget who stayed up with youall nightFriday and listened to you agonize about choosing the perfect menu. Forget who you called in the middle of the night—”
“Moira,” I interrupted. “Lay off the guilt trip. He will be here…” I looked around, hoping he’d pull into the parking lot. He didn’t. “Soon. He’ll be here soon.”
“And then you’ll either ask him to marry you in front of me and all his friends, or you’ll announce the engagement, right?” She scrunched her nose in thought, head cocked to the side. “No, you said he would hate a public proposal. You already asked! Youalready asked and that’s why you wanted me to fly in from New—”
“Moira!” I hissed. If she kept pushing, I was going to break. I was going to tell her every moment of the proposal and the entire last week, and Matt wanted us to tell people together. I wasn’t going to betray him by letting the cat out of the bag early.
I thought she might have seen the panic in my eyes. She sighed. “Fine.” The word sounded so dramatic coming from her lips. She carded her hand through her loose blonde waves. “I will wait until you dowhateveryou decide to do.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. Less than five minutes later, Matt pulled into the parking lot. I introduced him to Moira and we went inside.
His friends had taken over the biggest table at The Rusty Nail. Jonas and Seb had brought their boyfriends, and of course, Holden and Eli had come together. They already had a bucket of beer in the middle of the table, and a few of them had started drinking already. I could hear them talking and laughing as we got closer.
Jonas noticed us first. He waved, and then everyone started talking at once. I introduced Moira, and Matt introduced his friends all around. Matt and I piled into the bench with Holden and Eli, and Moira squeezed in beside me. “Maybe we should’ve gone somewhere with bigger tables,” Matt teased.
“Or we could drag a chair over,” Moira suggested. I had a feeling she did not appreciate the close quarters.
“I like her. She’s got a mind for solutions, doesn’t she?” Eli asked as Moira stood from the bench and went hunting for a chair.
Moira returned, and we all settled. Matt’s friends pulled Moira into easy conversation, the same way they’d pulled me in all those weeks ago when I’d appeared back in the group. It was the same way they had years ago when I’d join them at the lunchtable. They accepted me then, her now, and even the addition of Chris and Silas. Moira beamed under the attention, talking to them about her life in New York City and her career, asking them questions, and pointedly not mentioning how sticky the table was.
Conversation flowed through the first round of drinks, and when it was time for the second, Matt and I volunteered to get them.
The moment we were away from the table, I reached out for his hand. “How are we doing this?”
“Get the beer and maybe something nicer? I don’t think the Rusty Nail has champagne, but shots? And then we hand them out, announce the engagement, and hope the alcohol distracts Eli from pointing out that we’ve only been together a few months and it’s too soon?”
“You think he will?”
“Iknowhe will,” Matt told me. He shrugged, but I couldn’t fight the nerves that rose up within me. I knew how important Matt’s friends were to him. I knew he valued their opinions over the opinions of anyone else he knew, even mine. He had a bond with them that I didn’t understand until I’d met Moira and experienced it for myself. Listening to her opinions, taking them to heart, was second nature at this point. If it was that difficult for me, I could only imagine how it was for Matt. He’d known his friends a lot longer than I’d known Moira.
I opened my mouth to offer reassurance, but he shook his head. I watched as he straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. “He will think it’s too soon,” he started, capturing my hand in his. He gave it a little squeeze. “But I don’t care if he does. I know that marrying you is the right choice. It doesn’t matter if I marry you tomorrow or in ten years, it’ll still be the right choice for me. Why waste years getting to the point we both already know we want?”
The logical tone of his voice was somehow the most romantic thing I’d ever heard. I leaned in and captured his mouth with mine, kissing him hard. He opened his mouth to me, kissing back immediately, and I almost lost track of where we were. I might have lost track completely if the bartender hadn’t cleared his throat. We jumped back from each other like scolded school children, and Matt put the orders in.
Once we had the drinks, we made our way back to the crowded table. Matt put down the bucket of beer first and then took the tray of shots from me. They were brightly colored, fruit flavored monstrosities.
He started handing them out to everyone at the table. “What did we do to deserve this?” Eli asked, looking from the shots to Matt.
“Noah and I have an announcement to make.”
“He’s pregnant,” Holden teased.
“Which he?” Eli asked in a mock whisper.
Holden looked between us before shrugging. “Not sure. Maybe both of them.”
“Oh my god, neither one of us are pregnant!” Matt exploded. “Can you guys just listen?”
I hadn’t heard him sound this serious in a long time. His friends straightened up immediately. Holden and Eli had the good sense to look properly contrite. I think they were worried that another comment would make Matt lose his temper. It didn’t happen often, but it was legendary when it did. He became petty. In high school, he’d hidden clowns in Jonas’s locker, because his best friend had lost one of his favorite pens and hadn’t told him for a week. I’d hate to see what he did to any of his friends who dared to ruin our engagement announcement.
Unfortunately, his outburst meant that all his friends were staring at him. Waiting. He looked at me and drew in a deep breath.You’ve got this, I mouthed at him.
He nodded and lifted the hand that had the engagement band. “Noah asked me to marry him.”
“And he said yes,” I clarified. Just in case the ring wasn’t a dead giveaway.
Silence.
