Adrenaline rushed through me, and I took another long swallow of the scotch.
“We don’t have it,” Luka hissed. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we aren’t a very liquid company right now.”
“I’m aware,” Stefan said sharply, his voice hushed. “And I’m doing everything I can to stall. I even told them how we’ve been rebuilding, and that we just narrowly avoided a takeover by Elite. But they don’t give a shit about our excuses. Crimewaspaying, after all.”
Stefan tossed the rest of his drink back and poured himself another.
“Jesus fuck. We could actually lose everything,” I murmured.
“That’s real helpful, Em,” Luka said. “How big of a loan can we take out as a business?”
“Not an option.” Stefan shook his head. “Even if we could borrow that much, or even half, we’d be fucked at tax time. You have to be able to itemize and account for that kind of—”
“And just what are we all whispering about?” Brooklyn asked brightly, appearing out of nowhere.
We all jumped, doing our best to act natural—and probably failing.
“I, um, was just telling my brothers that I have a surprise,” I said. Three pairs of eyes turned to me, and I scrambled for something to say. “I’m, uh…well, I’m engaged!”
It wasn’t exactly how I’d planned to spring the news on everyone tonight, but my brothers and I had needed to come up with a distraction and this was a pretty handy one.
For a moment, everyone just stared. Then their eyes darted down to my hand.
“I don’t have a ring yet!” I said quickly, putting my hands behind my back. “We’re trying to get his grandmother’s. It has sentimental value.”
“You’re engaged,” Stefan said, his voice flat, as if he didn’t quite believe me.
“Yep!” I said, keeping my own voice cheery.
“Oh my God!” Brooklyn said, throwing her arms around me and jumping up and down. “Congratulations, Emzee! Emzee’s getting married!”
“Emzee’s getting married?” Tori echoed, rushing into the room as fast as her pregnant body could take her. She joined Brooklyn so us girls were all in a group hug now.
“To who?” Luka asked skeptically. “I didn’t know you were even dating anybody.”
My brothers seemed pretty taken aback. Not least because they probably couldn’t figure out if I’d just come up with the story on the spot to cover for our sibling huddle. There’d be no reason for them to be suspicious, though, once they heard who it was.
“To Ford,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.
“Really?” Stefan said, not disguising his shock.
My brothers knew who Ford was—and what he was to me. They knew he’d protected me from the high school bullies who’d made my life hell and that the two of us had been close ever since. He’d been a fixture in my life for years. A very platonic fixture, however.
“Wait, you’re marryingFord?” Brooklyn said.
“Hmm,” Tori said, narrowing her eyes at me a little, sizing me up.
I couldn’t blame The Wives for being taken aback as well—considering the fact that the last they heard, Ford was supposed to be my fake (and temporary) boyfriend. They were clearly bursting to drill me for all the details about the unexpected escalation, but luckily they were bound by the Secrets of the Vault not to disclose what they already knew in front of my brothers.
Still, I knew I’d be getting the third degree during our next lunch.
“Yes, I am,” I answered Brooklyn. “We haven’t picked a date yet, but probably in the next few months. I know it seems sudden, but…I guess when you know, you know.”
There was another long silence—The Wives exchanging glances and my brothers doing the same. I held my breath.
And then a smile spread across Stefan’s face.
“This is great news,” he said. “Malone’s exactly the right kind of man for this family.”
