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Ava points dramatically. “That smile…”

I laugh. “Surprise,” I squeak, holding up my left hand.

Absolute chaos follows as they squeal and shriek over each other.

“I KNEW IT!” – “I TOLD YOU!” – “YOU OWE ME TWENTY QUID!” – “WHEN?” – “HOW?”

I spend the next five minutes laughing so hard my cheeks ache as I answer a hundred questions at once. Yes, he proposed tonight. Yes, I cried. Yes, Saint apparently helped choose the ring. Yes, they’ll absolutely be my bridesmaids.

Ava smiles in that quiet way she only does when something really matters. “I’m so happy for you.”

Lottie dabs dramatically at imaginary tears. “Me too.”

“I hate emotions,” I mutter, making us all laugh again. “I love you both.”

“We love you too,” they say together.

When the call ends, I wander back towards the lounge, slowing as I reach the doorway. Nobody notices I’m there, watching them. They’re simply too busy being themselves.

Saint waves his hands around so enthusiastically he nearly spills his wine on Enzo’s lap. Lennie laughs with his whole chest, whilst Luna’s head rests on his shoulder. Ember and Chloe quietly argue over the rules of some board game they’re planning to play later. And Jax watches all of them with that same soft smile he wore the first night I really saw him.

Five months ago, if someone had told me this would be my life, I’d have laughed. Or panicked. Probably both.

Back then I didn’t even believe in love. Not really. I believed in independence. In looking after myself because nobody else was going to. I had Mr Meow, Ava and Lottie, and books. I’d convinced myself that was enough. Because admitting you want more is dangerous. It means someone can disappoint you. Leave you. Break your heart. So I’d built a life where nobody could. It was safe, but it was also lonely.

Love found me when I wasn’t even looking for it. It arrived quietly, without fanfare, dismantling every wall I’d spent years building—one brick at a time. I had no idea it was even happening until these people had made themselves at home in my heart and refused to leave.

Jax was the greatest surprise of all. He saw every broken, frightened, fiercely independent part of me and loved me anyway. He chose me. Then he chose to stay. My fiancé. Even thinking the word makes me smile.

After the convention he’d moved to Edinburgh so quickly it almost felt unreal. Two weeks. That was all it took for him to pack up his apartment in New York, retire from acting and come home. For me.

We spent so much time together afterwards that moving in hadn’t even felt like a big decision. It had simply felt… Natural. Like we’d accidentally been building a home together without either of us noticing.

Work has become just as surreal. Publishing offers started arriving a week after the convention. I was overwhelmed by the offers—luckily, I found an amazing agent to support me. With her help, I chose the publishing house that believed in them because they loved them, rather than the one offering the most. It matters that my books have passionate people behind them after all.

Book Two comes out next summer and I’m halfway through writing Book Three. There are signings, festivals and events filling my calendar. Sometimes I still have to stop and remind myself this is actually my life.

Lennie glances up and I catch his eye, nodding towards the bar. He excuses himself from the conversation without question and joins me a moment later.

“You alright?”

“I’ve got a favour to ask.” I laugh nervously. “It’s quite a big one.”

His expression softens. “What do you need?”

Glancing quickly at my engagement ring, I take a deep breath. “I don’t know my dad.” He nods quietly. “And my mum…” I shrug. “As you know she’s not part of my life. When I get married…” His eyes widen slightly. “Would you… Would you walk me down the aisle?”

For a second he simply stares at me. Then his eyes fill. “Oh, sweetheart.” He pulls me into one of his enormous hugs before I even realise he’s moving. “I would be honoured.”

A tear escapes despite my best efforts. “Thank you.”

He laughs through tears of his own. “No need for that, it’s the easiest yes I’ve ever given.”

When we finally pull apart, everyone in the lounge is pretending not to watch us. Saint and Luna are crying openly. Ember has tissues. Enzo is suspiciously polishing the same wine glass for the fourth time. And Jax walks over without asking questions and simply slips his hand into mine, smiling.

Home. That’s what this feels like.

I used to think family was something you were born into. Something decided long before you had any say in the matter. Now I know better.

Sometimes the family we’re given teaches us how to survive. But the family we choose… They’re the ones who teach us how to live. How to love.