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Mia snorted her drink out her nose when I told her that we were calling Shaw’s things scattered around the apartment, her simply being on an extended sleepover.
“That sounds so familiar,” my sister had snickered when she was able to catch her breath after laughing herself silly. We were going to have dinner together with our parents that night, and Mia had stopped to pick us up so we could ride together with the excuse that she missed me and wanted to spend a little extra time with Shaw and me. But I knew it was because she’d been so nosy about our relationship since the wedding. “Where have I heard that before?”
“It wasn’t an ‘extended sleepover,’” Barrick corrected her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her sigh happily. “It was an ‘indefinite sleepover,’ firecracker.”
“Whatever,” she said with a roll of her green eyes. “It’s the same thing. You watch, little brother. You’ll have a ring on her finger before you know it.”
I didn’t argue with her on it. For one, because Shaw had come into the kitchen at that moment, announcing she was ready to go. For another, because I’d already been looking at rings. Maybe it was moving fast, but I knew what I wanted, and that was Shaw as my wife.
The need to put my ring on her finger only grew when Remington proposed to Violet on his yacht a few weeks after Lyric’s wedding. I’d seen the dreamy look on Shaw’s face as she’d watched her best friend throw her arms around Remington as she shouted “Yes!” even before he’d finished asking her to marry him.
Which was why I needed to move things along. But even though I was in a hurry to get my ring on Shaw’s finger, I wanted to do everything right.
The Wednesday following the yacht proposal, I asked Dad, Uncle Axton, and Cannon to have l
unch with me. Shaw was doing a commercial for the skincare line she was one of the primary spokespersons for. Her mom was with her, acting as her assistant, or I would have gone with her myself and postponed this sit-down with the dads.
Nervously, I waited until we’d placed our food orders before telling them why I wanted to talk to them all.
“Dude,” Cannon laughed when he looked at my face. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
I rubbed at the back of my neck, frustrated—and yeah, a little nauseated because I was scared this wasn’t going to go the way I hoped.
Dad put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it, pulling my gaze to him. He gave me a reassuring smile. “Just tell us what’s on your mind, son.”
Inhaling sharply, I nodded and turned to look at Uncle Ax. “Sir…” Cannon snickered, but the dads actually sat up a little straighter at how serious my tone was with that single word. “I would like to ask…” I stopped, knowing that it wasn’t the right word, and I swallowed hard. “No. I’m begging you. Please give me your blessing to marry Shaw.”
The hand that was on my shoulder tightened, as if telling me everything was going to be okay at the same time Uncle Axton’s face relaxed into a huge smile. “Were you scared I wouldn’t want you as a son-in-law, Jags?”
“I was—and still am—terrified that you won’t let me marry the most beautiful, amazing, sweet, and sassy girl who owns my fucking soul,” I told him honestly.
He slapped his hand on the tabletop and threw his head back as he laughed out loud. “I like that you have the impression I hold any power when it comes to Shaw. She does what she wants, and if she wants to marry you, nothing I say or do will stand in her way.”
“I-I know that, sir. But you were the first man to ever love her. I plan on being the last.” I leaned forward, my eyes beseeching him. “So, I’m going to ask you again. Will you please give me your blessing to marry your daughter?”
“Of course, he fucking does,” Cannon exploded with a grin. “Why wouldn’t he? Pretty sure it would be a relief to have you take her off his hands.”
“Jagger,” Uncle Axton said with a shake of his head, and for a moment, my heart stopped. “There is no one I would ever trust more with that girl’s heart and happiness than you. You have my blessing, son. I just hope you know what you’re signing on for.” He grinned. “Because that girl is just like her mother, and I still don’t fully understand that woman. But fuck, it’s fun trying to figure her out.”
I was finally able to breathe deeply again, and I relaxed as our food arrived.
“How are you going to ask her?” Cannon asked as he cut into his steak.
I glanced at Dad. “I was thinking of asking her at the Christmas Eve party. It was how Barrick asked Mia, and I know it would make Ma happy.”
“Son, you should do what feels right for you and Shaw. Don’t do anything just because you think it’s what your mom or I want or expect from you.” He pointed his fork at me. “If the party is where you want to ask her, we will all help make it as special as possible. But make sure it’s what you want, not us.”
“Honestly, I don’t think it would matter to Shaw where you ask her,” her dad commented. “She will probably be happy with you dropping to one knee anywhere. If I were you, I’d be more worried about finding the perfect ring for her. As crazy possessive of her as you are, you need something to make a statement. Something that as soon as a guy sets eyes on her, he can’t help but notice that ring proclaiming she’s taken. But at the same time, nothing gaudy.”
I mulled that over as I chewed my steak. He was right, I needed the perfect ring for just that reason.
For all of ten seconds, I thought about asking Violet to help me pick something out for her best friend, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut about it if I did ask for help. She and Shaw didn’t have secrets from each other, and I didn’t want to put Violet in a position where she would have to keep something from Shaw.
Mia was my second choice, but Cannon told me I needed to get the moms to help as well.
I had to admit that I’d been more than a little nervous about the way he would react to me wanting to marry his sister, but from the moment I’d asked his dad for his blessing, he’d jumped on board. His suggestion of getting the moms involved was the perfect idea to make them feel like a part of one of the biggest moments of Shaw’s and my life together.
But getting Mia, Ma, and Aunt Dallas together all at the same time was a hell of a lot harder to do than getting the dads together. Those three were so busy, I didn’t think I could survive even a day in their shoes.
