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“I thought about writing you a letter. About showing up at your door. About flying you to L.A. with some grand speech. But none of that felt like you.” I glance around. “This feels like you.”

She says nothing. Just listens.

“I know my past—my image, everything people think they know about me—makes it hard to believe I’m serious. And maybe I deserve that. I’ve lived a selfish, reckless life. I hate it, honestly. I hate that I let myself become that guy.”

I shake my head slowly, locking eyes with her.

“But if I’d lived differently… if I’d made better choices earlier… I might not have met you. And that thought terrifies me.”

Her eyes soften, just a little.

“Mia, meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You grounded me. You made me laugh again. You challenged me. You make me feel like more than just… a name in lights. And the truth is—I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”

I take a breath and step forward, holding out the bouquet.

“I love you.”

The words leave my mouth and hang there in the summer air, as quiet and true as everything I’ve been too scared to say until now.

“I love you,” I say again, this time steadier. “And I couldn’t think of a better way to tell you than right here?—”

I glance around at the familiar faces in the crowd—neighbors, friends, people who’ve known her forever. People who’ve watched her laugh, cry, grow.

“—in front of the people who’ve watched you become the woman you are. And in front of everything I’ve felt for you… put into color, on canvas.”

Her eyes well up.

“Mia…” I whisper, unsure now. Her silence feels like a wave pulling me under.

And then doubt claws its way into my chest. Maybe I’ve overwhelmed her. Maybe this was too much, too fast.

I step back just slightly. “It’s okay. If you need time. I get it. I can wait, I just?—”

But she cuts me off.

“I love you, too.”

Her voice breaks. “I love you, Jack. I tried to stop it, I tried to walk away, but I can’t. I don’t want to imagine life without you.”

And just like that, my heart stops hurting.

I drop the bouquet and pull her into me, arms wrapping tight like I’ll never let her go again. She’s already leaning in, already meeting me halfway, and when I kiss her, it’s like everything finally aligns. The world stills. It’s just her and me.

The crowd erupts in cheers and claps around us, but I barely hear them. I’m kissing the woman I love, and she loves me back.

Nothing else matters.

Mia pulls back slightly from the kiss, tears clinging to her lashes, her cheeks damp. Her eyes are wide with disbelief, her lips parted in shock.

“I can’t believe you pulled this crowd,” she says, half-laughing, half-crying.

“Hey, I’m a celebrity.” I grin, heart pounding like crazy. God, I’ve missed her voice. “And I had a little help.”

She tilts her head, eyebrows raised. “From who?”

I glance toward the smiling crowd—so many familiar Bardstown faces who rallied behind me for this. “Everyone, honestly. I got into town two days ago. I’ve been working with your parents since then.”

Her jaw drops. “Wait—my parents knew?”