There's an envelope taped to the door.

Another envelope.

Darting another glance around the hallway, yet still finding no one around, I remove the envelope from the door and close it behind me. Walking back to the couch, Sarah looks over and notices the envelope, recognition lighting her face.

"Another one?" she says with more excitement than I expect.

"Yes," I murmur as I sink back down on the couch, carefully opening and removing another napkin from the envelope.

I want a guy who will be a goofball with me. One who will dance in the rain and kiss me. Just like in the movies.

Ry's response from that long ago night was: I want to kiss and dance in the rain and actually embrace being a dork with the one I love.

There's an arrow drawn from mine pointing to what he has recently added at the bottom.

Come outside and dance in the rain with me. No kissing necessary. Please. Give me another chance?

"What does it say?" Sarah asks quietly.

Dazed, I hand it to her, watching as she reads it. Her eyes dart up to mine. "Are you going to go?"

"What do you think I should do?"

She offers a tender smile. "I know I wouldn't be able to come up with any guys' names who've gone to this much trouble to show how much they care and love you. That they're sorry." She pauses for a beat. "I think you'll regret it if you don't go down there."

She's right. I know she's right the moment she says it, but something still holds me back...

"He loves you, Maggie." Her tone is gentle. "I doubt he'd go to all this trouble"-she lifts up the napkin-"if he didn't." Tucking her blond hair behind her ear, her fingertips briefly touch her earlobe, triggering something in my memory.

Wait a minute...

Suddenly, my mind flashes back to that first meeting with Ry. When he'd talked about being in a relationship with Jack, he'd tugged on his left earlobe.

Lie.

He'd done the same thing when I'd asked him if he disapproved of me starting to date again.

Lie.

When I'd asked him where Matt had gone that one night in the bar, Ry had tugged on his earlobe when he'd come up with some excuse.

Lie.

Not once had his little "tell" shown up when he'd told me how he felt ... When he'd told me he loved me, he never once tugged on his earlobe.

He'd been telling the truth.

"He really loves me," I murmur, turning to stare at the stack of napkins on the counter that had been delivered over the past week.

Sliding off the couch, Sarah flashes a smile, tugging me from the couch and steering me into the bathroom. "Of course, he does! Now, we have to get you looking a little more presentable for this." Hastily, she applies some blush and a bit of gloss to my lips as I attempt to twist my hair up into a clip.

Grabbing an umbrella and my raincoat from the closet, I slip it on along with my flats and give Sarah a quick hug.

"If I don't hear from you, I'll assume everything worked out well." She winks and slips out the door with a quick good-bye as I grab my keys. Two steps toward the door, I stop, thinking of something I should do first. Once I've done it, I lock up after myself.

Taking a deep breath, I decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator, and the moment I burst through the door to the lobby, I feel like breaking into a full-on run to get to Ry. I rush out onto the sidewalk; I look both ways, trying to figure out where he'll be and hoping he didn't give up on me. But I don't see him anywhere.

Walking down the sidewalk, I try to use another storefront awning to help shield myself and my umbrella from the onslaught of rain, and I still don't see him.

"Darn it," I grumble aloud.

"I wasn't sure you were going to come." His deep, husky voice rolls over me, and I take a deep breath before turning to find Ry behind me.

Chapter Fifty-Six.

Ry Ducking into one of the small alcoves of a nearby store in order to prevent being washed away by the crazy amount of rainfall, I really don't think she's going to show. Hell, no one with any sense is out here in these conditions, so I can't really blame Maggie for not wanting to show up-among the other more obvious reasons. Gazing down at the raindrops splashing heavily against the sidewalk, I physically jerk at the sound of her voice.

"Darn it," she grumbles loudly, her back to me a few feet away.

Maggie. She came.

Stepping from my spot, my hands are still deep in the pockets of my raincoat. "I wasn't sure you were going to come."

Spinning around to face me, the wariness in her eyes guts me.

"I really didn't think you'd actually come," I say, like a broken fucking record. I think I'm in shock that she's actually here. In front of me.

"Well, I figured I should thank you for all of the napkin notes." She glances down at her shoes before raising her eyes to meet mine. Her gaze is less guarded, and she offers a hesitant smile. "I can't believe you kept them all."

"I kept them because they matter to me." Swallowing hard, I press on. "Because you matter to me."

Her lips part to speak, but I rush on. "I don't think I can ever manage to apologize enough for lying to you, but I honestly just wanted to be with you-to be near you in any capacity. And, wow," I break off with a chuckle, "that actually sounds far more disturbingly creepy than I expected.

