Will’s voice is steady. “I’d say so.”
Sam takes a step forward, squaring up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before he can get any closer, I step between them, placing my free hand on Will’s chest. Not to hold him back, but to remind him I’m right here.
I look my brother dead in the eye. “It means we’re in love, Sam. And it means you’re going to be an uncle in six months or so.”
For a second, he just blinks. The words hang between us, too heavy to ignore.
His eyebrows shoot up, lips parting in shock but before he can say a word, the front door flies open behind him.
“Oh my god!” Charlie gasps, eyes wide. “I’m going to be an aunt!”
And just like that, the tension snaps, cut clean by the sound of joy barreling through it.
Will shifts beside me.
“I’ve been thinking,” he says, voice low.
He lets go of my hand and drops to one knee right there on the gravel drive.
My breath catches.
“Sam, I know this isn’t how you imagined finding out,” Will says, never taking his eyes off mine. “But the truth is, I love your sister. I’ve loved her longer than I’ve had the guts to admit. And now we’re building a life. Starting a family.”
His hand dips into his pocket, and then there it is. A ring. Simple, stunning, and glowing in the afternoon sun.
He looks up at me, voice unshakably steady. “Marry me, sugar. Not because we have to. But because I can’t imagine a single day of this life without you in it.”
Tears spring to my eyes.
Charlie gasps behind us. Sam mutters something that might beJesus Christ.
But none of it matters. Not the audience. Not the timing.
Because it’s him. On one knee. Asking me to choose forever.
And I already have.
“Yes,” I whisper, then louder, stronger. “Yes.”
Will slips the ring onto my finger, rises to his feet, and kisses me like the world just stopped spinning. And maybe for a second it did.
We spend the rest of the day letting Sam get warmed up to the idea of us while Charlie practically plans our wedding. Just as the sun dips in the sky, Will catches my gaze and nods toward the door.
My heart spikes and I dip my head, letting him know I understand. We make our way outside, unnoticed by Sam and Charlie, and end up in the barn.
The warm scent of hay and old wood wraps around us the second we step into the barn, golden sunlight slanting through the gaps in the boards like it's blessing the moment. The horses are quiet, the only sounds the distant hum of cicadas and the soft shuffle of Will’s boots against the dirt floor.
He shuts the door behind us, slow and deliberate, then turns to me with eyes dark and full of something that steals the breath from my chest.
“You handled today like a damn queen,” he says, stepping close. “And I’ve been thinking about you all afternoon.”
My lips part, heart thudding. “Yeah?”
He nods, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, voice low and molten. “Couldn’t stop imagining you back out here. Against the stall. Legs spread. Still full of me from this morning.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “We don’t have much time.”
