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She doesn’t know all the details, but I appreciate the sentiment. I change the subject and talk about the ranch a bit, then she talks about her work. It’s nice to do something normal, even if it feels a bit like cosplaying until my heart stops aching. If that’s what I have to do, I’ll do it. It’s no different than before.

I keep my phone off, not that he was going to text me anyway. We’re paying at the front counter when I finally pull it from my purse, and my heart stops.

Ten missed calls from Sabrina.

Oh God. No, no, no.

She never calls me like that unless it’s something important. I slide the screen and hit the call button, putting it to my ear. She answers right away.

“Hey,” I say. “You good?”

Mom turns around, forehead creasing.

“Yes,” she breathes. “He proposed.”

Relief hits me, closely followed by a wave of excitement. “Really? Are you serious? When?”

“This morning,” she says, voice rising until it breaks. I can hear her jumping around, probably in the kitchen. “Is Mom there? Quick, put me on speaker.”

I do.

“Hey, Mom,” she sings. “Guess who has a big rock on their finger.”

Mom’s jaw drops, her hands fisting like she’s about to start jumping around the coffee shop, too. “What? Really? Send us a photo right now.”

“Okay, okay, hold on,” she says.

There’s a moment of silence. Then a photo pulls up of her finger against the backdrop of the living room, a big square diamond, sparkling. It’s stunning, exactly what I would have imagined Sabrina would want. Clearly, Coen did his homework.

“It’s beautiful,” I gasp.

“How’d he propose?” Mom asks.

“Excuse me,” the clerk says.

We both turn, realizing there’s a long line, eager for us to move. Blushing, I grab Mom’s elbow and steer her out onto the sidewalk.

“So, how’d he propose?” she repeats.

“We went on a morning ride up to northern pasture, and he proposed when we were hanging out at the top of the hill.” She sighs. “It was so peaceful.”

My eyes are a little wet. So are Mom’s. Despite my own problems and how unlucky I’ve been in love, this is something I’ve been waiting on, eagerly anticipating Sabrina getting her happy ending. Not to mention, now we can finally take wedding planning out of our scrapbooks and get to work.

“Will you be my maid of honor, Serena?” she asks.’

“I mean, of course,” I say. “Duh.”

“Oh my God,” Mom says, covering her mouth. “I can’t believe it’s happening, my baby is getting married. Oh, honey, we’re so happy for you. Let me ring Hugh and tell him. Or did you want to?”

“No, you tell him,” she says. “I’m actually waiting on Coen, we’re going into town in a minute.”

“Well, give me a call tonight when he’s in, we can tell him together.”

“That works: it’s whatever you want,” she says. “I’m having trouble focusing. I know it’s because this is all new. I’m just all over the place right now. I feel like I’m floating.”

“You go be with your man,” Mom says. “Congrats, honey.”

“Congrats,” I echo.