Page 83 of Love Like This

“Hi, Scarlett!” Hadley said, forcing herself to brighten.

“Hi,” she said, waving at everyone. “Sorry to crash. I’m bumming aride.” Autumn leapt to her feet to secure Scarlett a coffee just as Taylorarrived. She gave Hadley a squeeze as she passed and took a seat, lookingelegant in a white and black pantsuit, calm and in control as always. Isabeljoined them finally, which meant she’d been waiting for Taylor all this time.Okay, that was cute. Hadley passed her a smile as Isabel took the seat next toher. She returned it, shyly.

“How are the twins?” Taylor asked eagerly, as everyone helpedthemselves to baked goods. Hadley zeroed in on the croissant, because light andflaky and warm was worth the calories these days. Bring ’em on!

“Learning how to manipulate others,” Autumn said. “I’ve never beenprouder.”

“Amazing!” Taylor said, as the rest laughed along. She turned toGia. “And I hearyoujust had a fantastic finish at the Hawaii Women’s Pro.”

“You heard right!” Gia beamed. “I finished second, which I willhappily accept. Elle was third, but we’re not discussing that right now.” Shewinked at her friends.

“Well, congratulations,” Taylor said, beaming. “I caught some ofthe highlights online.”

“What about you?” Isabel asked, turning the tables on Taylor.“Tell them about agility.”

Taylor laughed. “It hardly compares, but we thought it might befun to get Raisin into a few agility classes. See if he can hold his own andget a little exercise along the way. He’s spending way too much time loungingon the couch in my office. We haven’t started yet, but that’s on tap for whenit’s warmer.”

“Adorable,” Hadley said. “He’s so smart. He’ll be the star andhave a million different girlfriends in the class.”

“What if we also thought about making things more permanent whenit gets warmer?” Isabel asked. She laced her fingers together nervously andeverything in Hadley went still.

Taylor turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“I love you,” Isabel said simply.

Taylor turned until her entire body faced Isabel. “I love you,too,” she said, with a hint of curiosity in her voice. She studied Isabel as ifunsure what she was getting at.

Autumn and Gia exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

“I plan to always love you,” Isabel said, continuing. “I’m afucking mess when it comes to expressing myself eloquently.”

“No, you’re not,” Taylor said, and reached for her hand.

Isabel smiled. “But I knew that here, among friends, I would be atmy best.” She tossed a glance at Scarlett. “I asked Scarlett to come, by theway, because I know she’s important to you and I wanted her to be here when Iasked you to spend forever with me. Hi, Scarlett.”

Scarlett waved back. Autumn covered her mouth. Hadley squeezed thesides of her chair as hard as she could. Gia sat forward, and Taylor welled up.None of it stopped Isabel, who Hadley was so proud of she could burst.

With a shaky hand, Isabel pulled a box from her pocket and openedit. “I don’t know if this is the perfect ring or not, but I thought it waspretty amazing, and that made me think of you. You’ve completely changed mylife for the better in every way possible. You make me want to wake up early inthe morning just to see you sooner.”

Taylor didn’t hesitate. She cradled Isabel’s cheek. “I could saythe same back to you. All of it.”

“I’m sorry this isn’t more grandiose or happening on the side of amountain or something, but this just feels more like us.”

Taylor nodded her agreement through the tears.

“I want to marry you, Taylor. More than I want to break everyMs. Pac-Manrecord.More than I want an Emmy. More than I’ve ever wanted anything.” Her handscontinued to shake and she took a deep breath. No one at the table moved.“Taylor Andrews, what do you say? Will you marry me?”

It was the triumph of all triumphs! No matter what happened now,Isabel had done it. She’d conquered her fear head on and had the most earnestand sincere of moments to show for it. She wore her heart on her sleeve, andher words were everything. Hadley felt them down to her very core. They turnedto Taylor in anticipation. Perhaps she was aware that taking a pause was simplygood pacing for storytelling. Regardless, she remained silent for several long,excruciating moments.

Finally, when Hadley was ready to slink to the floor in suspense,she gave Isabel her answer. “I will happily marry you, Iz. In fact, it’s prettymuch all I’ve thought about doing for a year now.”

The table instantly erupted in applause and wrapped arms aroundeach other as Isabel and Taylor stood and fell into a romantic kiss. Hadleylovedthat Isabel hadchosen Breakfast Club for her proposal. It was so very her, and that made itperfect.

“And you invited my best friend,” Taylor said through tears, andpulled Scarlett into an embrace as the others took turns hugging Isabel.

“You did it,” Hadley said, in her ear. “Best proposal ever.”

“You really think so?” Isabel asked, her eyes overflowing withvulnerability. “It was okay?” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure.”

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