“What’s going on?” Callan crossed his arms over hischest, frowning. I knew his concern came from love, but man, I was getting sick of seeing that expression on his face.
Just blurt it out. Rip it off like a Band-Aid.“Maia split with her bloke a while back. I took my chance, proposed, and she said yes.”
It was mostly the truth.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell them the whole truth because it would mean asking Callan to keep a secret from Beth, and I didn’t think that was fair.
“Is this a joke?” Callan’s arms dropped to his sides.
“Nah. Never been more serious.” I pulled the ring box out of my back pocket. “Asked my mum for Aunt Sigrid’s ring.” The lads knew all about it and had taken the piss out of me for years because I hadn’t shown any signs of ever getting serious enough with a lassie to use it.
“You’ve never been in a serious relationship,” John said, taking the thought out of my head. “How the hell do you go from screwing around to engaged?”
“Aye? Can you not just date for a bit? Why the need to jump right in?” Callan demanded.
I snorted. “Mate, you proposed to Beth six months after you met. I’ve known Maia for over a year.”
“Technically, Beth and I have known each other since we were sixteen. We were dating for six months before I proposed. Unless Maia’s all right with you showing up in tabloid photos with half-naked women, I’m thinking there’s a plot hole here.”
Bloody Callan. Too smart for my own good. “Fine. She broke up with Will a while back, but I only just got up the courage this past week to propose. She said aye. That tells you everything. That’s all that matters. I’m not going to stand here and explain myself. It’s happening.That’s final.”
Callan stared at me like I’d grown three heads. “You’re serious? Have you been in love with her this whole time?”
I side-eyed John, and Callan followed my gaze. John gave him a tight-lipped nod and then sighed. “Sorry, buddy. But I promised Baird I wouldn’t tell you. He didn’t want you to have to keep a secret from Beth.”
“I’m in love with Maia,” I confessed.
Callan closed his mouth. I waited.
And waited.
Then my best mate nodded slowly as he processed all this new information. “Okay. Well, I … I’m happy for you, man. But I think getting engaged right away is a mistake.”
“Callan—”
“Nah. I’m worried about you. You’re doing a complete one eighty from sleeping with everything that moves to proposing to a lassie. Your behavior is … erratic.”
“So was yours when you were falling in love with Beth and didn’t want to man up and admit it,” I snapped back.
“Okay, okay. None of that.” John stepped between us calmly. “You guys need to chill.”
“He needs his head sorted.” Callan pointed angrily at me.
“Aye. I do.” I nodded, my words taking the wind out of his sails. “But did it ever occur to you that Maia might be the one who can help me do that?”
My best mate’s shoulders slumped.
Then, “Well … fuck.”
I curbed a smug response.
His eyes narrowed. “I’m cautiously offering my congratulations.”
My amusement fled. “You can stick your judgmental cautious congratulations upyour arse.”
“For fuck’s sake, Baird. People who care about you are allowed to be concerned for you.”
“Well, I’m sick of it. I’m a grown man. I can handle myself. This is what I want. This is who I want, and that’s that.”
