Saved by the Wy-Guy.
“How excited are you?” I ask, flashing a smile and purposefully turning my back on Boston. I smack my hand on Wyatt’s shoulder and shake him as he breaks into the happiest grin I’ve ever seen. “How you kept this a secret is beyond me.”
“I’d never ruin that for her,” he says as we step into the house. “It’s impossible to surprise P. She deserved this.”
When Declan called me to tell me the plan,Iwas on cloud nine. I asked four hundred questions about it. Couldn’t stop, really. I was psyched. I think I was talking about suit colours and table arrangements by the time he told me to shut up. I managed to get some information from him, like how he has been bringing Wyatt around to different jewelers for the last six months, and how he had to ask two people for their permission: Penny’s dad and Avery Oliver.
“You’re a better man than Fork, Caulfield,” Boston grumbles with a laugh. “He’d have spilled within a day.”
“I wouldn’t have,” I glower.
Seriously. I wouldn’t have. Ever. If you want to propose to someone and need someone to keep a secret, I’m your guy. I’ve never done it, but Icoulddo it. I technically just did it for a few days, even though I didn’t see Sweets during that time so I couldn’t have blown it. And yeah, I guess I called Arden within ten seconds to gush about it.
Hey, I was excited, alright?
I stand at the back of the crowd, but when I spot a head ofred hair next to a short little brunette who I have also grown quite fond of, I separate from the boys and head to the front of the room. I wind my arms around Arden from behind when I reach her, ignoring the way she tenses on instinct, like she forgets she has a faux Forkerro at all.
Her hands find my forearms as she glances up at me.
I smile down at her, but then look beside me, to where Avery Oliver is watching us with big, wide eyes.
“You two are ridiculously hot together.”
I chuckle, squeezing Arden a bit. She’s not wrong.
Avery shakes her head, tucking her short brown hair behind her ear. “Your kids would be insane.”
The way I immediately start to imagine what our babies would actually look like is probably a bad sign. Would they have her hair? I’d pray for that. I’d beg the gods for ten ginger babies that look like their mother. I get tons of compliments on my eyes, but I’ve grown quite fond of the colour brown lately. Let them have all of her DNA. I’d want carbon copies of Red.
I clear my throat, Boston’s voice ringing in my ears. That is, if this shit was actually a thing.
“Did you hear how he did it?” Arden asks softly, still peering up at me.
I nod. Heard all about it because I made Dec tell me every minor detail of this plan. Cutest shit ever, if I’m honest. Makes my stomach hurt a bit for some reason, like I can’t believe two people were lucky enough to find this kind of love with each other in this day and age. I’m telling you, your stomach would be in knots too if you sat in a room with them for five minutes.
They went on a coffee date this afternoon. He brewed her a hazelnut latte and they took a walk with the dogs down to the water behind their house. They sat there for about as long as it takes to talk and finish a hot beverage. When she took thelast sip of her latte, she found a message carved into the bottom of her new mug.
Will You Marry Me?
I swallow, hating the little ache that sprouts deep in my chest. I wish I could have seen her face. I know that moment was the happiest she’s ever been. It’s no secret I have a sweet spot for Sweets.
“They give me hope,” Arden says quietly, mostly to herself.
I place my chin on the top of her head, but feel the look Avery gives us at that comment. I ignore it. I don’t let her read into it. I just act like that comment is completely normal from a taken woman. If anyone’s going to out us for being in a fake relationship, it won’t be Avery Oliver Tyler. I can promise you that. She’s good shit.
“Me too, Red,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Me too.”
The front door opens, the lights fly on, and everyone starts cheering. I mean, the roomerupts. I can’t hear a thing, but I can see their faces, and that’s all that matters.
Avery decorated this house to utter perfection. So, the first thing Penny does is scream at the top of her lungs like she’s about to get murdered. The next thing she does is take in all the decorations with wide-eyed wonder. The third thing she does, which surprises me that it actually took that long, is find Avery in the crowd.
Her mouth pops open and Sweets is crying within seconds. Down she goes.
Declan laughs, resting his hand on her back as she keels over. This is probably just as exciting for her as the proposal itself. There are tons of important faces in this room. People she doesn’t get to see every day anymore. People who are thereason Pittsburgh will never truly feel like home for either of them.
Avery, hands over her mouth and her own tears falling down her face, rushes to her best friend and scoops her up into her arms. Tiffany and Lauren, their other friends from home, follow suit while they dab at their eyes—Tiffany holding the cutest baby I’ve ever seen on her hip.
Caulfield, EJ Dalton, and Seth Tyler approach Dec with easy, proud smiles. They engulf him in a group hug, the jokes already flying, smacking him on the back with rough, firm grips.
