The gymnasium full of people cheered, and when it quieted down, she continued, “Now, because this is sort of like our flashback prom, it wouldn’t be complete without crowning a prom king and queen.”
Troy snorted. “What do you want to bet Donovan’s the king, and she’s crowning herself queen?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have suggested it if I’d known my plan was going to be successful by now,” Grandmother Valentine grumbled.
“Oh, Gran, you didn’t,” Donovan groaned as Troy burst out laughing.
“Don’t think I’m gonna start calling you ‘Your Highness’ anytime soon, bro.”
“Okay!” Vicki crowed, and opened up an envelope to make it look official. “Your reunion king is…wait for it…Donovan Valentine!”
Donovan kissed Ella on the cheek and said, “I’m sorry, babe.”
She laughed. “Don’t keep your subjects waiting, Your Majesty. Get that cute butt up there.”
Donovan made his way through the cheering and whistling crowd. When he got to Vicki, she put a plastic gold crown on his head and then picked up the microphone to continue her speech. Before she could speak, though, Donovan reached out and took the mic and lifted it to his mouth.
“Thank you so much for the honor, Valentine Bay,” he chuckled, and the crowd laughed with him.
Vicki reached out to snatch the microphone back but he turned his shoulder so that it was just out of reach. “I just have a few words,” he said, and the crowd cheered.
Vicki scowled at the reaction, but she backed off.
“So, Valentine Bay being what it is, I’m pretty confident most of you have heard some version of why I came back here,” he said, “and I’m sure a lot of it was exaggeration. But, one part is definitely true: I am madly in love with Ella Fletcher, and I pretty much always have been. Ella, come up here.”
He watched her make the same journey through the crowd that he’d just traveled, and smiled a little at the adorable blush coloring her cheeks. He was about to make her blush even more.
When she stood next to him on the stage, he gave her a long, deep kiss. The crowd went wild. He pulled back and said, “Ella, you’re my heart. You’re my soul. I love you with everything I am.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I love you too, Donovan Valentine,” she managed to choke out.
“So, basically, I just have one question.”
“What? Anything!”
He dropped to one knee. “Ella Fletcher, will you continue to be my wife, but on purpose this time?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Yes! Absolutely!”
She pulled him to his feet by the lapels and kissed him. He held her in his arms and thought his heart might explode with happiness.
This was his home, and she was his wife, and it really didn’t get much better than that.
The End