Page 188 of Never Not Friends

His smile is ginormous. “Emma.”

My hands go to my mouth as he reaches inside and takes out the little box.

He grins back at me. “Your eyes are already filling with tears, and I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“If you knew how monumental this is for me,” I say shakily. “How many times I’ve wished for this⁠—”

“Em”—he grabs my hand—“I know.”

I laugh as he stands then gets down on one knee beside my couch.

And somehow, even though I knew exactly what was happening the second I saw that little box, seeing Vinny kneeling in front of me changes my whole world.

He opens the ring box.

A simple gold band with an elegant oval diamond—perfectly me.

“Emma, I don’t want another box full of things we almost had. I want a whole life with you. I want to notice everything with you by my side. I want you to tell me to taste this, or listen to this song, or watch that with me. I want to raise children together”—his eyes fill with moisture—“watch you be the most incredible mother. I want to go through every day with you and sleep beside you every night.” He smiles through his tears. “Emma, you’re the dream.”

A tear slips down my cheek as he reaches for my hand.

Vinny looks me straight in the eyes. “Emma Lawson, will you marry me?”

I stare back at him.

My best friend.

My first love.

The boy I thought I had lost.

And the man who found his way back to me.

“Yes.” I laugh. “There’s no other answer besides yes.”

He barely gets the ring on my finger before I’m on my knees too, throwing my arms around his neck.

There’s a kiss mixed with laughter and happy tears.

When we finally pull apart, he looks at me with a grin. “At fifteen, we both said we were going to marry each other someday, and we were right.”

I laugh. “Right about that, but so off on the timing.”

“True, it wasn’t easy to get here, but we made it.”

“The documentary on us is going to be wild,” I say.

“I can’t wait.”

Then he kisses me again.

Later that night, when Vinny has gone home, I pull out my phone.

Things between Juliet and me have gotten better over the last few months. Definitely not perfect, by any means, but better. We’ve started calling each other again. Laughing again. Talking about regular life things.

So I select a picture from earlier. One with Vinny and me smiling big as I hold up my left hand, showing off the diamond ring.

I hesitate for one second, second-guessing everything.