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I nod, unwilling to be selfish on a day like today. I can manage for him. Even if my chest is starting to feel tight. Maybe I can sneak away and do some deep breathing while everyone talks.
“I think we’re going to go home,” Adrian says and I glance up at him. He gives me a look that says there’s no room for argument.
“Are you sure?” I try to keep my voice low, but it’s impossible to have privacy around a quiet fire.
“I’m sure, let’s go.” He stands and helps me up.
Everyone starts to say their goodbyes, but before we walk away, Adrian pauses. “When I was fifteen, I caught my first girlfriend kissing another guy under the bleachers after football practice. I came home angry out of my mind. Mom got me to talk like only she could. She told me that one day I’d find someone who would love me and wouldn’t betray me. And then she gave me a cookie and told me I could play video games past curfew.”
Everyone is quiet, soaking up the fact that Adrian just shared a memory.
“I can’t believe I’m just now finding out your girlfriend cheated on you. We’retwins, does that mean nothing?” Grayson asks and everyone laughs.
“Well, now you know.” Adrian wraps an arm around me. “We’ll see y’all later. It’s a long drive back to Peach Hollow.”
We walk back to his car, the echoes oflove you’sanddrive safe’sfollowing us.
He stops before opening the car door for me, taking my hands in his. In the dim light, his eyes are like pools of navy ink.
“You didn’t have to leave. I’m okay.”
“I know it’s hard for you to think about your childhood. I could feel how tense you were.”
“I don’t want you to leave just for me, though.” I look down. “Today is supposed to be about you and your feelings.”
“Jules, look at me,” he whispers into the night. I slowly raise my eyes to meet his. “You’ve done so much for me today. It’s okay that you got overwhelmed at the end of a long day. Our relationship isn’t going to be even all the time. No one day is going to be dedicated to either of us, even one like today.”
“I just want the best for you,” I tell him. “You should get to sit around that fire all night if you want to, not worry about me.”
“Would you blame me if while you were having a rough day, I started feeling emotional about losing my mom?”
I sigh. “No.”
“Then you can’t blame yourself for having feelings you can’t control.” He stares into my eyes. “Jules, you said you’d stay here all night for me, well I’m telling you I’d leave for you. Because I love you.”
Tears well up in my eyes, all of my emotions swirling together and rising up like a tsunami. I thought I was moving too fast. I was afraid of scaring him away. And yet here he is, confessing the very thing I was afraid of telling him.
“I love you too,” I whisper and the smile that breaks out across his face is so beautiful it hurts.
He pulls me close and kisses me like it might be the last time we ever get to. The gentle yet fierce way he holds me breaks the dam on my tears. But it’s not too much for him. No, he brushes away each droplet with his lips and turns our kiss into a salty-sweet mix. It tastes like love, the raw and real kind that sacrifices.
For most of my life, I thought I had to earn love, but here in Adrian’s arms, I realize I was wrong. Love isn’t earned, it’s given freely. And no matter what the future might bring, knowing that brings me a sense of peace I’ve never known.
Epilogue
Adrian Carter
MJ:We’reheadedyourway. Fifteen minutes tops.
I send a thumbs-up emoji in response to MJ’s text and turn back to the task at hand: turning the trail around the lake into a place worth proposing at. When I was brainstorming where to propose to Juliette, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to propose here because it seemed so mundane.
The lake is essentially our backyard, so it didn’t seem worthy of beingtheplace. But I realized Juliette loves Peach Hollow, and most of our memories involve this little community and the lake it surrounds. So, I decided I would turn it into a proposal fit for Juliette.
“Adrian, the trees are officially lit,” Poppy says, walking up beside where I’m setting up a table.
I’ve lined the trail with various small tables that have photos of us and quotes from her favorite books, plus a singular sunflower. It just so happens to be August, which is sunflower season and made this part of the proposal easy on me. By the end of the trail she’ll have a bouquet of sunflowers and arrive at me standing under a tree draped in twinkle lights. Then, after she says yes, we’ll have croissants and tea from Peaches and Cream on my back deck which is also lined with twinkle lights. And then I’ll give her the envelope that’s in my pocket and hope that she doesn’t get overwhelmed.
“Thank you, Poppy. I just got a text that she’s almost here.”
