The Complication (The Program #6)(113)

“You, me, California. Some super-cute beach. Maybe formal wear.”

Sloane stares at him, heat creeping onto her chest. “Anything else I should know about this idea?” she asks.

James licks his lips, lowering his eyes like he’s self-conscious, and reaches to play with her fingers.

“Not really,” he says. “Just a couple of friends, a man of God.” He lifts his blue eyes. “A ring that’s not made of plastic.”

Sloane and James have been through so much, and Sloane always knew they’d end up here. She knew it when they first started dating years ago. She even knew it when she didn’t remember him at all. And yet . . . and yet . . . she’s not prepared for how her heart aches at this idea. How all of the misery somehow got them here, and that means she can let it go. She’s not prepared for that.

Sloane’s eyes well up, and she looks down to where James is pressing his fingers between hers, opening and closing his hand. “What if I like the plastic ring?” she asks, not meeting his gaze.

“We could upgrade to platinum,” he suggests. “One that has, I don’t know, our initials or something. Maybe some kind of rock.”

Sloane tries to bite back her smile.

“River rock?” she asks, just to mess with him.

James laughs and tugs her hand so she’ll look at him. She’s surprised to see the glassiness in his eyes, the red high on his cheeks.

“Maybe one like this?” he asks, and then leans over to grab his backpack. He pulls out a clear plastic bubble with a yellow top, the kind that comes out of a quarter machine. The same kind he’s given her before with sparkly rings in them.

She holds the plastic in her hands, and when she looks at James, he shrugs like she should open it.

“I love you,” she says first, straight and to the point. “You know I love you madly, right?”

“Yeah,” he says, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. “Yeah, I know you do.”

Sloane slides her thumb under the lid of the plastic bubble and pops off the top. Inside is a silver ring with a princess cut diamond set in the middle. She stares at its sparkle in the sunlight. She looks up at James and sees him impatient for her response.

“It’s bigger than I thought,” she says, taking it out of the plastic.

“I get that a lot,” James returns, eyes still impatient. Sloane laughs and studies the ring, finding their initials connected with a heart. James reaches for the ring and then takes her hand.

Sloane and James stare at each other as James waits for permission to put it on, his confidence only waning when it comes to the possibility of Sloane not feeling the same.

“Well?” Sloane whispers. “I think this is your part.”

James’s lips flinch with a smile, and then he shifts to get one knee down on the blanket in front of her. Sloane gets to her knees in return.

They’re both in damp bathing suits with sand sticking to their skin, but Sloane can’t imagine a better place. A more important place than next to the river.

“Will you marry me?” James asks suddenly, his voice tight with emotion. Sloane watches as tears slip onto his cheeks, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

It’s all come to this. The pain and grief are over; they’re free.

Sloane blinks and feels her own tears drip down. James slides the ring onto her finger, but she doesn’t want to look down. Doesn’t want to look away from him.

And the weight of the ring feels natural; it feels right.

Sloane brings her arms over James’s shoulders, threading her fingers through the back of his hair.

“Yes,” she says simply. “The answer was always yes, even when you were just joking.”

“I was never joking,” James says. “Because it’s always been about us.” He leans in and kisses her, laying her back on the blanket. Their tears fade away, evaporating from the heat of their skin pressed together.

“It’s us forever, Sloane,” he murmurs. “Just like I promised.” It’s a promise he’s never broken.

? ? ?

And so later, when Sloane stares at the top of their tent, James between her legs as her fingernails dig into his back, she knows he was right.

It has always been about them. And it always will be.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


I first want to thank my agent, Jim McCarthy, and everyone at DG&B. Your guidance and determination has made this all possible, and I’ll forever be grateful.

I also want to thank my amazing editor, Liesa Abrams, for understanding the depths of the characters and the world I created. Your point of view has made me a better writer and has brought this series to life. I’m lucky to have you in my corner.

Thank you to the entire team at Simon Pulse for your support of this series. A special thank-you to cover designer Russell Gordon (seriously, what great covers), the fantastic Mara Anastas, the Riveted Lit team, and everyone in the education department.

Thank you to my tireless friends who have read drafts of my books, sometimes multiple times: Trish Doller, Amanda Morgan, Bethany Griffin, and Michael Strother. I also want to thank Mindi Johnson, Hannah Johnson, and Abe Tinkham for your support (and acting skills) over the years.

And mostly, I want to thank my readers. Thank you for inhabiting the world of The Program for six years, for rooting for these characters, for believing in hope. This last book was for you.