Vince and Oliver seem to take that as the dismissal it is and fuck off, leaving me at the table alone with an empty glass.
I stand, making my way after Nathan and, more importantly, my alcohol.
“Asshole.” I snag the bottle off the patio table as I fall into the chair opposite him, looking out across the vast yard and garden area that apparently was a great buy, given the way Kat’s eyes lit up when she saw it.
“For a man who’s decided he wants to share one woman with four other men for the rest of his life, you're terrible at sharing, you know.” I take a swig of the bitter liquid and set it back down for him.
He gives me a tight-lipped smile that I know is as good as a middle finger before he takes the swig for himself.
“I’m going to marry her.”
His words shock me, not because of their meaning but becausehe’ssaying them. I know he has feelings for Kat; it’s obvious, but marrying a woman has never been something he showed an interest in.
Having a family, yes, kids and a full house. It’s one of the many reasons we have one house that we raised our boys in.
Having a woman was also something he was good with, which made sharing the name of the game.
But for him to want to marry…
“You want to make her a Lawson? You think that’s a good idea?” I ask just to make double sure I’m hearing him correctly.
He looks down at the bottle before taking another swig and holding it out to me with a smile that’s so wide I’ll be shocked it doesn’t hurt the mean old bastard's face. I swipe the bottle from him and chug it down before he drinks it all.
“I think it’s the only idea. Nothing short of her being ours forever will be enough, and even then I’m not above chaining her to me if I have to.”
I nearly choke, coughing on the bitter liquid. I manage to get it down, but just barely.
“Jesus fuck,” I gasp, slamming a hand to my chest as I fight for air. “You can’t just say things like that.” I glare over at him and find he isn’t even looking at me, instead looking out at the yard, that same dopey smile on his face that I’ve honestly never seen before.
“Why not? I’m pretty sure we know a guy who can help us.”
This time, I’m gasping for air around laughter, and Nathan laughs along with me. It’s not funny exactly, but it’s a part of our past that we can look at differently now because of Kat.
“You don’t think you’ll scare her off?” I ask after we’ve both got ourselves under control and take a moment to breathe.
“If I didn’t think so, I would have asked her about a dozen different times now.” This time, the way his lips tilt up and his voice sounds as if he’s deep in thought, stuck on a memory that’s only for him.
We sit quietly for a moment before he seems to remember himself. He unbuttons his jacket and pulls a little black box from a hidden interior pocket.
I don’t need to ask to know what that is, and I’m almost positive my jaw is on the floor.
He holds it out to me, and of course, I need to see it, the ring that he deemed worthy of our future wife.
The top band is white gold with a rose gold inner band; they twine together, giving it a vintage look. With a central princess-cut diamond that isn’t nearly big enough in my opinion, but is probably as big as he could get without her refusing it. Smaller diamonds line the sides, getting smaller as they go, twisting and turning down the band. The swirls on the face are set with small stones as well, making it sparkle from every angle.
It’s stunning, perfect for her, and it doesn’t even take any real effort to picture it on her finger.
Ours.
“You know she’s going to lose her mind even if you lie about how much it cost, right?” I know my brother well enough to know he spenta lot,as he should, but we all know how Kat is with money.
“I’ll just have to ensure we distract her from that. I bought as modestly as I could, but it’s one of a kind. She won’t know its actual value unless one of us tells her.” He gives me a pointed look, and I hold my hands up in surrender. I’m not going to tell her; I’m not the one with the big mouth, and he knows it.
“She needs to get over this adversity to us spending money on her because that’s never going to stop.”
“If anything, it’s only going to get worse.” I shake my head and toss him the box back. “Have you told Des yet?”
He tucks it away again and cocks a brow at me.