"I wanted to get a chance to know you without you feeling like you were getting hit on constantly. And I can't say I regret that part of it. Because you were comfortable with me, and you didn't have your guard up. You allowed me to see you-the real you. And that's the Maggie I love.

"I understand if you never want to see me again, but I wanted to apologize one final time-face to face. If you want me to leave you alone," I pause, inhaling sharply at the pain the words cause me, "I will. You have my word on-"

"Did you know that originally, Pretty in Pink was filmed with Andie and Duckie ending up together?"

Caught off-guard and unsure of where she's going with this, I hesitate. "Really?"

She nods. Watching me, her expression is guarded, and she falls silent.

"You once told me you wished she would've ended up with Duckie, her best friend." I swallow hard past the lump in my throat. "Do you still feel the same way?"

The silence drags long enough that my chest feels heavy, dreading her answer. Finally, she takes a small step toward me. Yet she's still so far away.

"I've always wanted to be the one who ends up with you," she whispers.

"I love you, Mags"-the words pour out of me-"so much."

Tipping her head to the side, she remarks softly, "Enough to keep all of the napkins, huh?"

I flash her a sheepish smile. "I'm just relieved it wasn't something a lot bulkier, or I would've had trouble storing those suckers."

"No napkin, now?"

Her words throw me off. "What?"

"You don't have a final napkin?" Her eyes are lit with something that appears almost like mischief.

"No," I draw out the word slowly, uncertainly. "It's raining cats and dogs out here so I just-"

"What about this?" She holds out her hand, fisted, fingers uncurling around something, and I see that it's a napkin with writing on it. Pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, she holds it so that I can read it.

How long will you love me?

I nearly laugh out loud with relief, a smile forming as I raise my own hand to show her what I wrote on my own palm. What I had written, the message I'd been prepared to show her regardless of the way this conversation had gone.

I'll love you forever.

The moment she reads it, her eyes glisten with tears, and she tosses her umbrella to the side, launching herself into my arms.

And I give her what I promised her.

I kiss her in the rain, just like they do in the movies.

Epilogue.

Ry.

Seven months later.

I'm waiting on her, sipping my drink at Irish Times while keeping an eye on the entrance. The moment she walks through the door, I wait for her eyes to find me. The moment they do-the moment our eyes meet-is just like that cheesy shit in the movies.

And I get an equally as cheesy grin on my face because of it.

Maggie slides onto the barstool with a long sigh. "Man, am I glad it's Friday." Leaning toward me, she meets me halfway for a soft kiss only for the bartender, Mike, to interrupt us when he sets down a napkin before placing her drink in front of her.

Turning to her drink, Maggie raises the glass halfway to her lips when she notices it.

There's something written on her napkin. Picking it up, she reads what I wrote on it.

I want to ask the woman I'm in love with-my best friend-to marry me. I hope she says yes.

Maggie's eyes dart up to meet mine, finding me watching her expectantly. The smile that spreads across her face is full of mischief.

Taking a sip of her drink, she carefully sets her glass down on the bar, napkin still held in her other hand. Raising an eyebrow expectantly, she says, "Why don't you check your napkin?"

Drawing back in confusion, I turn, noticing our bartender has just placed a fresh napkin beneath my drink. Lifting the glass from it, I slide the napkin closer and see one word written on it.

Yes.

My head whips around to stare at her. "How did you-"

"I didn't." She smiles, leaning in to kiss my lips as I sit, stunned. "I was just hoping. So I asked Mike to keep one stashed, just in case." Maggie gives a little laugh and whispers, "There was another one, too."

"Oh?" I whisper back. "And what did that one say?"

The way she smiles at me, the way her eyes light up, the corners crinkling ... There's not a more beautiful sight than this.

"It said, 'I love you. Now are you going to marry me or what?'"

I barely get out a short laugh before she presses her lips to mine. I kiss the hell out of her right there in that bar before proudly sliding the diamond ring on her finger. And I can't help but think ...

Who knew this much happiness could come from a little clam jamming?

THE END.

Dear Reader, Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book! I'd love to hear what you thought about Maggie and Ry's story. If you would be so kind as to leave a review on the site where you purchased the book, it would be appreciated beyond words. And if you send me an email at rcboldtbooks@gmail.com with the link to your review, I'll send you a personal 'thank you'!

Please know that I truly appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to read this book! If you'd like to stay up to date on my future releases, you can sign up for my mailing list via this link: http://eepurl.com/cgftw5

Also by RC Boldt.

The Teach Me Series:.

Wildest Dream (Book One).

Hard To Handle (Book Two).

Remember When (Book Three).

Laws of Attraction (Book Four).