“Gotcha. I get it. That would make it harder to move forward,” he said. “So, are you really okay, man?”

“Yeah. She makes me okay. Everything we’ve faced has made us stronger. Her love makes every day a new slate for me.”

“That’s good to hear, man, good to hear. Well, you know I’m always here for both of you, anytime.”

“Thanks, John.”

When I walked into the house, I sensed someone behind me. I turned around and saw Sam staring at me.

“So . . . what were you and John talking about?” she asked leaning against the counter.

“Oh, he just wanted to see how we were doing. You know, privately,” I whispered.

Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled a labored breath and she looked down at the floor.

I pulled her in and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s okay.” I kissed the top of her head. “He was just worried and didn’t want to upset you by asking directly.”

“I know. I’m okay. Did you . . . did you tell him we named the baby?” Her voice hitched.

“Yes. He loved the name and thought it was a good idea.”

A small smile perked her lips up as she looked up into my eyes. “It kinda feels good to share it, but I still don’t want anyone besides him to know.”

“I know. It’s okay. It’s just John. No one else will know, unless you decide you want to tell them,” I said, kissing her softly.

“Okay,” she whispered.

I reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the bowl with the veggie skewers.

“I’ll grab the seasonings and follow you out,” Sam said.

When we went back outside, everyone was sitting around the fire, except for Quinn, who was flipping the steaks on the grill. I walked over and laid the veggies out on the grill while he held the lid open. Sam gave him the seasonings and went over to sit by the fire. When we had everything on the grill, Quinn and I joined them all by the fire.

“Do we have marshmallows?” Alison asked.

“Uh no. I don’t think so,” Riley said.

Alison looked at him and shook her head. “Well, then I guess you better drive to the store then,” she said as she took his beer from him.

“Hey woman!” he yelled.

“Oh relax, Riley, you haven’t even popped the top off yet. Now please, Riley, go to the store and get me some marshmallows,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“Damn. All right, fine,” he said.

Alison clapped her hands and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, baby.”

Riley shook his head, stood up and put his phone in his pocket. “Anyone want to go for a ride?”

“Yeah, man, I’ll go with ya,” John said. “I want to pick up some more beer. May as well make use of your sober ass while I can.”

As Riley and John left for the store, we all settled back around the fire. The girls talked while Quinn and I sat and watched the fire. Every once in a while, Sam would peek up at me and smile. She was happy. She was content. Life was getting better every day. Even with all that we’d been through, I couldn’t help but hope for good things in our future. No matter the risk to our hearts.

It was time. I’d made my decision while sitting around that fire at Riley’s place the other night. The time had finally come for me to ask Sam to be my wife. I was so happy, I could hardly stand it. I walked over to my dresser and pulled the drawer open. Moving aside a stack of white t-shirts, I found the blue velvet box I was looking for.

I glanced around to be sure I was still alone before peeking at the ring. It really was beautiful, and I knew she’d love it. It had a princess cut diamond in the center, flanked by two smaller princess cut diamonds on each side of it, all set in a platinum band that I had the jeweler inscribe with an infinity symbol and three tiny stars on either side of it.

I closed the box and put it back behind my stack of shirts, closing the drawer just as Sam walked into our bedroom with Gage on her heels. I walked up to her and pulled her into me.

“Hey, babe,” she said, smiling up at me.

“Hi there, my sweet Peach,” I teased as I kissed her forehead.

“What are you doing in here still?” she asked. “You aren’t going to have time for breakfast before class.”

“I’ll just grab a coffee to go and one of those breakfast bars,” I replied. “I have a couple errands to run later, so I’ll be home a little later than normal.”

“Ok, maybe I’ll meet up with Tamron and Alison for coffee then,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Then tonight, we’re going out to dinner,” I told her.

“Oh, that sounds great.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around me.

“Keep this up and neither of us will go anywhere,” I teased.

She smirked at me and turned on her toes, walking out of the bedroom. I went into the bathroom and ran a comb through my hair, then met her in the kitchen. As she handed me my coffee and a breakfast bar, I kissed her again heatedly, then patted Gage on the head.

“I’ll see you tonight. Love you,” I called as I walked out the front door.

“Ok. Love you, too.”

The girls and I met for coffee at Starbucks. I nearly laughed the whole time as Tamron kept harassing Alison about moving in with Riley now that she had the apartment to herself. Anyone who knew her could see she wasn’t even close to ready for that step.

As I got in my car to leave, I saw a single yellow rose laying on my passenger seat. I opened the attached note. It read:

I smiled, holding the note close and smelling the beautiful yellow rose. Tamron, riding shotgun in Alison’s car, rolled her window down to see what was holding me up.

I held up my new treasures. “Emmett left me a surprise in my car.”

“Aw, you know, Sam, he really is the sweetest.”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “He is. I’ll see y’all later.” I waved as they drove off.

I went to the Farmer’s Market on the way home to pick up some things for dinner. Walking out with my purchases into the bright Alabama sunlight, I sighed as I took in the striking clear blue sky. I walked over to my car and stopped short when I saw balloons and flowers filling the backseat.

I smiled as I opened the door and spied a big heart-shaped box of chocolates. Good thing I wasn’t in the market long or they would have melted. I opened the note attached to the chocolates.

He was unreal. I felt spoiled and loved, and with a grin plastered to my face, I took a deep breath in and relished the flowers’ sweet aroma. On the seat next to them sat a plush teddy bear.

When I returned home, I saw Emmett’s car in his spot and smiled. He must have finished up his errands early to beat me home. I was happy we wouldn’t have to wait long to eat dinner. I carried the chocolates and rose up to the door, figuring we could come out and bring everything else in together.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked inside our apartment. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn. Everything was covered in strands of tiny, white lights, all strung from the ceiling and curtains. With the apartment so dark, and the lights everywhere, it felt like we were in the middle of the universe with countless stars surrounding us.

Emmett was standing in the middle of the living room. I set my stuff down on the table by the door and walked over to join him, looking around in awe of what he had done.