Page 50 of Winner Takes All

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Eileen calls. “Can I have you all quiet down for a moment?”

Everyone goes silent, which is a feat of its own. Nikki looks up with confusion. She moves back over to me. “What’s going on now?”

I give her a smile as I take her hand. “You’ll soon find out.”

She nods, but looks puzzled. She really doesn’t know. This warms my heart. I want this to be special, want her to know how much time and effort I put into this. I want her to know she’s worth everything, that she’s the most important person in the world.

“We’ve all gathered today for something extraordinary, for something special... for something that’s taken way too long.” I give her a glare. She’s going off script. I should’ve known. I shake my head, but fight a smile.

My heart thunders in my chest, and as Nikki looks at the crowd, I drop down on one knee. When she turns, her eyes go wide as her hand flies to her mouth. Tears instantly spring to her eyes as the people around us gasp. Our little committee has kept this a secret so most of our friends are just as surprised as Nikki... including her besties who’ve been sending me death glares for months as they’ve waited for me to make an honest woman of their best friend.

“Nikki,” I begin, my voice surprisingly steady despite my rapidly beating heart. “From the moment I moved back home, you’ve turned my life upside down in the best possible way. You challenge me, inspire me, and make me a better man every single day. I never thought it possible to find someone as perfect as you, but I should’ve been aware, because you’ve always been at my side. You’re my partner in every way, my best friend, and the love of my life. In front of all of our friends and family, I want to ask you the most significant question of my life. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

I pull out a ring from my pocket, a single diamond on a woven band that I know she’ll love. There’s a beat of silence as tears flow down Nikki’s cheeks. Then she gives me a wobbly smile as she drops down in front of me and throws her arms around my neck, sobbing against me. I hold her and wait. The room’s so silent a spoon could be heard dropping in the kitchen.

“Yes, Victor, of course I want to be your wife,” she finally chokes out.

The silence ends as the room erupts into cheers and applause. I hold her for several moments before she leans back. With shaking hands I finally slip the ring onto her finger, then pull her close to me again. The absolute joy I feel in this moment is indescribable. I pull her face to mine and kiss her, sealing our promise to each other. I get to spend the rest of my life with this fantastic woman. What a blessed man I am.

When we finally manage to pull away from each other, the noise around us is deafening. Many people are making comments ofabout time, andwe always knew this would happen. I chuckle. I wish I would’ve known. We could’ve been spending so much more time together. But this night isn’t about regrets. It’s about now, and about the future we get to share together.

Nikki laughs through her tears and I’m unwilling to keep my hands from her. “I love you for now and always,” she says.

“I love you for eternity,” I tell her, my own voice choked.

We finally rise from the floor and champagne is passed out to all. We see Eileen, Vivian, and Martha off to the side looking slightly bummed. We make our way over to them. It’s a rare thing not to see smiles on their faces, so we want to make sure nothing’s wrong.

“Are you ladies okay?” I ask.

“I thought you’d be beaming right now since you take credit for us being together,” Nikki says.

Vivian gives us a dramatic sigh. “We’re very happy for you both.”

“You don’t look happy,” I tell them.

“We’re just bummed because we can’t figure out who to set up now. Everyone seems to be getting hitched already. We might need to bring some new blood to town.”

It takes a moment for their words to set in, and my mouth hangs open as I look at them. They’re serious about this. They live to matchmake. Maybe they really do have a gift. I don’t want to admit it, but their antics have brought us together.

Martha gives a somber nod. “You were our last big project. What will we do now?”

Eileen pats my arm. “We need a new mission. Our work is never done.”

I finally laugh as I shake my head. “I’m sure you ladies will find someone to meddle with soon enough. Keep your eyes open and your heads high.”

Nikki leans in with a huge smile. “Maybe you three should take a vacation. I’m sure that will revive you and give you some ideas. Besides, love will still happen naturally without you ladies.”

Eileen perks up at this idea. She then shakes her head. “Love needs a little push. It needs us. I do like the idea of a vacation though. Great idea.”

Nikki and I laugh, then turn away to leave the meddling trio to their own devices. I lead the love of my life to the dance floor and pull her close. We’ll always dance together, that’s essential to life. I can get through anything as long as I have Nikki at my side. This town might be full of mischief and mayhem, but it’s also full of love. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Epilogue One

Nikki

It’s a quiet night at our restaurant as the evening wraps up in a warm, sleepy glow. The last of our guests have left, and I’m leaning against the counter, watching Victor lock the front door, a soft smile on his lips. Peace settles over me, just as it does every day I get to be with this man.

As I always do, I look around our place, truly a dream come true. It’s been a year since we opened these doors, and it still hasn’t fully settled in that all of this is real, that we’re running a successful business and more in love than ever before. This is the reason I’ve always tried telling myself on my worst days that I simply need to cry it out and know the next day will be better. No matter how far we sink into despair, if we hold on to the knowledge that it will get better, we can get through anything.

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