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“Sorry.” She gave me a little pout.
As I helped her out of the car, she glanced around the parking lot once more. “Wow, not many people here tonight.”
I looked around. “No, there isn’t. Strange.”
“Oh, I hope people don’t lose interest in this place. I know it’s a bit fancier and pricier than a lot of the other restaurants in Seaside, but I love it.”
I placed my hand on her lower back and guided her to the entrance. “It’s probably just a slow night. It is Wednesday, after all.”
Once we got inside, Pete greeted us. “Hey, you guys. I’m glad you made it.”
Adelaide looked around the empty restaurant and then back to Pete. I could see the worry in her eyes, but she attempted to keep a smile on her face.
“I thought you two would like to sit out on the deck,” he said. “It’s a beautiful August night and the temperature is perfect.”
Adelaide nodded when Pete motioned for us to walk ahead of him. “That sounds amazing, Pete.” As we walked through the restaurant, she asked, “Where is everyone?”
“Oh, that,” Pete said. “Someone booked the entire restaurant for a private event.”
Adelaide’s steps faltered slightly. “The whole inside?”
“Inside and out,” Pete replied.
Adelaide grabbed my arm and tried to pull me to a stop. “Gannon, we can’t crash someone else’s party.”
I laughed and motioned for her to keep walking. Pete stepped around us, saying, “Come on, your table is ready.”
When Addie shook her head, I gave her a little tug. “Trust me, it’s fine.”
We got to the door that led outside, and I could hear Adelaide mumbling something about privileges and not abusing them.
Pete stepped out of the way to reveal that the entire deck was lit up with candles, and Edison lights had been strung from one end to the other. Bouquets of pink roses were placed on all the tables, with the largest on the table in the middle of the deck. Booking an entire restaurant last minute was difficult enough, but calling our local florist and telling her I needed dozens of pink roses in a few days, yeah, that was a hail Mary. She’d only agreed to it because Adelaide used to babysit her kids, and they still adored her.
Adelaide gasped as she took it all in. “Gannon…did you do this?”
I let out a soft laugh. “No, not me personally. I had a lot of help from a lot of people.”
She spun around and looked up at me, tears in her eyes. “You booked your cousin’s entire restaurant?”
“Just for two hours.”
“But…why?”
I lifted my hand and tucked a wisp of her hair that had come loose in the wind behind her ear. “Because I love you, Addie, and I wanted this night to be special for you. Now, if you’ll take a seat here, there’s something I want to show you.”
Pete pulled out the chair we’d planned for Adelaide to sit in. It faced the outside bar that had a large-screen TV mounted over it.
Adelaide sat down and the TV came to life.
“You’re on TV!” she laughed.
Pete gave me a quick nod and made his exit. Lynn, the youngest daughter of the mayor of Seaside, was our waitress for the evening. I had asked for her specifically, since I knew she was getting ready to leave for nursing school. She made her way toward us, put down two flutes, and then poured some champagne.
Adelaide looked closer at the glasses and put her hand to her mouth to hold back a sob. “They have our names and today’s date on them.”
All I could do was smile. If I spoke, I was going to cry like a damn baby.
The video that Harlee had helped me with started to play. It was a montage of our lives together, starting at age ten when Adelaide and I first met and became the best of friends. The pictures progressed as we got older. The first dance I’d asked her to, pictures of us on the beach with our friends in high school. There was a selfie we took on the day I left to go to the Academy, and another one from a year later, when we’d both been back in Seaside and had spent the entire weekend together.
Lynn handed Adelaide a box of Kleenex, and she dabbed at the corners of her eyes. I wasn’t even sure when we’d started holding hands, but her thumb brushed back and forth over my skin, and I could feel the trail of heat her touch left behind. It had always been that way. A connection so real it left me breathless at times.
I watched her as Adelaide watched the video, her tears flowing faster. I honestly wasn’t sure how I’d managed to live the last eight years without her.
When the video ended, I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and got down on one knee. Adelaide had her hand over her mouth as she attempted to control her sobs.
