"The Tangle Peak wedding," I breathe, and suddenly the enormity of what I've managed to accomplish in the last few days hits me like an avalanche. I went from planning a wedding nobody wanted to planning a wedding that's going to be talked about for years. I went from feeling like a failure to feeling like maybe I actually know what I'm doing.
Pine is still holding me. "Your wedding. The one you're going to plan while you're also figuring out whatever this is with us."
"Whatever this is," I repeat softly, looking between Pine, Cassian, and Jett. Three alphas. Three different scents mixing together. Three different people somehow combining into something that feels exactly right. Something that feels like home.
Jett settles deeper into the chair with his champagne. "We can figure that out as we go. No pressure. No expectations. Just us. Just you. Just figuring it out together at whatever pace feels right to you."
Savannah raises her glass, and we all follow suit. The champagne bubbles catch the light from the office window.
"To Sharon. To the wedding of the year that she's about to plan. To Ben's complete and total downfall. To the protection of a grandfather who deserves better. And to whatever is happening with these three extremely attractive alphas who apparently have decided she's worth their time and energy."
"To Sharon," the brothers echo, raising their glasses in unison.
I'm holding a glass of champagne that's probably going to make me emotional given that my feelings are already all over the place. But I raise it anyway because this moment feels important. This moment feels like something is shifting. Like everything that was broken is starting to come back together in a new configuration that's somehow better than the original.
"Thank you. For protecting me. For protecting your grandfather. For being willing to do the hard thing even though it probably cost you. For choosing me. For seeing me. For making me feel like I actually matter."
My voice wavers slightly.
"You matter. You matter to us. You matter to this town. You matter to yourself."
Cassian's tone is firm.
Pine nods, and Cassian and Jett do the same. "That's what pack does. We protect our own. We take care of each other. And you're ours now. Whether we rush into it or take our time with it, you're ours. You're part of this. You're part of us."
I take a sip of champagne, and it tastes like celebration and possibility and the beginning of something that might actually be really good. Really, truly good.
After we finish celebrating, the brothers drive me back to the hotel. It's dark outside now, and the Christmas lights of Pine Hollow twinkle like stars in the darkness. Pine insists on coming up to my room, which is probably not the best idea given the way my emotions are currently all over the place like fireworks. But I let him anyway because I'm tired of making the safe choice. I'm tired of protecting myself from things that might actually be good.
My hotel room is small and generic, all beige walls and furniture that's designed not to offend anyone. And somehowwith Pine in it, it feels less lonely. Less temporary. Less like a place I'm just passing through and more like a place where something real is happening.
He settles into the chair by the window while I collapse onto the bed, my body finally acknowledging how exhausted I am from everything.
"Talk to me. Tell me what you're feeling. Don't filter it. Don't make it pretty. Just tell me."
His voice is soft, gentle in the quiet of the room.
"I'm feeling a lot of things." I'm lying on my back, staring at the ceiling like it might have answers to questions I haven't even asked yet. "I'm feeling relieved that the Ben situation is handled. I'm feeling terrified about the Tangle Peak wedding and whether I'm actually capable of pulling it off. I'm feeling confused about what's happening between us and what it means for my future. I'm feeling grateful. I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'm feeling like maybe, just maybe, my life is actually starting to make sense for the first time in years."
Pine stands up and walks over to the bed. He lies down next to me, close but not touching, and I appreciate the space he's giving me. The respect for my boundaries. "All of those things are valid. You've been through a lot in the last few days. More than a lot, actually. You've processed betrayal on a fundamental level. You've found out your ex is committing fraud. You've been hired to plan one of the most important weddings of your career. You've learned that three alphas think you're worth their time and energy. Your emotions are supposed to be all over the place. That's normal. That's healthy."
"What about you?" I ask, turning my head to look at him. In the darkness, I can barely make out his features, but I can smell him. Sandalwood and metal and something warm. "What are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling like I want to protect you from every bad thing that's ever going to happen to you. I'm feeling like I want to be someone you can count on. I'm feeling like I'm falling for you really hard and it's slightly terrifying because what if I mess it up. What if I say the wrong thing at the wrong time. What if I push when I should pull back. I'm feeling like the fact that you're here, in your hotel room, willing to let me be here with you, is probably the best thing that's happened to me in a really long time."
"You're not going to mess it up."
"You don't know that. I could absolutely mess this up. I could say the wrong thing. I could move too fast. I could push when I should pull back. There are a thousand ways I could ruin this. There are a thousand ways this could fall apart."
"Yeah, but you're also the kind of person who designs tattoos that explain someone's entire existence to them in abstract form. You're the kind of person who looks at an omega having a panic attack and responds with kindness instead of aggression. You're not going to mess this up."
He shifts closer, and our shoulders touch. It's a small gesture, but it feels significant. Like we're crossing another threshold. Like we're admitting that we want to be here, together, even if we're not entirely sure what together looks like yet.
"I'm going to kiss you now, and if you want me to stop, I will. But I need you to know that I've been wanting to kiss you since the moment you walked into the studio and asked me what I had to tell you. I've been thinking about kissing you constantly."
"You can kiss me. I want you to kiss me."
He turns his head, and his lips find mine in the darkness of the hotel room. The kiss is soft and slow and patient, like he has all the time in the world and he's willing to spend it all on just kissing me. My hands find their way to his chest, and I can feel his heartbeat beneath my palms, fast and steady and real.
