“Thank you so much for coming to our little housewarming party. It was so kind of you to come all the way down from Minnesota.”
I wrapped Dirks’s mom, dad, and sister into big hugs one by one before I slipped back into the crowd.
Nova stood nearby, chatting with Charlie, who was glowing, her hands resting protectively over her very pregnant belly.
“I’m still sad you moved out of the guesthouse,” Nova said the moment she spotted me. Her smile was soft, but her tone carried that sisterly pout only she could pull off. “But I guess this makes up for it.”
I laughed, my gaze sweeping over the house—ourhouse—the one Jer, Dirks, and I had poured ourselves into.
“It’s right across the street from you, Nove,” I reminded her with a grin.
“I know,” she sighed dramatically, pulling me into a quick squeeze. “But I still miss you being right there.”
Her words warmed me, even as I hugged her back and then reached out to gently pat Charlie’s tummy. “Thank you for coming, both of you. It means more than you know.”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
The living room buzzed with life, warm laughter spilling over the low hum of music. The walls were painted a soft cream that caught the afternoon light streaming through the big bay window, and the hardwood floors gleamed beneath a scatter of mismatched rugs we’d collected together. Family photos already lined the mantel, alongside a vase of fresh flowers Nova had insisted on bringing over. The scent of coffee and something sweet from the kitchen lingered in the air.
My gaze caught on Jer and Dirks standing in the middle of the living room, shoulders brushing as they talked. The two of them—my anchors, my chaos, my steady—waiting for me.
I moved toward them, weaving through the crowd with a smile tugging at my lips.
“Speech! Speech!” Nova shouted over the chatter, her grin wide as Ollie and Scarlette clung to her sides.
Austin stood next to them with his arm protectively wrapped around Charlie, his hand clasping her belly. Ledger stood tall beside Auburn with little Evie perched on his hip. Across the room, Dirks’s mom, dad, and sister watched with soft, expectant smiles.
I laughed nervously, heat blooming in my cheeks as I turned to my men. Jer stood steady on one side of me, his fingers laced tightly through mine, the inked stars and a moon like they belonged there just to guide me home. On the other side, Dirks—my sunshine, my blue-eyed anchor—squeezed my hand, his warmth grounding me even as my chest ached with the rush of it all.
Looking out at everyone gathered in the home we’d built together, my throat tightened. “Thank you all for coming. For so long, I was a foster kid. No home. No family. No place to truly belong. And then... ” I glanced toward Jer, emotion catching in my throat. “I met him. He gave me the first glimpse of what love and safety could feel like. Years later, when the universe spun us back together, I met my sunshine in Dirks. My anchor. The one who reminded me I didn’t only deserve a home—I deserved to build one.”
Silence hung for a beat, tears glimmering in more than a few eyes. Both Jer and Dirks slipped their hands from mine, as though wordlessly agreeing this moment wasn’t just mine to hold.
Dirks turned toward me, his jaw tight, but his eyes—those bright, endless blue eyes—soft as they locked onto mine. “Luna girl... you know I love you.”
Before I could take my next breath, he was dropping down on one knee right there in the middle of our living room, in front of everyone.
He took my hand in both of his, thumb brushing over my knuckles. “When you left for London, I thought I’d lost you forever. I thought I’d never get the chance to tell you how much you meant to me, how much you made me better. And when you finally came back... God, Luna, I realized how much I’d taken for granted. I don’t want to waste another second without you knowing—you’re it for me. My sunshine, my wild girl, my anchor when I didn’t even know I needed one. Every day with you, I learn what love actually means. I want to wake up next to you, fight beside you, build a life with you forever. Marry me, Luna girl. Be mine.”
The room erupted, gasps, hands flying to mouths, a squeal from Nova that I’d never let her live down.
My heart hammered against my ribs, and tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
Instead of answering him, my gaze darted sideways. To Jer. To the dark ink on his arms, the steady strength in his jaw, the man who had carried my shadows for years.
My hands trembled as I shook my head, whispering through a broken laugh, “I... I couldn’t do this without him.”
It wasn’t rejection—it was the truth. Our truth. I needed both of them. Two halves that made me whole. Sunshine and starlight. Anchor and edge.
Jer froze for only a moment, then his lips curved into that rare, quiet smile. “Guess I’d better not let him show me up, huh?” And shit, he dropped to one knee, too.
Jer took my other hand. “Lune, I’ve loved you since I was a kid, before I even knew what love meant. And standing here now, after everything—we survived. You, me, Dirks. We’re not halves anymore. Marry me.”
My knees buckled, tears streaming down my face as laughter spilled out between sobs. Two men on their knees in front of me, both my anchors, both my wild, impossible loves.
My chest cracked wide open, and I didn’t even try to hold back the sob when I dropped to my knees between them, hands clutching theirs so hard it almost hurt. “Yes. Yes. To both of you. Always, yes.”
Dirks was the first to surge up, cupping my face and kissing me with the kind of passion that burned, his sunshine warmth wrapping me up until I was dizzy. Then Jer was there, tugging me back, his kiss slower. And then—God help us—we were all laughing, tangled together on the floor of our brand-new living room while our family and friends lost their minds around us.
