“Yes!”
He’s on his feet before I can even process it, his arms wrapping around me, lifting me clean off the ground like I weigh nothing at all. A startled laugh mixes with my tears as he spins us, the world blurring into streaks of light and shadow before his mouth finds mine.
The kiss is everything.
Breathless. Fierce. Full of every unsaid word, every second we lost, every moment we’re about to have.
He pours all of it into me, and I meet him there, giving it right back.
For a second—just a second—it’s only us.
And then?—
Applause.
It crashes into the moment, pulling me back just enough to remember the world exists beyond him.
I turn, still wrapped up in his arms, my heart racing in an entirely new way now.
Bea and Campbell.
Lou.
Billy.
Crandall.
Even Bolt, weaving excitedly between them, like he somehow understands the gravity of this moment.
A soft, disbelieving laugh breaks from me, my hand flying back to my mouth.
“Oh my god, Collins—how did you?—”
He sets me gently back on my feet, but he doesn’t let go. One of his hands stays wrapped around mine as he carefully slides the ring onto my finger.
Gold.
A diamond that catches every strand of light above us, scattering it into a thousand tiny sparks.
I stare at it, breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my heart, completely undone.
It’s beautiful.
But it’s more than that.
It’s him.
It’s us.
And for the first time, everything feels exactly, perfectly, where it’s supposed to be.
He turns us gently toward the trailer, his hand warm and steady at the small of my back. With the other, he gestures to it, a bit shy, almost proud.
“I couldn’t let it go,” he says softly. “It’s where we began.” His voice thickens, like the weight of it all is sitting right behind his ribs. “We can keep it. Forever. It’s still empty…you can make it anything you want. A library. A quiet place to disappear to. Hell”—he lets out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh—“maybe even a playhouse for our kids someday.”
Our kids.
The words hit me hard. I didn’t know I was capable of this many emotions at once.