She looked away and her eyes landed on Archer’s truck at the curb. Pru was holding up a piece of paper with the number five on it. Willa had four fingers up. Spence had used his iPad, showing a big, fat two. “What in the world?”
“I think they’re grading my effort to get you back, and apparently I could do better. So about my promise . . .”
“If I’ve learned anything from life,” she said, “it’s that promises don’t work.”
“They do if they aren’t broken. And I don’t break my promises, Elle. Ever.” He scooted closer, grinding his back teeth as he did, probably from the pain the movement caused. “You asked what I want. In all seriousness, I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. We could fly to Vegas, or go home to my place because I have the better shower. Whatever you want as long as we do it together.”
“But we irritate each other.”
“Yes,” he said, “but I’ve discovered that I want to spend every irritated moment with you.”
Her insides went mushy and she scooted closer.
The back window of his truck rolled down and Kylie stuck her face out. “It’s the fountain,” she called out. “It’s working! The legend is working! You can’t fight the legend!”
Elle shook her head. “The peanut gallery’s crazy.”
“You’re just now figuring that out?” Archer took her hand and tugged her even closer.
“Hey, can we come out yet?” Willa yelled.
“No!” Archer yelled back without looking. He didn’t take his eyes off Elle. “Kylie might be onto something about the fountain and true love thing.”
She blinked. “You’re not serious.”
“I am. I want a life, Elle, with you. I want everything with you, including having a—”
“Whoa,” she said quickly. “You heard I’m not pregnant, right? And I don’t know if I’m ever going to be ready—”
“Dog,” he said. “I want a dog with you, Elle.”
She choked out a low laugh. Okay, so yeah, he got her, all the way got her, and she loved that. “But what if I don’t ever want a big house with a high chair in my kitchen?”
His eyes were warm with affection and honesty. “I can go either way on kids, babe. What I can’t go either way on is you. Did you forget? I love you. You.”
“No, I didn’t forget,” she whispered. “But I thought maybe you did, or that it was just the drugs talking.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, I’m a lightweight on drugs but that doesn’t change anything. I’m ridiculously, deeply in love with you, Elle.”
Oh. Oh, that was good to know, really good. “So you’re not scared of being tied to me?”
“Oh, I’m terrified,” he said. “You should hold me, Elle.”
This got a real laugh out of her. “You’re not terrified of a single thing. Not even nearly dying for me.”
“You’re wrong,” he said seriously. “I’m afraid of plenty. Mostly of being without you.” He gently squeezed her fingers in his. “You’re it for me, Elle. From that long ago night when you looked at me like I was something special to you to when you reamed me out after the squirrels ate the wires to when you so fiercely went to protect your sister, even knowing you could get hurt. You’re it for me, Elle. It’s always been you. Only you.”
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I feel things for you that I can’t even name.”
“Glad to hear it.” He pulled her into him, carefully, slowly. “But it’s your turn to say it.”
She hesitated and the smile left his face and he became very serious again. Very serious, very intent, as he withdrew his arm from around her and closed his eyes.
“No, no, you don’t understand,” she whispered, entwining their hands again. “It’s hard because those words . . . I don’t say them lightly.” She paused. “Actually, I’ve never said them at all,” she admitted and watched as he opened his eyes. “But I do love you, Archer. Always have, always will.”
For a long moment they sat there in mutual surprise. After all the time they’d waited, they’d both finally come to the table with their feelings.
Feeling freer and lighter than she had in a long time, Elle smiled up into his serious face and watched his answering smile start at the corner of his lips and spread into his eyes. Then he began to awkwardly and one-handedly fumble through his pockets for something.
“You deserve better,” he said, “but until I got my hands on you, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Shit.” He turned toward her a little, gesturing with his chin to his right front pocket, which he couldn’t get into because of the sling. “Pull it out for me.”
“Are you kidding me? We have an audience.”
He flashed a grin. “I mean the box.”
She blinked. “Oh.” She reached in and retrieved a small clear plastic box. With a fake ring in it. The kind that came from a bubble gum machine. She stared at it, heart pounding. “Is that—”
“Yeah,” he said. The band was painted gold with a gaudy green fake stone and she felt her throat tighten as he slipped off the bench to his knees, nearly falling over in the process. “Will you marry me, Elle?”
She gulped air. “You took too many pain meds, right?”
“No.” He laughed a little. “You’re killing me here, Elle. Yes or no.”
“You’re serious.”
“Very. My knees are gone.”
She dropped to her knees in front of him and stared into his beautiful warm, slightly impatient hazel eyes. Then she kissed him and pressed her forehead to his. “Yes.” Her eyes filled as the horror of the last day overcame her, the horror and her overwhelming love for this man, and she sniffed. “Yes.”
He cupped her face. “Don’t cry. I promise to get you a better ring. There weren’t any jewelry stores open.”
Now she was both crying and laughing. “The ring’s perfect. You’re perfect.” She ran her fingers over his scruffy, unshaved jaw. “I love that you couldn’t wait until the stores opened. That’s how I know how much you want this.”
“You better believe I want this. We fought like hell for it. So let’s stop wasting time and spend the rest of it together.”
“Yes, please.”
“Great. I can’t get up.”
Laughing, she helped him back to the bench, where she snuggled into his chest and held out her hand to admire the wildly gaudy ring ten sizes too big on her finger. “Where did you get it?”
“There’s a lineup of candy machines at the pizza joint on Divisadero,” he said. “And trust me, it wasn’t easy. It took twenty-five bucks in quarters to get the one I wanted. Those fuckers are totally rigged. Spence was ready to buy all of the machines just so I’d sit down. Pru and Willa spent the whole time laughing their asses off and Kylie missed the whole thing because she was flirting with some guy who worked there.”
“Never tell me you’re not romantic,” she said, and he smiled his trouble-filled smile.
“Well, you do inspire me,” he said.
Epilogue
#HappyEverAfter