Brooke came out of the building and her eyes lit up when she saw me. Her loose yellow dress fluttered in the summer breeze and her bracelets sparkled in the sun. She brushed her hair out of her face and adjusted the strap of her handbag as she walked toward where I was parked.

God, that woman was sexy as fuck. Curves and long legs. Soft skin. I couldn’t wait to get her home.

Our home. I’d moved out of the house Charlie and I had shared for so long, and into Brooke’s place. Olivia and Charlie had wanted to make their living arrangement permanent, so it made sense for me to move out. But even if they hadn’t, I would have moved in with Brooke. We were starting a new life together. Going all in.

We’d be in Iowa City for another year, and then off to a new adventure in Virginia. I’d been accepted to two of the three schools I’d applied to. I chose Virginia Tech. It seemed like the best fit for me. And neither of us had ever been there. That made it even more perfect. A new part of the country to explore. New things to experience. It was going to be strange, not living in Iowa. But for me, home wasn’t a place. It was a person.

She stopped on the sidewalk to answer her phone. Smiling again, she held up a finger, letting me know she needed a minute. I waved. Take your time, baby.

Brooke was going back to school too. She’d been accepted to the University of Colorado’s online program to finish her English degree. Since she’d failed some classes at Arizona State after Liam had died, she’d had to jump through extra hoops to get accepted. She’d written the admissions department a long letter—a letter that had turned into something much more—telling her story.

Not only had she been accepted, they’d directed her toward several scholarships and encouraged her to submit her writing to various publications. She hadn’t submitted anything yet, but I’d been encouraging her. What she’d written was so poignant. Her words were heartfelt and beautiful, even when they described some of her darkest moments.

She’d been expanding on it, weaving my story in with hers, a chronicle of the journeys we had taken. Highlighting the moments that had brought us to where we were. The tragedies that had brought us together.

My phone rang. Charlie.

“Hey bro,” I said. “What’s up?”

“Dude, talk me down,” he said. “I’m freaking the fuck out right now.”

“Why, what’s going on?”

He took a deep breath. “I’m doing it. I’m asking her.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “You’re proposing tonight?”

“No, not tonight,” he said. “Like, now. Or when she comes in.”

“If it’s now, why the hell are you calling me?” I asked. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“Fuck no,” he said. “I’m gonna marry the shit out of that girl. No, I think I screwed it up already.”

“How?”

“I wanted this to be a big surprise,” he said. “And I’ve been trying to throw her off so she wouldn’t guess. The problem is, I think I did too good of a job, and now she’s mad at me. She’s sitting in the driveway in her car, talking on the phone. She looks pissed.”

I glanced up at Brooke. She was nodding her head slowly, then said something. It looked like everything will be fine.

“Yeah, I think she’s talking to Brooke,” I said. “Listen, calm down. Focus. Stick to the plan. You’ll be fine.”

“God, I’m so nervous,” he said. “I don’t think I was this nervous before I had to wrestle you at state.”

That was funny to hear. We didn’t talk about stuff like that very often. Guy thing—we didn’t want to admit to it. But I knew how he felt. I’d been nervous to face him too. Plus, I had a surprise in the works for Brooke that was making me nervous. It was hard to keep her from finding out.

“Remember, it’s not nerves,” I said. “It’s excitement.”

“Right, excitement. Oh shit, she’s coming. I gotta go.”

Brooke put her phone in her bag and walked out to my car.

“Hey,” she said when she got in the passenger’s side. “Sorry. It was Olivia. I missed her call earlier so I wanted to take it.”

“No problem. What’s up with O?”

She rolled her eyes. “She’s just being Olivia. She’s freaking out because she thinks Charlie has been acting weird. I told her Charlie is always weird, but that didn’t help.”

I laughed. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Why? Did you talk to him or something?”

“Yeah. I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but he’s proposing.”

“Oh my god.” She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at me, wide-eyed. “Really? When?”

“Now,” I said. “She was sitting in the driveway talking to you and he was waiting for her inside.”

“That is so freaking funny,” she said. “Olivia was pissed because Charlie asked her to go run some errands earlier. And she didn’t want to, or something, and they got in a fight about it. She didn’t understand why he wanted her out of the house so badly.”

