Just there.
“It’s not a joke,” I say.
Mason looks at me first.
Then at Gabriel.
Then back at me.
“You proposed?” he demands.
“Yes.” Gabriel’s voice is steady.
“And you said yes?”
“Yes.”
Mason drags a hand down his face. “This is because of the custody thing, isn’t it?”
“It’s because I asked,” Gabriel says calmly.
“Dex said get married,” Mason snaps. “But not to my sister.” He points at Gabriel. “You didn’t even date her. You don’t know her that well. And she doesn’t know you like I do. This is fucked up.”
The words hit hard.
Gabriel doesn’t rise to it.
He doesn’t step forward.
He doesn’t puff up like an idiot.
He just stands there.
“I said yes,” I repeat.
Mason’s eyes snap back to me. “Nat—”
“No.” I step in front of Gabriel now, not shielding, just claiming space. “You don’t get to talk about me like I’m not standing here.”
He exhales sharply.
“I thought about it,” I continue. “I didn’t say yes because he panicked. I didn’t say yes because I felt bad. I said yes because I decided to.”
“You decided to marry him,” Mason says flatly. “Without dating him.”
“We know each other.”
“You know him as my teammate. That’s not the same thing.”
“And you know him as a teammate. That’s not the same thing either.”
Silence.
That one lands.
Mason looks at Gabriel again.
“If you hurt her—”
