“You’re crying.”
“I’m overwhelmed. There’s a difference.”
Julian points at me. “That’s exactly what I said during tax season.”
Gabe sighs. “You can’t flirt your way out of accounting.”
“Watch me.”
I laugh through the tears because this is just my life now.
Then Xander’s expression shifts. He glances briefly toward Gabe and Julian before looking back at me.
“We’ve been talking,” he says.
Immediate panic.
“Why does that sound terrifying?”
“Because you know us well,” Gabe says dryly.
Julian moves closer too, leaning casually against the SUV beside me. “But we’re serious about this.”
My stomach flips.
Xander’s thumb brushes lightly beneath my eye again, catching another escaped tear before it falls.
Then he reaches into the inside pocket of his coat.
My breath catches.
No. No way.
“Xander,” I whisper.
Julian laughs nervously beside me. “Okay, wow, suddenly I forgot every word in the English language.”
Gabe looks calmer, but only barely. There’s tension in his shoulders now too. Which means this is real.
Xander opens a small black velvet box carefully.
Inside sits a ring.
Vintage looking. Oval diamond surrounded by smaller stones that catch the Chicago skyline lights like stars.
I physically stop breathing.
“We know this doesn’t exactly fit traditional standards,” Xander growls. “None of us have ever cared much about traditional.”
Julian snorts softly. “Understatement of the century.”
But his eyes never leave me.
Neither do Gabe’s.
Xander steps closer again. “We love you, Willow.”
Joy crashes through me so hard my knees almost give out.