Chapter 28 #2
Ryan and Tina both look at each other, an unspoken question in their eyes.
I wonder if they’ve realized by now that each of them is up to something, and this show being put on is for both of them.
Tina looks confused, but happy, and I think I know the moment that it begins to dawn on her, because her eyes lock with mine for a moment.
The corners of her mouth curve up in a slight smile, her brow wrinkles, and she looks up at Ryan, then back at me and her smile widens knowingly.
This is the moment that I can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that my best friend is happy with this interference to her plan.
The sound of a plane engine gets louder as one of the planes I hired gets closer to the fairgrounds.
Tina and Ryan look up, and so does everyone else around them.
As the plane comes into view, Tina looks surprised again when it doesn’t have a banner trailing behind it.
She bites her lip, glancing only briefly at me before looking back up at the plane.
It flies overhead, then turns and shoots upward, leaving a trail of smoke in the sky, until it’s spelled out the word “Marry.” While everyone watches the plane, my eyes are on Tina and Ryan.
Tina blinks rapidly when the smoke forms a T and it becomes clear that this isn’t her message it’s writing in the sky.
Her eyes flick to Ryan. He’s not looking at the sky either.
His eyes are on her, an easy smile on his face.
She struggles to tear her gaze away from him and look back up at the sky.
I can see the moment it fully dawns on her, but before the plane is finished spelling out her name, another plane—Tina’s plane—comes into view on the opposite side of the fairground.
Ryan looks away from Tina to read the banner, and that’s when they both finally realize what’s happening. The first airplane finishes writing “Marry me Tina” in the sky, while the banner on the other plane comes fully into view, spelling out: “Will you marry me, Ryan?”
Tina and Ryan look at each other, their eyes as wide as their mouths. In unison, they both say, “Are you proposing to me? I’m proposing to you !”
The airplanes finish with a loop over the park. Tina and Ryan stare at each other, both laughing, and neither one of them knowing what to do next. Then, springing into action, they both pull their ring boxes out of their pockets at the same time. They open up the boxes to show each other the rings.
“I think I already know the answer to this,” Ryan says, “but… will you marry me, Tina?”
She nods, laughing. “Will you marry me, Ryan?”
They both say, “Yes,” at the same time, and then the sky above them is filled with fireworks, crackling and booming overhead while Tina pulls Ryan down to her lips and kisses him.
I’m surprised by the knot that forms in my throat.
I almost forget that Oliver is standing next to me until I feel his hand take mine.
I look down at his hand as it squeezes mine, and then I look up at him.
His eyes are on me, but he’s not looking into my eyes.
His gaze wanders up from somewhere below my shoulders, like he’s taking me in, before his eyes reach my face and he realizes I’m watching him.
His mouth curves up in a smile. Even after everything that just happened, he somehow makes me feel like I’m the only other person around.
* * *
“You sneaky little bitch,” Tina scolds me afterward. I can tell by how wide her smile is that she’s not the least bit mad. “I can’t believe you did this. You did this, right?”
I nod, laughing. “With Oliver’s help.”
Ryan punches Oliver in the arm, but it’s a friendly punch, and then the two men embrace. “Was this your plan all along?” he asks Oliver. Then he looks at me. “And you knew the whole time?”
“Priscilla found the ring in my truck the same night you got it,” Oliver admits.
“Oliver is right. I knew the whole time we were at the Knicks game.”
Tina frowns. “I’m missing something. What happened at the Knicks game?”
I grit my teeth, unsure of how much I should tell her. Maybe it doesn’t matter now that it’s all said and done.
Ryan smirks. “That’s where I was originally going to propose to you.”
Tina’s brow wrinkles. I can’t tell if she’s sad that it didn’t happen that way, or sad that she almost didn’t get the chance to propose. “Oh. That would have put a damper on my plans.”
I smile. “Which is exactly why I was all too willing to help stop it from happening. After everything you had planned, I wanted you to have your moment, Tina.” I look from her to Ryan, then back at her. “I hope I did the right thing. I do feel guilty about?—”
“This day couldn’t have been any more perfect,” Tina says. She looks up at Ryan, who nods in agreement. Then she smacks my arm. “I knew you were lying about seeing Taylor Swift!”
I cringe, laughing. “I still want to see the video of Ryan proposing to Oliver out there.”
Tina waves her finger at me and Oliver. “So you guys have been planning this whole thing together?”
I look at Oliver and shrug, smiling. “It was easier to work together than against each other.”
Her eyes go wide. “Wait. This is why you two were pretending to date?”
Oliver and I both snap our heads in her direction. “You knew we were faking it?” I ask, surprised. “Since when?”
She rolls her eyes. “I only had an inkling until Ryan saw you sneaking into Oliver’s house through his window.”
I grab onto Oliver’s hand. “We’re really together now,” I tell her. “But why did you go along with it if you knew we were faking it?”
She shrugs. “Because I knew you two wouldn’t be able to resist each other if you spent enough time together.”
I look up at Oliver and smile. His lip curves up.
“But enough about you guys,” Tina says, shoving her hand in front of my face to show me her ring. “Today is about me! Me, me, me! Oh, and Ryan.”
She dances around in a circle and then jumps on Ryan, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. Their faces come together, their lips connecting in the middle. Oliver squeezes my hand a little tighter.