Page 101 of Payback

Then the music shifts to Etta James’ “At Last,” and I walk toward Allie with a giant smile and ask, “Remember this song, Lis?” I grab her hand and pull her out to the middle of the courtyard.

Her eyes are glossy as she fights back more tears. “I do.”

I whisk her into my arms and twirl us around the dance floor for a measure. “Real or fake? I told you that night at the dance studio that this could be our wedding song.”

She inhales a deep breath and releases it in a small sob. “So real.”

I take a deep breath and step back to drop down on one knee. “That means this isn’t a fake out, Allie Harris.”

I reach into my pocket for the ring box and, as if I timed it this way, the fountain spouts suddenly come alive.

Allie squeals and shifts out of the stream that’s shooting up into her face. I stay on my knee, ducking my head against the rainfall of cold-ass water coming down on us. This wasn’t exactly a part of my plan. I had hoped to pop the question before the waterworks and have a magical moment of her saying yes,thenall of us dance in the water.

But it’s no surprise that this moment isn’t perfect. Allie and I aren’t perfect. We’re just us.

“Are you sure this is real?” Allie cries, her face scrunching up against the onslaught of water spraying all around us. She looks at the enormous crowd that’s assembled. “Because this would be a really good fake out if you were trying to burn me good!”

“This is real, mooi,” I state loudly over the thundering sound of water hitting concrete.

I lick some moisture off my lips and slide over on my knee to an area that’s not getting pounded by water. Allie follows, her eyes drifting down as I open the lid on the box to reveal a sparkly round diamond that I spent way too many hours picking out.

I reach out and grab her wet, trembling hand. “Allie Harris, you say you’re not a dancer, but what you don’t know is that dancing is just skipping in circles. And from the moment you skipped into my life, I haven’t been the same. And I don’t want to be the same. I want to be who I am when I’m with you. I would do anything for you, mooi. And I want to do anything for you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she cries, her lips turned up into an overjoyed smile as mascara runs down her face. She side steps a new fountain spray, laughing the whole time as she adds, “Yes, Roan. You are my home, my family, my life. Of course I’ll marry you!”

She falls down onto my knee and kisses me with everything she has. And I give it right back because there’s no better payback in life…

…than a happily ever after.

The End