Page 121 of Tangled Up In You

She grinned. "I know you are, Adam. You're naturally protective, and I love that about you. Also, some of your plans have turned out to be really good."

"Speaking of plans. The reason I wanted to come up here before everyone else was because I wanted to ask you something."

Her heart sped up, as he stepped away from her. He pulled out the urn and set it on the ground between them. "I want Phoebe to have a front-row seat to this."

"What is this?" she asked, her heart beating fast against her chest.

Adam dropped to his knees in front of her and pulled out a small velvet box. As he flicked open the lid, her breath caught in her chest at the diamond ring nestled inside.

"Oh, Adam," she breathed, tears gathering in her eyes. "It's beautiful." An intricate silver thread worked its way between two diamonds. "It's us."

"It is. I never imagined I could love someone so much. You're my best friend, my lover, my shooting star. I know forever scares you, Molly. And maybe this is too fast and you're not ready. If that's the case, I'll wait. I just wanted you to know that I'm fully committed to you, and to wherever life might take us. I don't need guarantees anymore. I don't need roots or predictable schedules or anything else; I just need you. Wherever you go, I go. Even if that means we spend a lot of time with your mother."

She laughed. "You're too much, Adam."

"I hope I'm not."

"You don't have to give up your life for me."

"My life is you," he said forcefully. "You know how stubborn I am, so don't try to argue."

She got down on her knees in front of him. "I'm stubborn, too. And I'm willing to give as much as you are. You're right, Adam. Nothing else matters but love. I don't want to go anywhere else or do anything else. I found my life here with you, just like Phoebe thought I would. My answer is yes. I will marry you. Can I have that ring now?"

He slipped the ring on her finger and then they met in the happiest, most loving, most committed kiss of her life.

She looked over at the urn. "Thanks for bringing me home, Phoebe, so I could find my love and my life." Turning back to Adam, she said, "I'm a little surprised you decide to propose in front of an urn at a memorial service."

He laughed again. "It felt right. Phoebe needed to be with us."

"She's always going to be with us." She drew in a happy breath. "But I love that you thought about including her. You really are a man who thinks of everything."

"I wasn't sure if you wanted your mom here, too." He paused. "I don't want her to think I'm taking you away from her. I know how much she loves you."

"You are the sweetest man." She cupped his face and kissed him again. "But this was our moment."

At the sound of cars, they got to their feet. A small procession of vehicles soon lined up along the road. They'd kept this part of the memorial small. Because Caroline and Phoebe had been private about their feelings for each other, she wanted to respect that. But after this, they'd be celebrating Phoebe's life with a big lunchtime bash at Micky's Bar and Grill with half the town.

Ava Washington, Caroline's attorney, was the first one to get out of the car. She was a tall, beautiful Black woman. She was accompanied by Kim Collins and Ray Kenney, Caroline's step-siblings. It had been clearly determined that Ray had had no knowledge of the scheme his wife had cooked up with her sister and her lover, Ethan Mercer.

Because Phoebe had had no relatives, Molly had invited her attorney, George Marconi, as well as her group of friends for the send-off. Justin and Zach were both out of town. But Chloe, Hannah, Gianna, Lizzie, Chelsea, Jake, and Brodie came out of the next two cars. She knew they were there to support her as much as they were there for Phoebe, and she appreciated it. She hadn't just found love with Adam in Whisper Lake. She'd found a circle of forever friends.

When the group was assembled, they made their way to the edge of the bluff. Ava and Adam held the two urns as the three of them faced the small group.

"The most important thing to Phoebe was love," Molly said. "Loving yourself and loving each other. She was a lot of things—crazy, quirky, loud—but most of all she was kind, and she lived with her whole heart. Caroline and Phoebe wanted to be together, and now they will be." She nodded to Adam and Ava.

They opened the urns as a sudden breeze came up. In unison, they tossed the ashes into the wind blowing out to the lake, to the mountains, to eternity.

She didn't even realize she was crying until Adam wiped the tears from under her eyes and gave her a hug. In his arms, she took a moment to pull herself together, and then they joined the rest of the group, where each of her friends embraced her so tightly she could feel their love, too.

Then she turned to Ava, Kim, and Ray.

"This was perfect," Kim said. "Caroline told me the last time I saw her that she had so many regrets in her life, and they all had to do with her being too afraid to be honest with herself and with others. I think this is exactly what she would have wanted."

"I hope so," she said. "I'm glad you came. I hope I can get to know you both better."

"I don't know why you'd want to," Ray said, his voice heavy, his expression wary. "After what my wife and sister-in-law did to terrorize you. Mercer could have hurt you."

"He didn't, and you weren't part of it."

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