Page 223 of The Friends and Rivals Collection

With my duffel on my shoulder, I stop by to see Max.

His eyes register surprise as we talk, but then he claps me on the shoulder, and wishes me luck. My flight leaves in two hours, so I don’t have much time. But that’s where my life-hacking skills come into play.

Or my simple, go-with-what-you-have skills, really.

At Kennedy airport, I zoom past security thanks to TSA PreCheck, then I do something I rarely do at airports.

I shop. I pop into a specialty shop then a gourmet store.

As I buckle up on the plane, I call my sister, and she shrieks so loudly I have to pull my phone away from my ear.

After an endless flight across the country, I finish my commerce at San Francisco Airport, settling for a photo since the store is closed.

I catch a Lyft to Mia’s apartment in the heart of the city and wait for her to buzz me up.

My duffel is on my shoulder, and I carry a plastic bag with all the items I’ve bought on the way.

I’m hopped up on nerves and excitement, adrenaline and possibility. I’m not sure I’m fully prepared for what I’m going to do, but I also know that preparation isn’t what matters.

This is a spur-of-the-moment decision, and sometimes the best things in life happen that way.

When Mia opens the door, I drop my bag, cup her cheeks, and look into those eyes I love. Eyes I’ve missed. Big, beautiful hazel eyes. “Let’s make a stop on the way to New York.”

She raises an eyebrow. “A stop where?”

“Vegas.”

She blinks. “You don’t even like Vegas.”

“I know. But I don’t want to play the slots or see a show. I want to marry you. I want you to walk into our apartment in New York as my wife.”

Her jaw comes unhinged. I watch her as she swallows then tries to speak again.

I don’t pressure her. I wait.

Finally, her voice nearly cracking, she asks, “Are you serious?”

“Do you really think I would joke?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

“Is that a no?” I ask, but I’m honestly not scared. I know deep inside, in the marrow of my bones, that this woman will be my wife. That doesn’t make me cocky. That doesn’t make me overconfident. It just means I believe in our love. I believe in it so heartily that I’m not afraid.

“It’s not a no. I’m just shocked. I didn’t expect this.”

“That’s okay. I didn’t, either. But then I went for a walk in the woods with Zeus this morning, and I knew it was time to go for it.

I had an epiphany, you could say. Like what happened to you a month and a half ago in New York,” I say, reminding her of the day she decided to begin changing her life.

A faint smile creeps across her face. “And everything was clear. Sometimes in life you just have to go for what you want.”

“Yeah, you do,” she says, her dimples appearing. That smile makes me press on.

I hold up a finger. “But just so you know that I’m not a schmuck who’d propose empty-handed, I did a little shopping.”

A laugh bursts from her lips. I’m not sure if it’s from surprise or shock. She hasn’t said yes yet, but that won’t stop me from diving into my impromptu proposal.

I dip into the bag and take out a small royal-blue box. Her eyes are drawn to it, like lasers. “It’s not a ring. I want you to have the ring you want. But the jewelry store at JFK did have this adorable bunny necklace.”

Laughing, she clasps her hand to her mouth as I click open the box.

A small silver pendant of a rabbit rests on the velvet.

“I can’t ask you to marry me without some kind of jewelry.

So for you, Jackrabbit, a bunny seemed perfect.

And I can take you shopping tomorrow at Katherine’s in the city if you’d like. ”

She starts to speak, but I press my finger to her lips. “Don’t answer yet.”

I hand her the box, and she takes it, clutching it tight. She doesn’t speak, but she smiles so wildly it's like she can’t even contain it.

That grin is magic to me.

“And then there’s this,” I say, fishing around for the item I picked up at the gourmet shop. A bag of Marcona almonds. “Since I know you’ll get hungry, and I want you to know I’ll always be thinking of you.”

“I will, and I love that you’re thinking of my belly and me.”

My heart thumps hard. “One last thing. The day we went to Cold Spring, you mentioned a magnet store at the San Francisco Airport.”

“You remember that?” she asks, wonder in her tone.

“When the woman you love tells you things, you listen.” I tap the side of my head.

“You store it up here. You never know when it might come in handy. Now, since it’s ten p.m., the store is closed, but you said you never shopped there anyway, just stopped to read the quotes.

And tonight, this one reminded me of you.

” The corner of my lips curves up, and I shrug hopefully. “And maybe, of you and me.”

“Show me,” she says as I reach for my phone. Her voice is a whisper now, but in it I hear hope. I have faith she wants the same things that I do.

Sliding my thumb over the screen, I find the magnet I snapped a picture of. “Bear in mind, this isn’t some great philosopher’s quote. This isn’t from one of the writers I studied in my lit classes. In fact, I’m not even sure anyone knows who said this. But it seemed the most fitting quote of all.”

I show her a magnet with four simple words on it:

Why the hell not?

And she cracks up. Her hands fly to her belly as she laughs. “Oh my God. Are you seriously proposing to me with a bunny necklace, some nuts, and a pic that says ‘ Why the hell not ?’”

I square my shoulders and give her my honest answer.

“Yes. I am. This isn’t complicated. It’s simple.

I don’t need to weigh this. There’s no need for a pros-and-cons list. Marrying you is all pro .

I have no doubts. I have no questions. My only hope is that you’ll say yes.

” I run my thumb along her jaw, and she leans into me.

Then I whisper, “But if you’re not ready, I’ll wait for you.

I’ll wait until you’re ready, whenever that is. ”

She raises her chin, her eyes locked on mine. “You’d wait for me?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I’m not ready?”

My answer is truthful. “I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

She wiggles an eyebrow. “So, like, say, a day?”

I grin wildly. “Is that a yes?”

She sets all the goodies inside her apartment, then she loops her arms around my neck, rises up on her tiptoes, and kisses me softly. “It’s a why the hell not? ”

Then she tugs me into her place, kicks the door closed, and kisses the hell out of me.

I lift her up, wrap her legs around me, and spin her against the wall.

She’s laughing and smiling and kissing and beaming, and it’s all so insanely awesome. “I’ve always liked surprises, but this is the best one ever.”

And she kisses me more.

“I never pictured us getting married in Vegas,” she says, when she takes a break from kissing me.

“Wait. Does that mean you pictured us getting married?”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course I’ve pictured us getting married.”

I kiss her neck then meet her eyes. “And what did you picture?”

“I saw us getting married on a hillside at sunset.”

“That’s what you imagined?”

She nods. “The rest was a blur. The only part that mattered was that it was you and me.”

Mia and me. That’s what the rest of the night feels like—a blur of her and me.