Chapter 81
AVA - YES
The courtyard behind the clinic had never looked like this.
Soft lights were strung from the fencing to the old trellis arch, casting a golden glow over the gravel path and flower beds we’d tried, and mostly failed, to keep alive over the summer.
A blanket of candles flickered on every surface, their flames dancing in the breeze like they were already celebrating.
I stepped through the back door, my hand still damp from drying it on my jeans and froze.
Harlan was standing under the archway. One hand in his pocket, the other holding something behind his back. He was wearing the shirt I liked, charcoal gray, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and his smile was a nervous, crooked thing that made my heart forget how to beat.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, taking a step forward. “What is this?”
“You tell me,” He said, voice low. “You helped build this place. And now, maybe… we could build something more.”
I blinked hard, not trusting my vision. “Harlan…”
“I’ve stood in front of reporters, badge in hand, under fire and full of fear. But I’ve never been more terrified and yet so sure of anything than I am right now.”
He dropped to one knee.
My hand shot to my mouth, useless at holding in the gasp.
“Ava, I’ve loved you since the day you marched into my life and made me question every rule I ever lived by. You’ve made me braver, better, and more honest than I ever thought I could be. You’re my reason. My anchor. My goddamn heart.”
He pulled out a ring. Simple, stunning, exactly right. Exactly me.
“I don’t want perfect. I want real. I want mornings with too dark coffee and nights where you fall asleep on top of your notes. I want the arguments, the laughter, the chaos, and everything in between. I want you. Forever.”
He held out the ring. “Marry me.”
I was already crying.
I dropped to my knees in front of him and threw my arms around his neck. “Yes,” I whispered, my voice shaking with joy. “Yes, yes, yes, God, yes.”
He laughed into my hair, pulling me closer, the ring still clutched in his fingers between us.
A throat cleared behind us.
We turned to see Remi in the clinic doorway, grinning like a lunatic, holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and two flutes in the other. “I told you it’d work,” she said smugly.
Harlan rolled his eyes and helped me up.
“You knew?”
“She coordinated the candles...” he muttered.
“And the playlist,” Remi added. “And I texted Grayson. He’s grabbing Reid. Clutch and a few others are on their way. I may have told them it was urgent.”
“Remi,” I said, eyes wide. “Did you throw us an engagement party?”
She shrugged. “Someone had to.”
By the time the others arrived, the courtyard was buzzing. Gray and Reid brought cake from the café down the street. Clutch handed me a flower he’d pulled out of someone’s garden. Gray passed Harlan a cigar with a grunt and a wink.
It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t big.
But it was ours.
It was absolutely perfect.
I stood taking everything in, my back to Harlan, his strong arms holding me tight.
Remi snorted a big laugh at something Reid said, and he still looked at her like she was his favourite superhero.
Clutch whispered something to her, and she squealed, slapped him on the back, and said, "Well, what are you waiting for. .. go get your girl."
Later, when the sun had set and the champagne had gone warm, Harlan took my hand and pulled me into the far corner of the courtyard, away from the others.
He looked at me with that quiet intensity that always melted my defences. “I want to buy a house.”
I blinked. “A house?”
“With a yard... a big one,” he said. “And a porch. Somewhere we can grow roots. Raise something that matters.”
My heart flipped.
“And maybe… eventually… fill it with little feet,” he added softly. “Kids, Ava. I want a family with you. I want everything with you.”
Tears stung again, but this time they were tears of happiness. Cleansing. “I’ve been thinking about going off birth control,” I said, voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes widened. But not in fear or uncertainty.
“I’m not saying we plan anything,” I added quickly. “Just… not not try.”
He laughed, pulling me into his arms. “That’s a different kind of yes, huh?”
I kissed him. Slow and deep. A promise.
Harlan pulled back and whispered in my ear, "Well, why don't we go home and start not trying?"
I smiled so wide I thought my face might crack and nodded.
This was what peace looked like. What home felt like.
And I didn’t want to forget a single second of it.