Jett blinks a few times and then looks around.“What, like what happened at Piper’s grand opening when you knew Griff and Case were gonna be an item?”
“Yeah, honey.Like that.”
I look between Mama Keegan, Jett, and Piper.“Okay, so…what did you sense?”
Mama Keegan smiles again and shuffles off.“I don’t need to say anything.Jett will find out soon enough.”
Piper and I share a shocked look while Jett just looks unsettled.We don’t have much time to dwell on the news, though, because Piper gets a text from Asher.
“Griff, Dane, and Asher are almost here!”she shouts.The set-up Mama Keegan devised is that we’re all meeting Griffin for a celebratory dinner here in Bayshore.I’m sure the ruse will work only until Asher gets close to the barn and they start seeing the cars lining the side streets.The place is really filling up now, and servers from Kru’s restaurant have begun filling the pans with all sorts of delicious-looking food.I’m too excited to eat right now, though.My parents filter into the barn next, followed by Claire and Paul.Roxie, Sara, and Julie show up, Branson not far behind.We form a tight cluster of excitement, gushing about the season, the surprise, the summer ahead.
There’s a low murmur of conversation as everyone squeezes into the barn and waits.I’m on pins and needles—there’s something so excruciatingly gratifying about waiting to surprise someone you love.I hang near the doors, so I can run up to him first.I can’t wait to see the look of surprise on my hockey hero’s face.
“What the—” Griffin’s surprise is the first thing I hear as he walks up to the barn with Asher, Dane, and Lia in tow.Then he comes into view, wearing a shirt and tie and dark pants, since he came straight from the end of his press tour in Cleveland.
“Surprise!”Everyone shouts.I run toward him, launching myself at him.He catches me easily, surprise and amusement in his gaze.
“What the hell is all this?”he asks with a laugh.People are cheering, swarming around him, clapping him on the back.
“The champion is in the house!”The DJ begins playing music from his station in the corner of the barn.Now it feels like a proper party.Somewhere on the far side of the barn, chants of “Kee-gan!Kee-gan!”flare up.
“We love you,” I explain.“That’s pretty much it.”
Griffin finds his mom nearby, sending her a look I don’t entirely understand.“You knew about all this?”
“Of course, honey,” she says, patting his arm.“I thought they’d pair very well together.”
“What would pair well together?”I ask.
Griffin’s smile just grows wider.He shakes his head at his mom then looks back at me.“I thought I was going to be surprising you today, not the other way around.”
He gently lowers me to the ground, and I watch him dig around in his pocket for a moment.With friends and family swirling around us, the low thump of chill electronic music in the background, surrounded by smiles and good energy and great food, Griffin gets down on one knee.
His slate blue eyes are shining with so much emotion.Time downshifts.My focus shrinks to only him as he pops open the ring box.A diamond ring glitters inside.
“Now I get to ask you with everyone important at our sides,” Griffin says.“I’ve been ready to ask you this since last August.From the second you walked into this barn a year ago, you changed my life for the better.I don’t just want a summer or two at your side, Case.I want all of it.I want us to write our love story the only way we can.”
I clamp a hand over my mouth.Shock has rendered my voice useless, but the tears are coming anyway.People have begun to notice what’s happening, and there’s lots of shushing around us.
“You showed me that love is worth the risk of loss.And I’m going all in.Casey Hart…will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”
I crumple onto him, nodding and blubbering and full-on crying.He receives me without even flinching, because he is my rock.My strong, steady foundation who builds me bookcases and supports my wild dreams and never once doubted that Chaotic Casey could carve out her own path.
“Of course I’ll be your wife,” I manage to say.Because I’ve been his since the day he helped me dab up spilled cocktail from my linen dress.Since before then, if we’re being honest.
The barn goes wild a second time.Maybe louder this time.We kiss so hard my lips go numb while hundreds of friends, family, and acquaintances shout and cheer.The “Keegan” chants begin again, but this time they mean a little extra.
When we break for air, Griffin presses his forehead to mine.“I love you so much, Casey.Oh shit, I forgot to put the ring on your finger.”
I laugh as he pops the ring out of the case and slips it onto my left hand.It glitters as I admire it—it’s honestly breathtaking.
“When did you buy this?”
“A few months ago.”
I cover my mouth with the hand that has the ring on it.Griffin’s eyes go hooded.
“God damn, that ring looks good on you.Almost as good as my name across your back.”
