“Texts aren’t proof of life,” Holden said, all nineteen-year-old bluster as he swooped in to hug me. “You could’ve been abducted by billionaires.”
I smiled. It felt so good to have them here, to hear them banter and see their suddenly too big frames filling the kitchen. It was a tiny spot of normal I’d missed more than life itself. “Speaking of billionaires.”
Four heads turned at once when I motioned toward Alex, as if they were only realizing now he’d even walked in behind me. I slid my hand into his without thinking about it, tugging him forward to introduce him.
“This is Alex Westwood, my husband.”
Husband. The word felt crazy rolling off my tongue, but not in a way that made it feel wrong. Just unexpected.
Ryan blinked once, then twice. “Your… husband?”
“Yes,” Alex said easily, offering him his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet all of you.”
“Holy fuck.” Ryan spun toward Wyatt. “You weren’t kidding. I thought for sure it was some kind of prank when you said she was married.”
“No.” Wyatt’s eyes settled on mine when he said it, a smug set to his jaw, like he thought he was finally going to have backup in whatever it was he had against me right now.
If that was what he’d thought though, he was sure to be sorely disappointed when Ryan spun back around and shook Alex’s hand. He sized him up in that older-brother way that made me want to roll my eyes because he was eight years younger than me, but he wasn’t rude or unfriendly about it.
“I’m Ryan. Middle child. Professional disappointment until further notice.”
Holden snorted. “I’m Holden, the second youngest of the disappointments and the best at it.”
Colin stepped forward last, smiling as he pumped Alex’s hand. “It’s good to see you again, man. Thanks for flying them in.”
Alex inclined his head. “I was happy to.”
For a moment after the introductions were done, I expected them to ask why. To demand explanations or interrogate me about our courthouse wedding, but no one said a single darn thing about it. Neither Ryan nor Holden accused me of running away or doing something impulsive. In fact, Ryan leaned back against the counter and grinned at me. “Well, good for you, sis.”
I frowned, my grip on Alex’s hand tightening on instinct. “That’s it? You’re not going to subject me to the Thayer Inquisition over this?”
He shrugged. “You’ve always hated drama. You hate waiting. You hate letting people have opinions about your life. So you just went ahead and did it. It’s very efficient, which is totally on brand for you.”
Holden nodded his agreement. “Honestly? I think it’s kind of iconic.”
I blinked at them, stunned that they were taking this in stride the way they were. Alex glanced at me, one corner of his mouth lifting like he was holding back a comment. Wyatt made a low, unimpressed sound, but I ignored it.
Mostly.
Mom emerged from the hallway then, her smile a little too bright but real enough. “Is dinner almost ready? Jane, you look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said automatically.
She looked at Alex. “You too.”
He smiled, but Colin nodded from behind the stove before he turned the heat off. “You’re right on time.”
We all shuffled toward the table, the familiar choreography of chairs scraping and plates being passed around. Alex pulled my chair out for me without making a production of it, settling beside me like he belonged there.
And God, it really feels like he does.
Conversation picked up quickly while Mom and Colin brought the food from the kitchen and laid it out in the center of the table. Ryan and Holden started telling us about campus politics and professors they hated, Colin chiming in with dry commentary about Columbia that made Alex laugh.
I caught him watching them when he thought I wasn’t looking, absorbing the noise and movement like he was memorizing it. Wyatt didn’t say much unfortunately, but every so often, I felt his glare like a prickle along my skin. Whenever I looked his way, he’d drop his gaze to his plate, his jaw so tight, it was ticking.
At least the others were better. That had to count for something. Maybe Wyatt would even finally realize this wasn’t the end of the world if he saw them accepting it over the course of a whole dinner.
After heaping so much food onto his plate that I wondered if he’d eaten at all after he’d left here, Holden leaned across the table and looked at Alex. “So, tell us the story. How’d you convince her to put on the ring?”
