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“Mom.” Brinley’s voice was sharp. “Fallon’s ready.”

“Fuck,” Savannah mumbled, ignoring the fact that Brinley could definitely hear her. “I’m not ready for this.”

“Yes, you are.” Brinley put her hand on Savannah’s shoulder. “We talked about this.”

“When did you get so smart, kid?” Savannah tossed Brinley a grin and shook her head.

They had indeed talked about this. Savannah had come up with the main idea of when and how this would happen, but she’d included Brinley in as much of it as she could. She had to. With Brinley there the high majority of the time now, there was no way that she could make such a big decision and not have Brinley be involved.

“I’ve always been smart.” Brinley picked up the flowers, very nearly toppling the ring out of the top of them and handed them to her mom. “Now get out there already.”

“Fine.”

Savannah took the flowers and pushed open the door. If the rain could hold out for another twenty minutes, then this would be the perfect proposal. If it couldn’t, well, it was exactly like the beginning of their relationship. It’d start off cold and wet.

Bubbles formed in Savannah’s stomach as she walked closer to Fallon. Those nerves were setting in immensely now that the time for avoiding had run out. She was nervous—which was ridiculous because it wasn’t like they hadn’t talked about this.

Fallon talked about everything. She wanted it all out in the open to ease her own nerves.

So yes, they’d talked about getting married.

About when it would happen.

About the fact that they were waiting until Savannah’s lawsuit against Forrest was finished.

And it was, finally, closing in on the end of that.

She could see the light at the end of the tunnel, which was why this was happening now. Today of all days. When they were visiting their loved ones, and eighteen months after meeting and the start of a very rocky but life-changing relationship.Savannah’s ankle twisted when she stepped off the pavement and onto the grass. Cringing, she took another step forward, the insanely damp grass cushioning her step but making it feel like she was going to sink into the ground.

Wet winters were nothing to be messed with here.

But again, that was how they’d met, and this was exactly how Savannah had wanted to start something new.

She clutched the flowers tightly in her hand as she balanced her way unevenly toward Fallon. When she finally got there, Savannah let out a sigh of relief right before her nerves ramped up again. She could do this. Absolutely.

Fallon instantly took her hand and squeezed, but she didn’t bring Savannah into the conversation that she’d been having with her mom. As if it was her own private thing and Savannah should just have been happy to witness it from afar. Which she was, honestly. She didn’t need to know every little detail.

“Here.” Savannah handed the flowers over to Fallon, hoping that she’d see the ring right on the top.

“These are lovely, thanks.” Fallon bent down and went to put them on the grave.

“Wait, those aren’t just for your mom.” Savannah clenched her molars. She should have worked this out better. She should have figured out how to say the right words and do this in a way that Fallon would understand. She was better than this. She was the queen of giving gifts—the right gifts in the right ways. Yet this time, she had stumbled massively. She added, “There’s a gift for you in them too.”

Fallon furrowed her brow, glanced up at Savannah and then back down at the flowers. She stared at them for what felt like an hour before she finally popped back up with the flowers in her hand and looked at Savannah. “What gift?”

Savannah looked down at the bouquet and did not immediately find the ring that had been precariously perched on the top of a rose.

“Fuck.” Savannah cringed and started looking around on the ground. She should have tied the ring to the flower. She should have tied it to the tie around all of the flowers. She shouldn’t have just set it on top where it could so easily fall off. “Oh my God.”

Squatting down, Savannah put her hands onto the ground and started to brush the blades of grass around as if she’d be able to find the ring somewhere nearby. Except she’d walked a good distance from the car, and it could still be in the car. Cursing up a storm in her head, Savannah started wildly looking for the ring.

Fallon stood awkwardly next to her, no doubt confused because she didn’t even know what Savannah was looking for. And Savannah didn’t want to tell her because it would ruin the surprise. And oh hell, the surprise was already ruined, wasn’t it?

Standing up, her cheeks red, Savannah shook her head and looked directly at Fallon. “I was trying to ask you to marry me.”

“What?” Fallon’s voice shook. She pushed the flowers away from her and immediately started looking at them with a fine-tooth comb.

“I put the ring on the rose, but it must have fallen out, because I don’t know where it is. But it’s not there.” Savannah clenched her wet fingers by her sides. “And well, I was going to ask you to marry me.”