“Hell yeah I will,” Phillip said, carrying in three more boxes before laying them on the ground.

Claire smiled. “I got this, guys, and you’re right up the road. I’ll be fine.”

Phillip looked around. “Do you want us to stay and help set up?”

She shook her head, and Reese was sure that hurt Phillip because it hurt her. “My roommate will be here, and I doubt her parents will be with her.”

They both nodded and then Phillip pulled Claire into his arms, fiercely hugging her and drawing more tears out of Reese.

God, this sucked.

As she watched Phillip hold his niece, or better yet, his daughter, Reese’s heart lurched in her chest as she took in deep breaths. She loved these two, more than anything. The last two years had been perfect, and it all had to do with him. He brought them together and held them there. He loved with everything inside him and boy, did they love him.

Parting, he kissed Claire’s nose and then said, “I love you, and I’ve raised you to be a good girl. Don’t get pregnant, kick boys in the nuts if they touch you, and please be happy.”

Claire smiled as she hugged him tightly again before saying, “I don’t know why we are all acting like I am going halfway across the world, but I’m really going to miss you guys.”

“Not as much as we’ll miss you,” he whispered, pulling away before looking at Reese. “We gotta get out of here before I set up a tent in here and never leave. You don’t know how many guys I saw with tattoos and One Direction hair as I walked in here. Trouble, they are all trouble. Stay away, Claire!”

Claire giggled as she playfully saluted him. “Yes sir.”

They said their goodbyes and then left, heading to their car. As they walked hand in hand, Reese’s heart ached but when she looked up at Phillip, everything seemed okay because he was there. They might have just left a part of them to fend on her own, but they had each other and would always be there for her. They were just a phone call away.

Getting into the car, they both sat there not moving, and she let out a long breath.

“That sucked.”

“Sure did,” he agreed with a quick nod. “Hey, want to go fool around in the car?”

“In the school parking lot?” Reese exclaimed. “Are you crazy?”

“No, I scoped the place out when we came for that visit so just in case I can’t find her on campus, I know the sex spots.”

Reese laughed as she rolled her eyes. “You are unreal.”

“I worry.”

“I know,” she said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “And I love you for it. She’s going to be okay.”

“I know, but keep telling me that because I am freaking the hell out,” he said before starting the car but, before he could pull away, she stopped him.

“She is going to be okay.”

He smiled and nodded as she added, “We are going to be okay.”

He leaned over, pressing his lips to hers and saying, “As long as we have each other, we will be.”

Reese cupped his face and pressed her lips to his once more before whispering, “I love you.”

Because she did. So much it hurt some times. Nothing could hold a candle to the last two years. They were honestly the best times of her life. Even with the fights they had with Claire, the fights they had with each other, they knew that no matter what, they had each other. He was her other half, her soul mate, her everything, and she couldn’t live without him. He helped her be the person she wanted to be. He pushed her and helped her strive. She owed him everything.

His eyes fell shut a little as she ran his finger down her jawline. “I love you, too.”

“Can I ask you something?”

He kissed her on the side of her mouth before whispering against her mouth, “Sure.”

“Marry me?”

He paused mid-kiss and then pulled back to look at her. “What?”

She smiled shyly, and she knew he heard her. “Marry me?”

“Hold on a damn minute,” he said, smacking the steering wheel, surprising her. “I have asked you to marry me at least twice a week for the last two years. I even did it with a ring, a big, shiny one, and you have said no, every single time, and now you ask me?”

She laughed as nodded her head. “Yes, because I’m ready.”

“Now you’re ready? What made you change your mind?”

“You. You’ve changed everything. I want to fall apart because I am going to miss her, but you hold me together. So stop questioning me and answer me. Will you marry me or not?”

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers as their eyes locked together. He cupped her face between his hands, his eyes shining with the love and desire he had for her. She hoped that he saw her love for him and knew that she was where she wanted to be. But then he shook his head before saying, “No.”

“No?” she shrieked, backing away from him, shocked. That was not the answer she expected!

“No, because I want to ask,” he said, putting the car in drive and heading off the campus.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. I’ve been waiting years to have you say yes to me.”

“So what, you’re gonna make me wait?”

“Yes, because now that I know you want to marry me, I’m going to ask you when you least expect it.”

She shook her head and leaned back in the seat, annoyed. “Fine, I guess I’ll wait, which sucks because I wanted to have sex with my fiancé tonight.”