Iallowed myself a smile and a small chuckle, remembering the last time I’d heardsomeone say those words months ago, just hours before I’d reconnected with thiswoman beside me. I had been sick without a diagnosis and was desperatelyholding onto a soul-sucking relationship destined for failure. Things had beenbeyond repair at that point, but now? There wasn’t a crack in sight, not eventhe slightest hairline fracture and I had never felt more whole.
“So,”Molly continued in a voice suddenly unsteady, “if that means we should breakup, then—”
Ibolted upright so quickly, she turned to me with a start. “Whoa, wait a minute.Why the hell would we break up?”
“Well,I just figured‘causeyou probablywannamove closer to your friends, and—”
“Molls,I’m notmovin’anywhere.”
Shescoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’ve been talking aboutmovin’out andgettin’ your own place for months. You’removingsomewhere.”
“Yeah,well,” I glanced over my shoulder at the house, “what if you’re not the onlyone who’s comfortable?”
“What?”
Witha shrug, I turned back to her and smiled. “I don’t think I ever really wantedto move out,” I admitted. “I didn’t particularlywannalive down the hall from my parents, but I do love this house. I always hopedit’d be mine one day, and today, my parents offered to sell it to me.”
Iwatched in the darkness as her face contorted with dramatic realization.Widened eyes and parted lips. “I thought you’d wind upmovin’to Connecticut,” she admitted in a whisper.
“IlikeConnecticut, Molly,” Iemphasized. “But itain’thome.”
“Butall your friends …” Her voice trailed away as she struggled to believe thatsomeone could want to stay. ThatI—afteryears of not being in her life—could want to stay.
Fromthe ground beside me, I grabbed my phone and held it in front of her. “Do youknow how often I talk to those guys on this thing? I getat leastfifty texts from Sebastian alone every single day. And Imean, I love that guy to death, but what do you think would happen if I livedcloser? I’d never see the end of him.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “I’mperfectly fine with the way things are. If I ever need to see them, I pull upFaceTime, and when that’s not good enough, I can always hop on a plane. But Iwould never be perfectly finelivin’ that far awayfrom you.”
Withoutanother word, I dropped my gaze to my phone and pulled up Instagram. There, onmy profile, was a picture of Molly and me circa second grade—or was it first?My skin was tanned, and my Jack-O-Lantern smile showcased the canines I’d lost.Molly’s hair was a mess of spirals, her subdued smile framed by lips paintedpopsicle red, and her nose was dusted in all those freckles I loved so much.
Ipassed the phone to Molly and she smiled at the sight of the old picture. “God,you were such a ham.”
“Younever were,” I stated matter-of-factly. Curiously, she looked back to me,cocking her head. There was a question in her eyes, but I didn’t answer. I justjabbed my chin toward the phone in her hands. “Read it.”
Withan intake of quivering breath, her eyes cast downward to the screen and sheread in a low, muttered voice, “’My life has been comprised of a series ofgranted wishes. When I was a little kid, I wished to be famous, and in a way, Iam. Then, when I was fourteen, I wished I’d be best friends with this girlforever, and although we had ourselves a brief hiatus, we are.’”
Mollylooked up at me and smirked. “Brief, huh?”
Rollingmy eyes, I grumbled, “Keepgoin’.”
Shesighed and dropped her gaze once again. “Okay, um … ‘Then, when I turned thirtymonths ago, I wished that I’d feel better. I wished for a house of my own, awife, and the promise of a family. I guess I wished for a future that was morethan just playing the guitar in some shitty band.’” She giggled and shook herhead before continuing. “’The next day, Molly Dyer walked back into my lifewhile I was mowing the lawn …’”
Shetrailed off as her lips parted and her eyes darted left to right as she readsilently. I remembered what I’d written, smiling to myself as I watched her.
“Our mothers had said we were always writtenin the stars, and I never knew how true that was until every wish I’d everwished came true just by knowing her again. I found a diagnosis. I found somesort of reprieve from my sickness. I was offered the house of my dreams. Andeven as some people in this world try to tear me down during the happiest pointin my life, I won’t allow it. Because I’ve already seen the bottom. I’ve beenon the floor, unable to get up, and this woman pulled me into the sky. Nothingcan touch us up here. Hatersgonnahate, and fakersgonnafake, but I’m justgonnashake it all off. And I’m taking her with me.”
Mollylowered the phone to her lap and turned to me. “Not every wish,” she said in avoice so hushed, I could barely hear. “I don’t see a wife around here.”
Isnatched the phone from her and rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Almost. You knowwhat I’msayin’.” I shook my head playfully andsmiled once more at the picture before laying it down again.
“Marryme, Chad.” The words shocked me and immediately drew my gaze back to hers. Ialmost thought she was kidding, because as much as Sebastian told me it wasn’ttoo soon, it still felt like maybe it was. Just a little. Maybe we could wait ayear, even two, before popping any big questions. But Molly was adamant. I sawthe sincerity in her eyes, the firm line of her lips, and I knew she waswaiting for a reply.
“Wait,you’re for real right now?”
Shewas trembling, despite the heat, and she nodded. “Yeah. I’m for real. I toldyou if I ever fell madly in love with someone, I’d marry ‘em.And I am so madly in love with you. So, marry me.”
“Jesus…” I wiped a hand over my mouth and diverted my gaze toward the house. Theshingles peeling from the roof and the worn siding. Behind my palm, I lifted mylips in a smile. God, I couldn’t wait to get to work on this place and to do itwith her. I couldn’t wait to make itours.
“Oh,my God. You don’t want to.” Molly’s breath whooshed from her lungs with heavydefeat and embarrassment. She began to clamber to her feet as she said, “God,I’m so—”
Igrabbed for her wrist and held her to the spot. “Don’t you dare leave.”
