AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You think?” I say dryly. I’ve held back from saying a lot of what has been swimming through my head. Something was bound to slip through.
Ben sheepishly looks me in the eye. “I deserve that.”
“Look, I know you think I’m not good enough for him, but I really care about Mark. This isn’t something casual for me.”
His eyes sharpen. “I never said you weren’t good enough.”
“It was just implied.”
“No. No, it wasn’t. Millie, Mark is my best friend in the entire world. I would do anything for him, but you’re my little sister.” There’s a slight wobble to his voice. “There isn’t a person alive that is good enough for you. You have to know that.”
My eyes are stinging with unshed tears. “I had no idea you felt like that.”
Ben wraps me in a hug, “I’m sorry I ever made you feel like I didn’t care. You deserve the world. And if what you want is Mark, then he’s lucky to have you.”
As soon as I walked through the door of the house, my roommates pounced on me. I was given fifteen minutes to get ready. They even had an outfit laid out on my bed. I barely got dressed before Kiersten and Tori were all in my business doing my hair and makeup, which now that I’m sitting in the back of a car with a blindfold on feels extra ridiculous.
”Where are you guys taking me, and why do I have a blindfold on?” I protest.
“So you don’t know where we are going.” Jonathan’s voice sounds from the driver’s seat. Oh, he’s in on this too, great.
“This is kidnapping!”
“Only if you were restrained. And you aren’t,” Tori calls back.
I might not be restrained by cuffs or cords, but it’s not like I can move. I’m firmly squished between Amara and Kiersten in the back seat of what I’m assuming is Jonathan’s tiny compact. You know, a guy as big as Jonathan should have a bigger car. I mean I know he’s not as tall as Mark, but it’s not like he’s short.
The car comes to a stop and I lurch forward a little.
“Can I take this thing off now?”
“No!” Tori calls, but she sounds further away now. Did she get out of the car? What on earth is going on? I hate surprises, and all of them know this.
Amara helps me get out of the car and turns me around. Kiersten comes to my other side, and the two of them continue to guide me to wherever my former friends have decided to sacrifice me, because that’s the only thing I’ve come up with that makes any sense.
This morning my family plotted to get rid of me, and now my friends are finishing the job.
We come to a stop. I feel someone step in front of me and start to undo the blindfold. It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the light. When I do, I see that it’s Mark who is standing in front of me.
“What’s going on?” I ask him, confused.
“I asked if they could help me with a surprise, and I guess this is what they came up with.” He shrugs, motioning to Jonathan and Tori.
“That’s it, no more crime shows!” I call over to them, but I’m pretty sure I’m starting to figure out what’s going on, and I’m already starting to cry.
“Don’t.” Mark points at me. “Don’t ruin the surprise. I worked too hard to pull this off only to have you figure it out.”
I laugh, but the tears are already streaming down my cheeks.
He pulls me with him, not that I’m resisting. As we walk through the empty market, past the food truck parking, and towards the makeshift dance floor, the twinkle lights start to come on overhead. Through my tears, I spot Duncan with his whole set up on the stage, and he starts to play music through the speakers. It takes a moment to realize what’s playing.
“REO Speedwagon?” I look up at Mark, who is also starting to tear up.
“Of course.” He stops, putting both of my hands in his. “Millie, I never could have imagined how much my life was going to change when I moved back to Ridgeview. You’re everything I never thought I could deserve.” Oh gosh. The tears. “You’ve taught me how to love. And more importantly, you’ve taught me that I’m worthy to be loved.” Oh, he needs to hurry up with this, I’m about to burst.
Mark lets go of my hands and I’m reluctant to let go, but then he gets down on one knee and pulls out a box I would recognize anywhere. Only when he opens it up, it isn’t my mother’s ring. Or rather it is, but there is something added to it. There are two small diamonds on either side of the solitaire.
“This ring, like us, has history. Some of it good, some of it bad, but all of it is what helped lead me to you.” That’s when it hits me. Helen’s ring. He’s combined both our mother’s rings together. A fresh jolt of emotion hits me. “Amelia Jean Jacobson, will you marry me?”
