We both looked up to find her and Dane waiting at the diner’s entrance.

“What are you doing here?” Julia looked happily surprised as she sped up to greet her best friend with a hug.

“Lover boy told us to meet you guys. Said food was on him, and who am I to turn down a free meal?” she said before greeting me with a hug as well. “I think you did good,” she whispered approvingly in my ear.

“I think so, too.”

“Hey, buddy,” Dane said as we shook hands like men before he pulled me into a bear hug.

“Did you put in our names?” I asked.

Dane said he did and that our table was ready.

The four of us walked into the diner, and I swore, time stood still. The sound of silverware clattering against plates met my ears as everyone turned to watch us. I squeezed Julia’s hand a little tighter but realized that she didn’t need the comfort.

My girl wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable, and she proved it when she addressed the enamored crowd, “We’re together, okay? You’re all the first to know. Tell your friends. The feud is over. Right, babe?” she turned and asked me.

“Yep,” was all I could say in response because I was so damn surprised and proud and turned on.

We slid into a booth as cheers and clapping erupted around us.

I heard a few things like, “It’s about damn time,” and, “Finally,” and, “Did she say the feud was over?”

It should have been unnerving, having strangers and acquaintances alike treat us like we were some sort of celebrity couple, but the truth was that we were used to it. We’d been the talk of the town since we were born, and having everyone up in our collective personal business was par for the course by this point.

Jeanine reached for the glass of water in front of her and sipped at it. “It was always fun, being in public with Julia before, but being in public with the two of you together is something else entirely,” Jeanine added as she opened her menu.

“I like that we’re famous by association,” Dane said, and I kicked him under the table. “Ouch. Damn it, Russo, that hurt.”

“No one is famous. It’s just a small town with not much going on. This is a big deal right now. It will die down,” Julia said, and I thought she actually believed it.

I knew that our story would never die down, and with each new milestone we crossed together, the town would be by our side, cheering us on. We’d been born into the kind of stuff that town legends and folklore were made of. Only now, our choices going forward would tell of our love story instead of our mutual destruction.