“Except the final girl,” Hollyn added.
“Thank you.” Andi raised her glass. “To final girls.”
Hill gave her a squeeze when everyone repeated “To final girls.”
He leaned close to her ear. “To my final girl.”
Warmth moved through her, and she turned to brush her lips against his. “To my final guy.”
The words came out so easily because she knew them to be true. They’d been together for over a year, and not once had she doubted what she’d declared the night of her attack. She loved him. He loved her. They were meant to be together.
That hadn’t meant there hadn’t been work to be done. Both of them had issues they were working through in therapy. Andi still looked over her shoulder at night. She was still suspicious of strangers. Hill had to be vigilant to keep his depression from surfacing again, and he still had flashbacks to the fire if he heard certain sounds. But the difference was that they were a team now. They didn’t have to fight those battles alone.
Love meant someone had your back. Love meant you didn’t have to hide what you were struggling with. Love taught you that sometimes it was okay not to be okay.
But more often than not lately, Andi was so much more than okay. She was happy. Full-throated, screaming-into-the-sky happy. She’d worked really hard to get there, and she wasn’t going to take one second of it for granted.
Andi settled in and enjoyed the evening with her friends, laughing a lot, drinking a little, and eating too much of Hill’s bread pudding. But when the sky went full dark, her friends started the dance of It’s getting late, we better get going. They gathered their things and headed out as if they’d mutually agreed on an exit time. After exchanging hugs with everyone and sending them all home with containers of leftovers, Andi shut the front door, locked it, and turned on the alarm. The sound of it activating was a comfort to her even in this quiet neighborhood. She spun around, leaned back against the door, and sighed.
Hill was standing in the middle of their living room, watching her with a look of affection that made her want to clutch her hands to her chest like an overdramatic actress.
“What’s that sigh for?” he asked.
“Tonight was great. I love my friends.”
“They’re awesome.”
“And I love you,” she said, taking in the view of him—dark hair mussed from the breeze outside, T-shirt clinging just enough to give her dirty thoughts.
“I love you back,” he said as he took a few steps closer. “In fact, you’re my favorite. Like, in the world.”
She closed her eyes and took in the sweet words, contentment winding through her like a drug. “Did you mean what you said about me being your final girl?”
He took her hands, and she opened her eyes, finding him right in front of her. “I did. Well, woman, not girl.” His lips kicked up at one corner in a suggestive smile. “You’re definitely all woman.”
“I meant what I said, too.”
He guided her arms around his waist and filled the space in front of her, his body heat radiating against her. “Good. Because one day, when you’re ready”—he leaned down to kiss her gently—“I’m going to marry the hell out of you, Andi Lockley.”
The words cascaded through her, filling her up to the brim. Her gaze jumped up to his. His brown eyes held her stare, saying everything she could ever want to feel from him. Sincerity. Love. Honesty. Forever.
“Is that right?”
“Absolutely.” He pushed her bangs away from her eyes and cupped the back of her neck. “With your permission, of course.”
A crazy thought snaked its way through her, whispering, daring her. “And what if I’m ready now?”
He didn’t flinch. “Then I’d marry you now.”
His lack of hesitation stole her breath, and an overwhelming sense of rightness flooded her. I’d marry you now. Now. “You’re serious.”
“I’m serious,” he said, voice calm as ever. “But there’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere. I just want you to know my intentions.” He kissed her again and gave her a small smile. “I’m done for. You’re it for me, neighbor. Ruined for all others.”
Her throat tightened, emotion knotting there. “You’re it for me, too.” She took in the sight of him, letting herself feel exactly what she was feeling and not overthinking it. “So if I’m it for you and you’re it for me, what exactly are we waiting for? What if you and I…”
“What if you and me, what?” he asked softly when she didn’t continue.
“What if we did that?” she said, boldness making her spine straighten. “Got married. Like this weekend.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Like elope? Don’t you want all the pomp and circumstance with your friends and family there?”
Images flashed through her mind. Her parents inviting all their friends. Picking out bridesmaids’ dresses. Having her family dictate when and where things happened in order to stick with family tradition. Having to decide which state to have the wedding in. What food to serve. Which music to play.
None of that sounded appealing. She’d never been the little girl who dreamt of her future wedding. She’d been the little girl who imagined living in a real haunted house or meeting a vampire or solving a mystery in her neighborhood. And Hill had already been through wedding prep once before. Proposing, planning a wedding, only to have it all blow up in his face.
“I don’t need all that unless you want it,” she said, her heart picking up speed. “We can elope. We can do it in City Park under the oaks. Invite a few of our friends to witness and just do it.” She slid her hands up his chest and looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t need pomp and circumstance. All I need is you.”
Hill’s eyes sparkled in the low light of the living room, and he cradled her face in his hands. “I would love nothing more in this world than to be your husband.”
The words sang through her like the best song she’d ever heard.
“Wish granted,” she whispered, and that was the last thing she got out before Hill lowered his head and kissed her against the door until her knees went to jelly beneath her.
Somehow over the next few minutes, they made it to their bedroom, kissing along the way, without tripping over furniture. Items of clothing got dropped behind them like bread crumbs and no more words were needed. They were getting married. Married.
Andi had spent a long time not trusting her gut, not believing it when it gave her the green light on things. That intuition had let her down a long time ago. But in this moment, she’d never felt more certain of any decision in her life. The feeling deep in the pit of her stomach, at the very core of her, was like the clear ring of a bell on a quiet night resonating through her. What she’d thought was her gut feeling all those years ago when she’d trusted Evan Longdale hadn’t been this, hadn’t felt like this. This was what gut-level knowing really felt like. Her gut hadn’t lied to her back then. She’d simply been outmatched—an innocent child who was victimized by a master manipulator.