I blushed and shrugged my shoulders. We both knew that they were right.
"Exactly," he said, laughing. "So with that in mind we went ahead and planned a little mini party of our own for tonight."
"A mini-party?" I asked. "What are we going to be doing?"
"Well, first we are going to have dinner here. Shake Shack, of course."
"Of course," I said, laughing. "What else would we have?"
"Exactly! And then after that we are going to go down and have a bonfire at the beach."
"Really? A bonfire? How are we going to get a ring? Usually, you have to get there at around six in the morning to be able to reserve a ring."
"I may have called in a favor," Josh said, smirking.
I shook my head. I always seemed to forget that Josh knew everyone in town.
"Well, thank you for calling in that favor," I said. "It sounds like it’s going to be an awesome night. What do you need me to do?"
Josh shook his head. "Nothing. All you need to do is be here, be yourself, and let us all celebrate you. This is such an exciting time for you, and we are all thrilled to be a part of it. So just sit back and let us show you how we all feel."
We locked eyes for a moment, and I simply whispered, "Okay."
"Okay," he said, smiling. "I'll be back."
He ran down the stairs, and I heard him call for Rylan. I couldn’t stop smiling as I watched them get into the minivan and drive away.
"He’s a good one," Michelle said, coming out onto the deck.
"Yes, he is," Alicia said, following Michelle.
I nodded as I sat down into the chair and motioned for my friends to sit in the chairs next to me.
"I agree, he is a good one. I’m so glad you guys got to meet him."
"We are too," Michelle said.
"He is so nice, and funny, and just down to earth," Alicia said. "I wasn’t sure what he’s going to be like, especially because of who he is, but he was even better than I was expecting him to be."
"We really like him," Michelle said. "Not that you need our approval, but we approve."
I shook my head. "It’s not really like that," I said.
I thought about the fact that he could be moving to London, and I felt a wave of sadness wash over me. However, I didn’t want to ruin the night. They had all gone to such great lengths to make this weekend special, and I didn’t want to be sad. I pushed the thought out of my head and turned towards them.
"You guys, I can’t believe that you’re out here again! You were just out here. This is such an incredible surprise. Not to be nosy, but how can you afford this? I know how much you guys make, and it is not cheap to fly back-and-forth across the country like this! Especially during the summer!"
They exchanged glances, and I knew there was something they weren’t telling me.
"What is it?" I said. "What do you guys know that I don’t?"
"Should we tell her?" Alicia whispered to Michelle.
Michelle nodded. "Yes, she needs to know. He didn’t tell us not to tell her."
"Okay," Alicia said. "Yeah, she does need to know."
"I need to know what?" I asked. "Please tell me."
