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I took a deep breath and shook out my arms, trying to knock loose all the butterflies. “Okay. I guess it’s time.”
Sebastian put his arm around me when I came inside and kissed me on the temple. “How are you feeling?”
“Bloated,” I said.
“About the launch.”
“Like I’m about to throw up.”
“It’s going to be great. You deserve all the success that’s going to come your way, Kenzie. I mean that.”
I pulled up his arm and kissed the back of his hand. “Do you think there’s time for me to get some more of those mini hotdog things before it goes live?”
“Adrian,” Sebastian said. “How long until it goes live?”
Adrian was standing at the kitchen island with a laptop open. Jules was beside him and whispering something in his ear, but they both looked up at Sebastian’s voice. “Any minute now,” he said.
“Does it matter if she sees the literal moment it launches?” Trinity said. “I mean, what is that going to tell you, anyway?”
“It’s symbolic,” Sebastian said. “And yes, it matters. This is Kenzie’s dream. It’s her moment. She’s going to remember this for the rest of her life.”
Trinity rolled her eyes but smiled. “You’re such a sap.”
“I am. And I also have everything pulled up on this computer.” He lifted his hand and pointed to a laptop on the coffee table. “Everything is pulled up already, so once you lift that screen, you’ll be able to see your book on every digital marketplace.”
I saw the laptop wasn’t completely closed, probably so I wouldn’t have to type login credentials and water down the moment.
“Is it go time?” my dad shouted. He’d been watching something on his phone beside my mom, but he popped up on his stubby legs and started looking around like he’d already missed something. “Why the heck didn’t anybody say anything?”
“Dear, they’re just about to start,” my mom said. “You didn’t miss it.”
“Oh. Well, what are we waiting for?” he pumped his fist and shuffled over toward the coffee table. Jasper emerged with a plate of little hotdogs. He’d either read my mind or overheard me. I didn’t care. I popped one in my mouth, thanking him, then took two more for the road and let Sebastian guide me to the couch by the coffee table.
I’d made Sebastian let me invite everyone from the writer’s retreat. He was still sour that someone had leaked our relationship and pregnancy to the media, but I was over it, and didn’t really care to figure out who it was. It was definitely Astaire. I’d actually seen that she posted a livestream video of Sebastian and I arguing and then me revealing the baby was his. But he didn’t need to know that, and to her credit, she’d deleted it once she realized it was causing us grief.
Cooney, Reggie, Astaire, and even Frank and Margaret were here. Frank and Margaret had vanished a few minutes after arriving and I immediately regretted inviting them. Chances were, they were having some ritualistic sex in one of the spare bedrooms. I just hoped it wasn’t our bed.
Cooney had spent most of the time helping Jasper with the finger foods, and I was almost certain Astaire was trying to get into Noah’s pants, but he didn’t appear to be interested. Reggie had been uncharacteristically tame. It sounded like the task of writing his great “no comma” novel was wearing him down, but he was stubbornly refusing to quit.
Everybody formed a little circle around me on the couch. Adrian checked his phone. “It’s up.”
I took a deep breath. Sebastian had kneeled down beside the computer and was watching me with intense focus. I smiled at him. “Relax, it’s just a book launch. If it flops, I can always write another one. You don’t have to look so nervous.”
He licked his lips. “Go ahead,” he said, eyes locked on the computer.
I smiled, sucked in a breath, then lifted the screen. The display blinked on, but my focus was on the engagement ring sitting where the “h” key was supposed to be. All the keycaps on the computer had been replaced so they spelled out the words “Will you marry me?”
I lifted up the ring. My hands were shaking. I tried to say something, but the only sound I managed was something like a gurgle. “This is a ring,” I said.
“Oh that’s smooth,” my dad said. “The old ring in the laptop trick.”
I barely heard him. Sebastian was still kneeling, and it all clicked. He was asking me to marry him. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. Chills ran up and down my spine. “I—yes,” I blurted. I launched myself from the sitting position to wrap my arms around Sebastian. A less muscular man probably would’ve tipped backwards, but he caught me easily. He hugged me hard, then pulled back and kissed me. “Good,” he said.
