“Yeah, but he didn’t know when. I was waiting for the right moment, and tonight was it.”
Fitz gasped. “I’m so sorry. I should have asked.” His eyes welled up, and Sacha looked panicked. He jabbed a finger at Fitz.
“No, absolutely not. You suck those tears back in.”
Fitz laughed and sniffed. “I’m sorry.” He wiped away the wetness and turned to Gio. “I’m so sorry.”
Gio stood and hugged Fitz. His dear friend had such a big heart, and no one meant more to Fitz than Jack and the rest of their family. Yes, sometimes Fitz could be a little…enthusiastic, but no one looked out for everyone the way he did.
“It’s okay,” Gio promised.
“Jack is going to be so hurt,” Fitz murmured. “And it’s all my fault.”
Sacha shook his head. “I’ll talk to him. It’ll be okay.”
The front door opened, closed, and suddenly Ace was there with Cocoa, who was so excited he didn’t know who to run to first. He darted to Colton first, of course, because for him it probably felt like days since he’d seen his dad and not just a few hours. Then he went around, getting pets from everyone before joining his doggy cousins.
“Congratulations!” Ace threw his uninjured arm up, and it rained what looked like…
“Are those dog treats?” Gio asked as the tiny morsels hit the tiled floor and bounced, scattering everywhere.
Ace’s grin was huge. “Safer than confetti and easier to clean up. Find it,” he told the dogs, and they all darted over, sucking up the many tiny treats like furry vacuum cleaners. Yep, definitely easier to clean up than confetti.
“How…?” Sacha shook his head. “How are you here?”
“Not important. Congratulations!” He grabbed Gio and hugged him, squeezing him tight.
“Oof,” Gio huffed out. He laughed and patted Ace’s back. “Thank you.”
Ace turned to Sacha, who narrowed his eyes at Ace.
“I’ll hug you when you’re healed,” Ace said brightly.
Sacha eyed him. “Wait, who told you?”
“Lucky.”
Uh oh.Gio braced himself.
“And who told Lucky?” Sacha asked.
“Um, Mason.”
Sacha glared at him.
“Okay, so Jack was at the office when the text came through, and for some reason, he looked shocked and said you and Gio were getting married—like, really loud. Saint and Rydenoverheard, so Ry told Jay, who told Mason, who told Lucky, who then told me, King, and Red.” Ace frowned. “Did Jack not know?”
Sacha let his head fall back with a loud groan. “No, Jack did not know. It wasn’t planned!”
“But you’ve had the ring for months,” Ace said, confused.
“Oh my god, yes, I had the ring! You kinda need the ring to propose, so I had it. I was waiting for the right moment, and I suddenly knew tonight was the night, so I proposed. Gio said yes, and when Fitz saw the ring, he texted Jack, who didn’t know because it had just happened.”
“Again, I’m so sorry,” Fitz murmured.
Gio patted Fitz’s shoulder. “It’s okay.”
The front door opened, and Gio braced himself.Here we go.
