“Love you, bro,” Ethan said. He was on a mission. Every single brother had to know. Four down—Zach, Alex, Josh, Logan—five to go. And his “little sister” Mad too.
“What’s with all this love shit?” Josh asked.
“You taking estrogen or something?” Logan asked with a smirk.
Sarcastic bastards.
“This is why I never said this shit before,” Ethan barked. “Fuck you all. I learned my lesson with Peggy and now I love every single frigging one of you. Deal with it.”
The guys went silent. Everyone knew what he’d lost. And then someone said, “Well, shit.”
Then they were crowding him, pounding him on the back, knocking into his shoulder. Someone mussed his hair. Josh reached across the bar and gave his cheek a slap.
And he knew they all loved him back.
Ally walked in to the Halloween party to a strange sight. All the guys were piling on Ethan, jostling him and messing up his wig while he grinned like the hottest Thor she’d ever seen and that included the movie version.
She rushed into the fray with a classic line. “You are no match for the mighty Thor!”
The guys parted, making room for her.
“Ally,” Ethan said, serious now. He pulled her tight against his massively muscled chest made even more so with padded muscles.
She hugged him back. She’d missed him. She hadn’t seen him since Lauren’s wedding. Lauren had told her about Ethan inheriting his foster mom’s estate and how hard he’d taken it, so Ally had called him, but their conversation had been short. He’d explained he needed some time to grieve, but he wanted to talk to her face-to-face here with all their friends because he had “serious shit to say to everyone.” She’d been cautiously optimistic that he might say he wanted to go with her on her new job adventure or that he really didn’t want her to go after all. She hadn’t given notice at work yet. Ethan’s serious talk had sounded important enough to put her plans on hold. Temporarily.
He spoke near her ear. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too. You doing okay?” She hadn’t been overly worried about him because she knew Zach was with him a lot, the brothers leaning on each other as they said goodbye to their foster mom. Carrie had kept her updated.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m doing a lot better.” He pulled back, seeming to notice her costume for the first time. “You look like you belong with Thor. What is this sexy thing you’ve got on?”
She beamed. “I’m a goddess.” The costume was a white maxi dress with side slits that showed lots of skin on her torso and from upper thigh to ankle. Gold accents made it shine with a gold headband, gold choker necklace, gold belt, and gold bracelets.
“Yeah, you are.” He pushed his long flowing blond hair over his shoulder; then he took her hand and led her to a quiet corner of the room. He stopped and framed her face with his hands, gazing deep into her eyes. “I love you, Ally.”
She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling.
He pulled her hand from her mouth and held it in a warm clasp. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it before. I felt it, but something in me just shut down. No one’s ever said it to me before and it made me feel unworthy somehow, but then I started saying it and people started saying it back.”
“What people?” she blurted. “You’re just saying this to everyone?”
“No! Not at all. I told my dad. My brothers. Family. I love you different than that.” He shifted and his hammer bounced off her leg. “Sorry.” He set it back on the bar and Logan started playing with it, bopping Ben on the head.
He returned to her, taking both her hands in his. “I don’t want you to go to LA or Maui or Rome. At least not with that movie star. I’ll take you wherever you want to go, but in the meantime, I want you to stay here with me because I love you.” His voice was rough with emotion, making her heart thump hard and her eyes well. “I want to build a life with you.”
“Eth,” she choked out over the lump in her throat.
He lifted a hand, gently stroking her hair back from her face, his eyes searching hers.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, an electric surge of love lighting her up inside. She threw herself in his arms and kissed him all over his gorgeous face. “I love you too! I’ll stay for love. I’ll stay for you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, murmuring, “Thank you.” Then he smiled tenderly, cradled her jaw, and kissed her. “Are you sure? Be sure. I don’t want to hold you back.”
“Love is worth more than any VIP first-class ticket.”
He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug before pulling back just enough to kiss her. She kissed him back passionately with all the love in her heart. Nothing had ever felt more right. She chose love and she’d never been happier.
“Thor and the goddess are making out,” someone said. “Get a picture.”