“That was why, apparently.” I’d known Charlie had planned to propose—I’d even gone with him to buy the ring—but he hadn’t filled me in on the details of when and how he was doing it.

“She’s going to lose her mind,” Brooke said. “I’m so excited for them.”

I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “Yeah, me too. Although does this mean I’ll have to wear a suit?”

“Probably.” She looked me up and down and licked her lips. “Oh my god, I can’t wait. You’re going to look delicious in a suit.”

I just laughed and handed her a lidded cup. “Here.”

“Did you get me a milkshake?” she asked as she took it from me.

I laughed. “Protein shake, baby. But I found a place that makes really good ones. Organic whey protein, low sugar, all the good stuff.”

“Mm, healthy,” she said with a wink, then took a sip. “Oh, this is good. Chocolate peanut butter?”

“Yep.”

“Yum.”

“I figured you could use some sustenance after your appointment,” I said. “How was it?”

She took another drink, then set it in the cup holder. “Hard. Really hard, actually. We decided to stop early, and she gave me some time alone in her office. That’s why it took me a little while to come out. I needed to recover a bit.”

Her therapist was amazing, but her sessions could be exhausting. She’d been going every week for months now, slowly working through all the trauma she’d experienced. It wasn’t always easy, but it was making a huge difference. Starting on the right medications had also helped her. It had taken a couple of months to get the dosages right, but they were another one of the tools she was using to get better.

The bottom line, though? She was doing the work. I had her back every step of the way, but it was her strength shining through. Her joy sparkling in her eyes.

I was just lucky enough to be the guy to enjoy it.

“You can always take your time,” I said. “I don’t mind waiting if you need some space to process or whatever.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Half an hour ago, I felt like crawling into bed and crying. But I wrote some things down and just kind of let myself feel it all for a while. I think I have to do that sometimes, instead of hiding from it. Even when it hurts.”

I caressed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “How are you now?”

“Good,” she said, and by her tone I could tell that surprised her. “Really good, actually. I feel cleansed. Like I’m fresh and clean on the inside.”

We stopped at a red light, so I leaned over and kissed her softly on the mouth. “Good.”

“Thanks for picking me up today,” she said. “You didn’t have to. I could have taken the bus.”

“I love it when I can come get you. But I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time to get you a car. You have enough going on, I think it would make things easier for you.”

“Yeah, it would be nice,” she said.

“And I know a guy who’ll give you a great deal.” I winked at her.

She laughed. “Your dad has been waiting to get me into one of his cars, hasn’t he?”

“Of course.” My parents had really come around. Once they’d gotten to know Brooke, they’d fallen in love with her, just like I had. I had failed to mention the part about me driving her to the edge of a cliff and telling her I’d go over it with her. That wasn’t something they needed to know.

I hadn’t been lying to her that day. Taking her out to that quarry hadn’t been a ploy to scare her into changing. I’d been dead fucking serious. We were either going to live, or die, and we were going to do it together. Obviously, I was glad she’d chosen to live—and that she kept making that choice every day—but I would have gone out with her if that’s what it took. Did that make me crazy? Maybe. But it was all or nothing for me. I didn’t know any other way to be.

“What do you say?” I asked. “Should we go to Waverly this weekend? You can let my dad give you the star treatment. He’ll make you test drive at least ten different cars, just to warn you. But the upside is, we can have dinner with them afterward. I bet if I ask nicely, my mom will make chicken Parmesan.”

“I will test drive a hundred cars with your dad if I get to eat your mom’s chicken Parmesan.”

“Cool. I’ll let them know.”

“Yeah, but don’t text her,” Brooke said with a smile. “She might not read it until next week.”

“I know,” I said. “I’ll call.”

When we got home, I took her inside and gave her a long back rub. She deserved it. Plus, I’d take any excuse to get my hands on her bare skin. Afterward, we snuggled up in bed together and talked for a while. She had some things she needed to get out after her session earlier.

Eventually my slow and gentle kisses, meant for comfort, escalated. Our bodies wanted more. We wanted more. I made love to her in our bed, tangled up in our sheets. I savored every touch, every kiss, every bit of her skin. Loved her in every way I knew how. She was my life.

And soon—very soon—I was going to make sure the rest of our lives were lived together.