The photos stopped moving on a picture of us in a park from just a few weeks ago. We’d asked a passing jogger to take our photo, and somehow the colors of the sunset behind us looked like a movie during a dream sequence.
“There is only one woman in the movie of my life, Brynn,” Owen’s voiceover said softly. “Will you marry me, and be my leading lady forever?”
I turned to him as he slipped a large diamond ring on my finger. “Will you marry me?” he repeated, staring into my eyes.
Swallowing hard, my breath was shaky as I nodded. “Yes.”
He kissed me gently as fireworks exploded on the screen, and the lights went up, along with applause and laughter. Spinning around, I saw that the only people in the theatre were friends and coworkers.
He’d arranged all of this for me?
A single tear slipped down my cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I love you so much, sweetheart. I’m going to do everything I can to be an incredible husband for you.”
“You’d better,” Jenna laughed from two rows behind us.
“Yeah,” Corina agreed. “No pressure or anything, but we’ll be supervising.”
I held up my hand to show them the ring, using it to block our faces as I kissed Owen again. Several camera flashes went off as he began to laugh against my lips.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he murmured, “We can catch up on the kissing part later tonight.”
He pulled me to my feet as everyone around us cheered. Owen led me to the open area in front of the screen, which now read, “Brynn & Owen,” inside a huge sparkling heart.
“You’re lucky I said yes,” I laughed. “I wouldn’t want to have ruined the integrity of your movie.”
“I would never have done it in public if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure,” he said, wrapping his arms around me as everyone took photos.
Champagne and a tray of cupcakes appeared, as soft party music started.
“An engagement and the party in one,” I said, nodding my approval. “Very efficient.”
“We know how you appreciate multitasking,” Corina said, as she and Jenna came over to hug me and admire my new ring.
Owen’s friends congratulated him, as I was passed around being hugged by everyone in the room. My boss, Jonathon, appeared out of nowhere to give me an awkward hug while saying he’d pull strings to get whichever wedding venue I wanted.
My friends were all delighted, and I was particularly touched by how sweet Owen’s friends were. His college friends offered to help with the wedding any way they could. His video production buddies volunteered to shoot our wedding video.
Joe even wrapped me in a bear hug, promising to keep their mother from taking over. He had apologized to me months ago, and although I didn’t particularly like him, we could get along well enough.
I hadn’t even thought about meeting Owen’s parents, or planning the actual ceremony. Everything was happening at lightning speed.
Owen slipped his arms around me from behind, holding my back to his chest. “Thank you so much, everyone. I don’t want to overwhelm Brynn with too much at once, so I promise you, as soon as we figure out what sort of wedding we’re having, we’ll call in reinforcements.” His lips brushed the top of my hair. “Or should I say, as soon as Brynn decides.”
Turning slightly, I stretched up to give him a tiny kiss. “Event planning is the easy part for me, remember?”
“We’ll be helping you, of course,” Corina laughed, as Jenna nodded.
“I like your friends,” Owen whispered loud enough for them to hear.
“I like yours, too,” I grinned.
Our lives were so entwined now that getting married was undoubtedly the most logical step, but it still seemed fast.
“Were you surprised?” Owen asked, “Or disappointed that we didn’t get to learn about the invention of the ceiling fan?”
Laughing, I turned to circle my arms around his neck. “I was surprised, and it was perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” he murmured, kissing under my ear. “And I need to lock down my sweetheart so that you know I’m never going to have eyes for anyone but you.”