Page 74 of The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever
He pushed open the door, and it was pitch-dark inside. She leaned into him and said, “I think we have the wrong room.”
The lights came on, and Grace gasped. Balloons and streamers hung from the ceiling, along with sparkly gold stars and silver crescent moons. A banner was strung above the stage that read STARRYNIGHTPROM.
“That was the name of my prom,” Grace said. “I didn’t go, of course, but…When’s their prom?”
“This is your prom, baby. It’sourprom.” Without taking his eyes off her, he shouted, “Let ’er roll!”
The curtains went up over the stage, revealing Grace and Reed’s family and friends, along with nearly everyone she’d gone to high school with, as well as what looked like half the town—including a very pregnant Sophie and her husband, Brett, the Jerichos, Nana and Hellie and their husbands, Phoenix and Lauryn, Janie and Boyd, Chet, Haylie, Sin, and dozens of other friends. Even Winona was there. Tears sprang from Grace’s eyes as people poured down the steps, filling the auditorium, and Sable’s band began playing “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain.
“Our song,” Grace said as he swept her into his arms and began dancing. She was trembling, crying like a fool, and so in love with Reed, she couldn’t even think straight. She couldn’t believe what he’d done, or that so many friends were there. Girls she’d cheered with, some with pregnant bellies or toddlers on their hips, and parents of the girls she used to hang out with. Practically everyone from town she’d ever known danced around them, calling out greetings, as Reed gazed adoringly at her.
“How did you pull this off and get all these people to come? AndSophie! She wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow. I don’t know what to say.” She wiped at her eyes, trying not to smear the makeup that her sisters had worked so hard on. “Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you.”
“Baby, I told you I want to make all your dreams come true, and we have a lot of time to make up for.” His eyes skimmed over the crowd. “I made the most out of the time you spent working on the play, and I had some help from the prom fairies. I asked Sable and Lindsay if they could reach out to your friends. Once word got out, we were barraged with volunteers.”
She looked around them, smiling and waving at everyone as they danced. Volunteers? For her?
“That’s what friends do, Gracie,” Reed said. “And this is whatIdo. The man who adores you.”
He took her hand and dropped to one knee. A sound of disbelief rushed from her lungs as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shone on the two of them. Rivers of tears slid down her cheeks, and she was vaguely aware of Sable’s band playing a slower, softer song, but she was riveted by the man who held her heart in his hands, kneeling before her.
“My beautiful, sweet Gracie. I went too many years wishing you were in my arms, regretting what I never said or did. If these last couple days have taught me anything, it’s that we never know how much time we have left. I’m done waiting, baby. I don’t want to regret a single thing. I know our lives are complicated. You’re living in New York, and I’m here, but I don’t care. We’ll find a way to make it work. I will never ask you to give up anything, and I will support your every dream. You are the light of my life, baby, my best friend, my lover…”
Her throat swelled to near closing, and she was sure it was because her swollen heart had invaded every other part of her body.
Roy appeared by Reed’s side and handed him a velvet box. Roy winked at Grace before stepping back, but Grace was too stunned to even acknowledge him as Reed rose to his feet and opened the box. He placed his hand on Grace’s cheek and wiped her tears with his thumb, smiling when fresh tears slid in its wake.
“Gracie,” he said in a voice so loving she cried harder. “You have owned my heart since you were just a breathtakingly pretty cheerleader who challenged my very existence, and you will own it long past the time I take my last breath.”
He slid the most gorgeous ring on her finger. A ring she’d seen before. Memories climbed from the recesses of her mind.What type of ring do you want?he’d asked when they were teenagers, walking along the main drag in Whisper Creek.You know I’m going to marry you one day, Gracie. You might as well show me what you want.It had taken her only a second to show him, because she’d seen the display in the jeweler’s window every time they’d walked by on their stolen nights together, and she’d fantasized about one day…
Now that cushion-cut diamond with the pink sapphire halo was on her finger, and Reed was gazing into her eyes, his boyish grin and loving heart already a part of her.
“It was not easy trying to describe this ring to the jeweler who took over the shop after his father retired,” Reed said with a smile, “but he got it right, don’t you think?”
You remembered.The words lodged in her throat. It was all she could do to nod.
“This isourscript, baby. We’ll revise it however many times we need to until it’s perfect. You’re my leading lady, and I’ll always be your man. Will you marry me, Gracie? Be my wife? My forever?”
“Yes!” came out on a sob. She launched herself into his arms, and the crowdwhooped and cheered as they kissed through salty tears. “Yes, yes, yes,” she said between kisses.
They were passed from one embrace to the next, congratulated, kissed, and danced with. Brindle and Morgyn had Axsel and Pepper on FaceTime during the proposal so they were able to watch the whole thing. Grace was so overwhelmed when she finally landed back in Reed’s arms, her head was spinning.
They danced and kissed as Sable belted out “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. Grace hadn’t even known Reed knew how to dance, but the man had serious moves.
When the song changed to a slow song, Reed gazed into her eyes and said, “I told you I’d marry you one day, Gracie.”
“You did, and I’m so glad. I love you, Reed, and I can’t imagine a day without you. We live so far apart,” Grace said anxiously.
“You’ll never be without me. I’m with you always, baby. Distance between us or not, I’m with you. We’ll make this work. I’ll come up every weekend. I can’t go without seeing you for too long, so I’m thinking we might put FaceTime to a test, too.”
Her heart hurt just thinking about leaving, but she had commitments, an apartment, a life in the city. And now she had a life here, too.
“Cutting in to dance with my girl,” Sophie said as she pried Reed’s arms from around Grace and hugged her. Sophie’s royal-blue dress clung to her burgeoning belly. “Congratulations again! And happy prom!”
“I can’t believe you kept this a secret! And, oh my gosh, you look too sexy for a pregnant woman!”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Brett said. “My wife is hot assin.”
