“Um, okay. This is weird, but I’ll go with it…for now.”
As soon as her arms are secured around me, I lift her around her waist making sure her feet aren’t going to hit the steps. This is harder than I thought it would be. I don’t want her to figure out where we are just yet.
“Why does it smell like a gym locker room?”
Damn. I probably should have had the bus barn air it out a bit. It’s too late for that now.
Philip stands behind me and guides me backward until we’re in front of the exact seat we were in on the day we met. Turning, I slide Piper into the seat. She lifts her hands to the blindfold, but I wrap my fingers around her wrist. “Not yet.”
“Okay, but whatever I’m sitting on feels vaguely familiar.”
“Because it is.”
Paula hands me the bouquet and Peter hands me the book I was reading on the day that forever changed my life. Pierce stands in the aisle with his phone held up and gives me a thumbs up.
“You can lift the blindfold now.”
She doesn’t waste any time ripping it off her head and her eyes widen at scene before us. “Wh—what is this?”
I hand her the bouquet. And she stares at them before looking over at me and the book in my hand.
“Is this the bus we rode when we were in school?”
“Yep. Though the seats seem a hell of a lot smaller.”
“Why is my family here?”
Setting the book down, I slide off the seat and do my best to get down on one knee. I’ll regret this tomorrow because I can see sticky areas all over the floor.
“Piper, this is the day I fell in love with you. Even though I acted annoyed with having to share my seat, you showed menothing but kindness. You became my best friend after that one interaction. I knew in that moment I didn’t want to spend a day of my life without you. Most people don’t believe in soulmates, but I know for a fact you are mine. We may not have always made the best decisions, but we always stuck by each other.”
Her free hand moves to her mouth, and her eyes are watery.
“Will you do me the honor of making poor decisions and backing each other up for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes!”
She tries to toss the bouquet, but I grab it before it flies over the seat. There are ten white roses surrounding a yellow and red one in the center. Those are the two I pull out. Tied between is the engagement ring her mom helped me pick out.
“These symbolize us.” I say as I untie the string and let the ring fall into my hand. “We will always be friends first. It’s the foundation of our relationship, and know I will love you every day just as much as I did when we were thirteen.”
Piper holds her hand out and I slip the ring onto her finger. Her family claps and cheers in the background as Piper throws her arms around me nearly knocking me to the floor.
“I love you, Beau.”
“I love you, too.”
She kisses me long and hard, not caring that we’re surrounded by her siblings. At least, until Parker starts making gagging noises as if he’s going to throw up.
She sits up and pulls me with her. “I’m not even going to ask what strings you pulled to make this happen. But can we please get off this bus? It smells like school memories.”
“Hey, they weren’t all bad.” I grab her hand and help her out of the seat.
“No, they weren’t.” She squeezes my hand as I lead her off the bus. “They brought me you.”
“I need a drink.” Parker announces as they file off after us.
Pierce puts his phone back in his pocket. “I’ve got a spread set up on the back patio.”
