Five sets of eyes stare at Etna. I can only imagine what they’re thinking. I lean in and say, “I think you’ve had the opposite effect you were going for, dude.”
He snorts. “Yeah, okay. Look. Keno’s my best friend. We hit it off immediately. It was clear since we first started hanging out that we just clicked. I think it was in that first month of knowing each other?—”
“That you drunkenly kissed on the beach?” my dad supplies helpfully.
I let my head fall back and groan but appreciate the chuckles from our parents.
“I wasn’t going to bring that up,” Etna says. I can hear the smile in his voice, though I’m going to continue looking at the ceiling until my skin stops burning. “But yeah, that too. I was going to say that within that first month, we were already making plans for a future where we’re always right next door. We’d have families together. Raise our kids together. Take family trips together.”
“We know,” Etna’s mom says.
I finally brave a look and my shoulders relax when I see her smile. Especially when she turns that warm smile on me.
“We got to talking about different marriage practices around the world and how in some cultures, it’s becoming more common to marry a friend you’re compatible with in multiple aspects of life—lifestyle, finances, whatever. We decided to remove all the outside factors and marry each other.”
“You’re supposed to marry for love,” Edna says, her glare heavy on Etna.
“And I am,” Etna answers, and fuck does my heart jump. “I love Keno. I think anyone who has ever met us and spent any time with us knows I love Keno. Just because it’s not a romanticlove right now doesn’t mean I don’t love him. We’re talking longevity. Sustainability. Building on a life we’ve already started. Iknowromantic love will happen now that we’ve opened ourselves up to it.”
“How can you know?” she whispers.
“Because he’s my other half, Eddy. He’s my soulmate. Even you said as much when I started talking about him. You don’t get to take that back when it’s uncomfortable for you.”
She sniffs and turns her head.
“I’m sorry that this isn’t traditional and maybe this isn’t what you want to hear. But we’re happy with this decision. We’re moving full steam ahead. My house will be on the market after the first of the year and we’re going to stop pretending to live separate lives and just move into his house until we find a bigger one on the lake. We set a date. We have a long and intimidating to-do list to make our wedding as amazing as we can. This is happening.”
“Good,” Mom says. She claps her hands together. “What’s the date?”
I sigh. “June twenty-eight.”
Both of our mothers take out their phones.
“That’s a Wednesday,” Etna’s mother says.
“Yes. That means we’ll have more of a chance of booking the venue we want when we find it, since we’re not fighting for a weekend,” Etna explains.
She grins. “Smart.”
“What else have you planned? I want to know everything,” Mom says.
“Nothing,” I admit, shaking my head. “We decided two weeks ago while we were on the road. So we got some long, scary wedding lists together and have been battling what to do about housing, and… we’ve just started. According to the lists we found, we’re like six months behind already.”
Edna presses her lips together as soon as I say that we’ve only been at this for two weeks. But she doesn’t speak. Even as our parents start asking us questions, Edna remains resolutely quiet.
She continues like that throughout the day. As we search for stockings, unwrap presents, play games while we eat lunch, and then prepare for dinner, Edna hasn’t spoken a word.
I know it’s bothering Etna. He’s both pissed and hurt. I’m not sure how to fix it without giving her what she wants. And… I’m going to be selfish. I’m not doing that. I might have only officially had this man for two weeks, but he’s mine. I’ll fight a fucking Minotaur to keep him.
It turns out to be a really good day, despite Edna. Since she’s so quiet, I can almost pretend she’s not there glaring at us all. Etna doesn’t do so well pretending, but he doesn’t try to get her out of her mood either.
When we head to bed late, he doesn’t try to talk to her again. He follows me in and shuts the door behind us. I turn, wrapping my arms around him. Etna sighs, hugging me in return. We stand just like that for several minutes.
“There’s definitely something to hugging,” I murmur. “It’s kind of healing.”
“More than kind of. We’re going to have to sneak off for hugs periodically. At least until we’re public. Then I’m hugging you wherever we are. I needed this.”
“I’m sorry?—”
