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Once again, the entire lodge erupts into organised chaos as everyone disappears across the courtyard to their rooms. Lennie loudly announces that he can’t find a clean shirt, while Luna calls back that it’s exactly where she left it. I laugh to myself as I get changed. It’s comforting the easy bickering, the laughter and familiarity. A few days ago, we were strangers. Now, we’re family.

Ten minutes later we’re all changed and Ember has text Jax to let him know we’re ready. I’m lighting the last few candles when a horrifying thought lands in my brain. “Oh no, Bri.”

Ember looks up. “What about her?”

“She’s going to want to get changed.”

Collective horror ensues.

“Oh.” Luna winces.

“We hadn’t thought of that.” Lennie shrugs.

My brain starts whirring. “I've got it. One of us meets her at the front door and we blindfold her, guide her to her room to get changed.”

Ember’s eyes widen. “Genius.”

“How is she going to enter her room code?” Lennie asks.

“Shit.”

Enzo raises his hand. “I open the room?”

I kiss his cheek. “You are an angel among men.”

He laughs and swots me away.

“Can you open it now, Enzo?” Ember asks. “I know exactly which dress she’d pick, I can lay it out for her and set up some wine so she can have a glass whilst getting ready.”

“Perfect.” I smile. “I will meet her at the door and blindfold her. Luna and Lennie can you help Enzo with any finishing touches?”

Within minutes, the plan is in motion. Enzo quietly unlocks Bri’s room so Ember can slip inside and lay everything out ready for her. Lennie follows a moment later with two generous glasses of wine, leaving them on the table before sneaking back out.

Luna presses a silk scarf into my hand with a grin. “Your blindfold.”

“Fabulous,” I whisper, pocketing it before heading to the front of the lodge to wait for Bri and Jax. I pause for a moment, looking back at the lodge. Fairy lights twinkle beneath the veranda, candles flicker across the courtyard, and laughter drifts from the kitchen where Enzo is still putting the finishing touches to dinner. I can’t believe what we’ve managed to pull together in less than an hour.

But then again, it’s not surprising, since it was never about the decorations. Every single person here has spent the last hour doing everything they can to make someone else feel loved. Because that’s what families do.

Chapter 51

Jax

Bri hums softly along to whatever’s playing on the radio, one hand draped lazily over the steering wheel while the evening sun spills through the windscreen, bathing everything in amber light. Every now and then she drums her fingers against the wheel, completely oblivious to the fact she’s doing it.

"Can I ask you something?"

I smile. "Always."

She's quiet for a moment. "That song. The one you sang. Where did it come from?"

“Naithan and I wrote it years ago,” I say quietly, keeping my eyes on the road. “It was about a version of love we didn’t think either of us deserved to have. We never released it. It felt too… True, I guess, to hand over to strangers,” I admit. “It’s been playing on a loop in my head since I met you, with a few adjustments to the lyrics.” I laugh lightly. “I hope it was alright?”

Her hand finds mine. “It was more than alright, it was perfect.”

A moment later, she’s humming the melody under her breath, off-key and completely unbothered, drumming her fingers in time with a rhythm only she seems to know. I laugh softly as the reality of today settles in my chest.

I got my girl!