Thursday, 10:39am
Eddie:Congrats! OMG! I’ll start pulling outfits for dinner. Do you two want to be the ones to tell Calen?
It took a while for the reply to come through, but as soon as it did, I understood. They needed this. Calen would just have to wonder which case I screamed about until they got home.
Thursday, 10:45am
Fia:Please?
I sent a thumbs-up back.
I had brought a nice outfit to wear out with me, just in case. I laid out navy trousers with a sage green button-up with his brown dress shoes for Cash. And for Fia, I knew a simple white sundress would suit her perfectly with her navy wedge heels.
I knocked on Calen’s door and he shouted for me to come in. He was playing on his Xbox, talking with Drew through his headset, as I made my way to his closet. I pulled out a pair of nice khakis and a polo for him to wear. The poor kid ran on the warmer side and didn’t like to wear anything that would make him feel even stuffier.
I caught him as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, looking through his closet. He mumbled something, and took his headset off. He stood up, looking like he was holding his breath.
“Which one?” His voice wavered just a little as he tried to brace for impact.
“Fia doesn’t want me saying. They’ll tell you when they get home.” I said, trying not to sound too interested. Because I amtheworst secret keeper on the fucking planet.
The absolute fucking worst.
And I tried my hardest not to notice the worry on his face as I hurried out of his room. I heard his phone ringing, and paced in the living room waiting for something, eventually making my way to the kitchen where I started stress baking. I was so incredibly stressed because I hated waiting for them, knowing Calen wouldn’t know for a few hours was going to kill me. Especially if he tried to interrogate me. I’d crumble. I was a house of cards against that kid!
How the fuck is the trial going?!
Four loaves of banana bread later, my phone rang.
“Babe!” I practically shouted into the phone, my heart in my throat, “Did we?”
Chapter Forty-One:
Devin’s POV
Three Months Later
It had been the longest six months since finding out about Cash’s huge family and Calen being Cash’s little brother! We finally got us all moved into the newer, bigger apartment. By ‘all moved in’, it was basically finally being all unpacked with no moe boxes and totes left to go through. Nothing to either donate or toss. It was the longest, most dreaded process ever. I hated it when it was just me, but add these two and it was utter chaos. These two brothers were so much alike and they didn’t wantanythingto do with organizing ever! It was always up to me.
We were hosting Christmas this year, our first year as boyfriend, and girlfriend, as a blended family of three. Everyone was coming to our new place, and thankfully we could house Mam and Pa. They were excited to hear that we got guardianship over Calen, claiming even though it was a brother/brother/sister-in-law relationship, he was their grandchild. They promised to treat him and Cash like members of the family. Eddie and Clint were comingtogether…as an official couple and hopefully announcing their engagement.
Eddie told me the good news when he called to let me know they’d both be there. It was crazy. But we were very excited for them. Emilia said she would be late as she had to stop somewhere first.
Weird.
We were almost done decorating the tree and putting out all the garland and lights and cinnamon stick ornaments we’dmade. The guys looked like they were done for the night while I looked like Christmas threw up on me and was being powered by white peppermint mochas and candy canes. An hour later, I only had two more lanterns to put on the dining room table where we’d added all the leaves to so everyone would fit around it. I was just positioning properly on the table when I felt his presence behind more before I heard him.
“Please don’t turn around yet,” he breathed on my neck. I felt him pressed against me, resting his head on the back of mine. I felt his head turn slightly before he was gone. I heard him step back in the silence that surrounded us.
“Turn around.”
I held my breath, suddenly insanely nervous at whatever could be going on. When I did, all the strings of Christmas lights were lit in the living room and down the hallway. He even had the battery-operated birch candles I put across the countertop. Tears filled my eyes as I took in every minute detail. Everything was so beautiful. This really was my favorite time of year. I smiled at Cash as he cupped my cheeks, smiling at me. I leaned forward to kiss him, but he stepped back, getting down on one knee. I sucked in a breath, the tears spilling over.
He smiled up at me, the most tender smiles I had ever seen on his face, as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the most delicate pink velvet box I’d seen. He opened the heart-shaped box to reveal a stunning solitaire diamond in a rose gold, Celtic-designed band.
My hands were shaking as I covered my mouth, my legs feeling weak. He knew how important my heritage was to me. How important my Móraí and Daideó are to me, and my time spent with them in Ireland. I could hardly stop my heart as it galloped wildly out of control in my chest. He reached out,grabbing one of my hands from my mouth, and my other hand stayed shaking as I pressed it to my stomach.
I swear my knees had never been weaker.
