127 Chapter 127
Seraphina’s POV 1
The crowd around me is getting thicker, more voices joining in with questions and wees that make my chest feel tight. Just when I’m starting to panic about being trapped in the center of all this attention, a
familiar voice cuts through the noise like a de.
“Alright, alright, everybody back up!”
Riley appears at the edge of the crowd, pushing her way through with the determination of a woman on a
mission. Her dark hair bounces as she elbows past Marcus and waves off the others.
“Give the girl some breathing room!” shemands, nting herself between me and the crowd.
“We’re just saying hi,” Jake protests, but he takes a step back.
“Well, you’ve said hi. Now shoo.” Riley makes shooing motions with both hands like she’s scattering chickens.
“Sera came here to see me!”
“But we haven’t seen her in months-” Tyler starts to say.
“And she’ll still be here in an hour,” Riley interrupts firmly. “But right now, we girls need some quality time
together. Don’t we, Sera?”
Before I can answer, she wraps her arm around my shoulders in a protective gesture that makes my throat
tight with gratitude.
“Go train or lift weights or whatever it is you do to feel manly,” Riley continues, waving the others away. “We
have serious girl talk to catch up on.”
“Since when do you do girl talk?” Marcus asks with a grin.
“Since I got engaged and became disgustingly sentimental.” Riley’s cheeks flush pink, but her voice stays firm.
“Now scoot. All of you. We’ll catch upter.”
She guides me toward a quiet bench by the windows, settling beside me, turning to face me with a grin that
could power half the territory, “I’ve been dying to talk to you about my engagement…”
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She stops mid-sentence, her brow furrowing as she really looks at me. I can see the exact moment she
realizes something’s different. Her hands tighten on my shoulders.
“You look tired,” she says softly. “Really tired. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lie automatically. “Just adjusting to life with a newborn.”
“Right! The baby!” Riley’s face lights up again like someone flipped a switch. “I want to hear everything!”
“She’s perfect. Beautiful and healthy and strong.” My voice catches slightly on thest word. “Damien’s
“I bet he is. That kid has such a good heart.” Riley smiles. “Just like his mama. Now, I am literally bursting with good news and if I don’t tell someone soon, I’m going to explode.”
I find myself smiling. “Let me guess. This has something to do with Lucas?”
“Everything has to do with Lucas!” Riley throws her hands up dramatically. “God, Sera, I’m so disgustingly happy I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”
Iugh-actuallyugh-for the first time in weeks. “That is pretty shocking. What’s next, you’re going to start
liking romanticedies?”
“Don’t even joke about that.” Riley shudders. “But honestly? I kind of understand them now. Like, when the
guy does some grand romantic gesture and the girl gets all weepy? I used to think that was ridiculous, but
now…” She sighs dreamily. “Now I think I might cry if Lucas brought me gas station flowers.”
“Oh no,” I tease. “You’repletely gone, aren’t you?”
“Completely and totally gone.” Riley grins. “And I don’t even care. He takes care of me, Sera. Nobody’s ever
taken care of me before.”
“That’s incredibly sweet.”
“He’s incredibly sweet. Like, stupidly, impossibly sweet, Do you know what he didst week? I mentioned that
I missed the cookies my mom used to make when I was little, just a randomment. And the next day he showed up with a whole batch that he’d spent all night learning to make from some recipe he found online.”
I feel a pang of longing so sharp it takes my
breath away.
“He made
you cookies.”
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anuvy mic mic.
But he was so proud of them, and he’d worked so hard…” Riley dabs at her eyes again. “I ate every single one
and told him they were perfect.”
“You’re so gone it’s not even funny.”
“I know!” Rileyughs through her tears. “And the best part is, he’s just as bad. Yesterday he called me
beautiful while I was covered in mud from training exercises.”
“When did he propose?” I ask.
“Last weekend.” Riley holds out her left hand, showing off a simple silver band with a small, perfect diamond.
“We were on our morning run, and he just stopped in the middle of the trail and dropped to one knee right
there in the dirt.”
“Did you see iting?”
“Not at all! I thought he was having a heart attack or something. I actually started to call for a medic before I
realized what was happening.” Riley giggles. “He said he’d been carrying the ring around for weeks, waiting
for the perfect moment, but then he realized there was no such thing as perfect. He just wanted to marry me
as soon as possible.”
The ring catches the light as she moves her hand, simple and beautiful and exactly right for Riley.
“It’s gorgeous,” I tell her. “Perfect for you.”
“I love it so much. And I love him so much it’s actually scary sometimes.” Riley’s expression grows serious for
a moment. “Is that normal?”
“That’spletely normal,” I assure her. “That’s how you know it’s real.”
“Good, because I was starting to worry I was losing my mind.” Riley brightens again. “But enough about me
being disgustingly happy. I need to talk to you about something important.”
My stomach drops. “What kind of important?”
Riley bounces on the bench, practically vibrating with excitement. “We’re having an engagement party next
week. Big party, everyone we know, dancing, drinking, the whole thing.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
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“And I need you there!” Riley grabs both of my hands, her eyes wide and pleading. “I mean, I really, really need you there, Sera. This whole thing won’t feel real without my best friend celebrating with me.”
My chest tightens with anxiety, but the hope in Riley’s voice makes it impossible to say no.
“Of course I’ll be there,” I hear myself say. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Really?” Riley’s face lights up like the sun. “Really, truly? Because I was so scared you’d say you weren’t ready for parties yet, or that you were too busy with the baby, or-”
“Riley.” I squeeze her hands. “I’ll be there. I promise.”