“My truck is in the back of the line,” Michael said. “It’s an extended cab. We’ll all fit. Let’s head out to the ER.” He shook his head and seemed far too fucking happy. I would’ve been angrier, but Ruslan began to laugh as if this was the funniest thing that had ever happened to him, so I hugged him instead.
It took us two hours at the ER, and when we came back, Ruslan had a shiny new cast on his arm. I had calmed down, but I was still going to get my brothers back for their crap. If it wasn’t for them, none of this would’ve happened.
We sat at the dining room table. Mom had held dinner for us, and she was currently slamming down containers of food with enough force that I was worried the corn and chicken and mashed potatoes might fly out onto the floor, but my brothers were doing a good job at pretending it wasn’t happening. Dad was already munching on a roll. At least he wasn’t adding his two cents to everything.
Franc threw a roll at me and grinned when it bounced off my chest onto the white plate in front of me. “So, how is it being a big Hollywood type?”
I lobbed the roll back at him, and the jerk caught it with his mouth and winked at Ruslan. Ugh, they were the worst when there was someone new around. “Okay. It’s fun. I was hoping to invite you all to Ruslan’s for Christmas, but with Dad’s leg—”
“It should be healed by then!” Mom smiled as she settled a dish of au gratin potatoes onto the table. “Are you two living together?”
Dad studied me and Mom didn’t blink. My brothers were smiling far too wide. “Uh, yeah.”
Ruslan cleared his throat and took my hand. “I was hoping to have some privacy for this, but it seems like the whole family is very tight knit and we’re unlikely to get it.”
Rod snickered. “That’s a nice way of saying we’re nosy and in each other’s business.”
Everyone laughed, even Ruslan, and some of the stress of getting here, then driving right out to the ER, began to melt away.
Ruslan cleared his throat. “Mr. and Mrs. McGogh, I wanted to ask your permission to marry Asa. I didn’t want to be rude by not asking.” He shrugged.
I gaped at him.
Mom’s face scrunched and she leaned forward in her seat. “Honey, how strong were those painkillers? They always make me love everyone, too.”
“Mom!”
She shushed me.
Ruslan smirked. “I only had Advil.”
Dad shrugged and snagged another roll. “Well, you’re already living together.”
Mom gave Ruslan her best smile. “It’s the thought that counts.”
Dad tapped his coffee mug on the edge of his plate, and my brother Michael grabbed the carafe from the table for him and got up to fill it. I thought maybe Dad was enjoying being looked after more than he let on. He scowled. “What? What thought? They’re already—”
“Let’s vote.” Michael cut Dad off and settled the carafe back on the table. “Ruslan passed the McGogh test—”
“He failed, unless the test was being as stupid as the rest of us,” I mumbled, which got me a grin from Rod and Franc.
Michael sighed. “I say he’s allowed to ask Asa to marry him.”
“I agree,” Rod said.
Franc scratched his chin. “He does have the traditional McGogh cast.”
Ruslan gave me a questioning glance.
I groaned. “We all broke something on the trampoline we used to have as kids. Why did you get this one?”
Dad slurped his coffee. “Nostalgia.”
Ruslan dragged a black box out of his pocket, and I sat back hard in my chair. He turned toward me, and I loved his warm smile even more now than I already did. “Since I have permission, will you marry me?”
With a quick swipe of my hand, I snagged the box and dragged it closer. I held my breath as I lifted the top. Inside was a simple black metal ring with a thin line of diamonds along the center. I picked up the band and turned it over, nearly swallowing my tongue. It was made so the expensive rocks wouldn’t snag, but the ring was probably worth more than the whole house.
“How long have you had this?” I whispered.
