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“You didn’t make me cry,” I said, not sure if I meant it.
Two weeks ago, I would have told him why I was crying. I would have told him I’d always imagined coming to the most romantic place I could imagine with the man I loved. Not under these circumstances.
“It’s fine. It’s just been a long day.”
He pulled me close, wrapping his arm around me and enveloping me in a hug. His hand cradled the back of my head, his thumb brushing up and down my neck. The welling in my chest turned into an ache.
As much as I wanted to be, I couldn’t be with Andy. I couldn’t spend the rest of my life lying to my family. I couldn’t let him ruin everything he’d worked for.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he murmured into my hair. “I thought this would make you happy.”
“Iamhappy. I’m glad you’re here with me. I just wish it was different.”
“Me too.” He kissed the top of my head. “Me too. Which is exactly why I bought you here.”
“To torment both of us?” I asked, a sob lodging in my throat.
“No. Of course not.” His eyes cut toward the door. The sun set over the skyline, sinking the city into darkness for a moment before red and green lights lit up, bathing the observation deck in light. “Come with me.”
I followed him out of the atrium. The wind whipped around the deck. I pulled my coat close, my eyes adjusting to being outdoors again.
“This way.” Andy squeezed my hand comfortingly before leading me around the corner.
A small group stood in one corner, looking out over the city. A sapphire-blue wool coat caught my attention, one I’d grown so accustomed to after she bought it from a thrift store when she first moved to Franklin Notch. Millie.
I stopped stock still, studying the other figures. Len, Bunny, Cal, Thea, Becca. And three more beside them: Nolan, Brad, and Payton.
“What’s going on?”
“Not everyone gets to propose to the woman of their dreams twice. I didn’t want to screw it up, so I got some help this time.”
The tears came back. My breath caught in my throat. I pulled my eyes away from my friends and family as Andy dropped to one knee. He fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a velvet black box and flipping it open.
He didn’t pull out the family heirloom he’d given me the first time. Instead, nestled inside the box, was Bunny’s ring. The simple square-cut diamond, not even a quarter of a carat, was given to her by her second husband. Her true love, as she liked to say. My favorite from her trove of rings.
“How’d you—?”
“I gave it to him with my blessing. You always loved that one,” Bunny interjected, bundled up in enough clothing to make it through the tundra. “Now, go on. It’s freezing up here.”
“Nora McDonaghue,” he said.
“Stewart,” I interrupted, a smile on my face and tears running down my cheeks.
“Right. Nora Stewart, will you marry me again?”
I choked back a yes. “But what about the investors?”
“I’ll handle them. Consider it my wedding gift to you both,” Brad called over the wind.
Payton tapped him with a gloved hand. “Your first wedding gift. We’ve got something planned for your second.”
My eyes bounced from Andy to the crowd surrounding us. Millie clung to Len, the smile on her face infecting even him. Cal met my gaze, nodding in encouragement. I bit my bottom lip, turning my gaze back to Andy.
“You really want to marry me?”
“More than anything.”
The reasons I had for staying away from Andy, for not pursuing a real relationship, melted away with the realization that everyone knew the truth: his mentor, my family, our friends.
