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Maddox threw a French fry at his sister. “Jerk.”
She tossed one back. “Bitch.”
We all dissolved into laughter as the twins sniped at each other. It all felt so fucking normal. I couldn’t be happier. I’d missed having Lila around. She completed our trifecta. And Maddox here with me was the best of it all.
When we finished eating our lunch, we trashed the rest of the food and headed south, toward Lila and Cole’s job. Lila was a physical therapist, and Cole was in recruiting, both for the Falcons football team. Their joint love of football had always been a huge part of their relationship, and now that they were working for the same team, it was even better.
“Work?” I groaned.
“Don’t you want to see the behind-the-scenes at the stadium?” Maddox asked.
I shot him a skeptical look. “Since when do you care about football?”
He shrugged. “Never.”
I laughed. That was the damn truth. But I was too happy, having everyone I loved in one place, that I didn’t even care. I skipped ahead, linking arms with my two best friends and leaving the boys in the dust.
“We missed you last weekend,” I told Lila.
She sighed. “Yeah. I wish I could have come into town.”
“Derek needed the best-friend time too,” Marley said softly.
Lila shot her a look. “I know.”
I felt for her. It was as if she and Ash were divorced and had to split the kids. Derek was Ash’s best friend and Marley’s husband. So, Lila only got her half the time. With me in Savannah, too, it had to be killing her.
Lila looked over her shoulder at Cole, as if to make sure he wasn’t in hearing distance before asking softly, “How’s he doing?”
Marley and I exchanged a glance. By unspoken agreement, we never mentioned Ash in front of Lila or Lila in front of Ash. Well, I did to fuck with him, but that was just for fun.
“He’s doing okay, you know?” I told her just as softly.
“Much better,” Marley added.
“Not drowning himself anymore?”
Marley shook her head. “He’s seeing someone.”
Her head snapped up with wide eyes. “Really?”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, if you heard it from her lips, she’d say they’re not together.”
“Why not?” Lila asked in a half-whisper.
“You know why,” Marley said.
She bit her lip. “Yeah. Probably still my fault.”
“Your friend James is going to be fine,” I told her confidently. “I promise. You can’t keep blaming yourself. You made your choice, right?”
“A hundred percent,” she said without even a thought.
Two years ago, she would have agonized over her decision. But she chose Cole. It was definitely Cole. No matter how it had hurt her over the years to get there.
“Then, be happy he’s moving on and revel in your very handsome boyfriend.”
Lila’s smile went brilliant. The fallout with Ash Talmadge sliding off of her shoulders as easily as it had come back to her. “You’re right. Thanks for letting me know.”
We squeezed her tighter to us and then reached the employee entrance to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Lila and Cole swiped their badges, and we followed them inside. After a quick tour of the employee facilities, Cole showed us where the football players ran out.
I took Maddox’s hand again as Cole led Lila out first. My jaw dropped when I realized what was happening. The field was full of sunflowers. As if Cole Davis had plucked an entire field of sunflowers to arrange them in a beautiful display.
“Oh my God,” I gasped at the same time as Marley.
Lila’s hands went to her mouth as Cole took her hand and drew her out to the center of the field.
“Delilah Grace Greer, I’ve loved you my entire life,” Cole said, dropping to a knee and withdrawing a little blue box from his pocket. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’ve lived a lifetime knowing that one day you’d be mine. And I want everything with you. I want you to be my wife and take my name and have my children.”
Lila sniffled as tears came to her eyes. “Oh, Cole.”
“I love you with all of my heart. Make me the happiest man alive. Marry me, Sunflower.”
She nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”
He slid the ring on her finger and effortlessly lifted her off of her feet. It was like when he’d jumped the hedges to claim her lips in college. They’d come a long way since that day, and no one deserved it more.
“You knew,” I accused Maddox.
He looked at me sheepishly. “Maybe.”
“You knew?” Marley gasped. “You didn’t tell us?!”
“Cole called after we said we were coming into town. I knew she’d want y’all here.”
“Thank you,” I said, kissing him before running after my best friend and all but tackling her. “Let me see that ring!”
Lila laughed to cover the tears streaming down her cheeks. She held her hand out to reveal a perfectly Lila ring. A giant round diamond with a small diamond halo and a second halo that almost made the ring look like a sunflower.
