Chapter Three #3
Beck led him down to his home office, a sleek space lined with medical journals and expensive whiskey. Seth half expected him to pour them a drink or say something about what had just happened. Instead, he unlocked one of his desk drawers.
When he turned around, he was holding a small velvet box.
Seth’s heart lurched when Beck opened it to reveal a stunning engagement ring. The oval center stone had to be at least two carats, surrounded by a brilliant halo of smaller diamonds that cascaded down the band in an intricate pattern. It was beautiful, elegant, and undoubtedly expensive.
“When the hell did you get that?” Seth demanded.
“A few weeks ago,” Beck replied vaguely.
A few weeks ago? About the time Raine gave birth to the twins? When the subject of babies had been uppermost in their minds? When Heavenly had stood at that nursery window with tears in her eyes, clearly yearning for a baby of her own?
Part of Seth was furious that Beck had picked out a ring without him.
They were supposed to be partners in their pursuit of Heavenly’s heart.
But the other part—the bigger part, if he was honest—understood completely.
They’d been chasing her, either individually or together, for nearly ten months.
Beck was ready for family and future. Heavenly was, too.
Seth couldn’t think of a single reason they should wait for him to untangle his fucked-up head.
“Were you planning to propose without me?” Seth demanded.
“Don’t be a cockbag. I wanted to be ready when the moment felt right. And after tonight…” His gaze flicked up to the ceiling, toward their sleeping angel. “Now that she could be pregnant? I’d say the moment is right.”
Seth swallowed. “You want to do this now?”
“You got a better time in mind?” he challenged. “In the most biological way possible, we just committed to spending our lives together. What the hell are we waiting for?”
The doctor had a point. And if there was more pleasure like they’d just shared—if this was what their future looked like—then he wasn’t waiting for a goddamn thing. Seth’s earlier misgivings felt misguided, overly cautious. He wished the niggling worries would just go the fuck away.
“If she’s going to carry our babies, don’t you think she should have a ring on her finger?” Beck pressed. “She wants one. She told me that earlier.”
“Then you’re right. Let’s do this.”
Together, they fetched a bottle of champagne from Beck’s wine fridge and three crystal flutes. The moment was important. For the second time tonight, they were about to change everything.
When they returned to the bedroom, Heavenly was still sleeping peacefully, the sheet now draped across her curves, making her look like a goddess recovering after being thoroughly worshipped. The sight sent another wave of possessive satisfaction through Seth.
They set the glasses and bottle on the nightstand, and he wondered if they should take her out for a romantic dinner, surround her with flowers, and make it the kind of proposal she’d probably dreamed about as a little girl.
But he also understood Beck’s urgency. After tonight, after crossing this irrevocable line, it felt right to cement their bond officially.
Beck knelt beside the bed. Seth joined him, positioning himself next to the surgeon, close to where Heavenly lay.
“Wake up, little girl.” Beck caressed her shoulder.
Her lashes fluttered. When her eyes opened, they were soft and unfocused. But as she took in the sight of both men kneeling and holding the ring box between them, she bolted up with a gasp, her expression shifting from sleepy to wide-eyed.
Seth’s throat went dry. His fingers trembled as he gripped his side of the velvet box.
“Heavenly Hope Young…marry us.” Beck’s voice was thick with emotion.
“Say yes, angel. We’ve come so far. We can conquer anything together.”
“And we can’t imagine our lives without you,” Beck vowed reverently. “We want to marry you. Have children with you.”
“Build a beautiful life with you.” Seth’s heart pounded as he lifted the lid of the box, the tiny hinges hissing in a soft whisper.
The diamond glinted as Beck plucked the ring from its velvet nest. “All you have to do is say yes.”
For a moment, she blinked, just staring at them, her eyes filling with tears. Seth began to sweat as he held his breath. The silence stretched. His world teetered.
Was Heavenly having second thoughts? He hadn’t even considered that she might turn them down. Goddamn it. Raine had refused to marry either Liam or Hammer for months, insisting that she couldn’t choose one over the other. Fuck, had the princess rubbed off on Heavenly?
Finally, she let out a half laugh, half squeal before she tossed off the sheet and threw herself into their arms.
“Yes!” she gasped against Seth’s neck, then pressed kisses to Beck’s face. “Yes! Of course!”
Thrill crashed over Seth, nearly knocking him sideways.
They kissed her feverishly, desperately, pushing her back to the mattress as Beck slipped the ring onto her finger with shaking hands.
For a moment, the band caught at her knuckle before Seth assisted, helping the doctor slide it home.
Something fundamental shifted in his chest, like a lock clicking into place.
Then they adored her with their hands and mouths, whispering promises of forever.
When they finally came up for air, all of them breathing hard, Heavenly stared down at her hand in wonder. “It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you,” Beck murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Seth traced the outline of the ring with one finger, marveling at how right it looked there. “Beck is right, angel.”
Heavenly smiled. “Oh, my goodness. I can’t stop looking at it. I couldn’t have picked anything more perfect.”
Guilt panged Seth. He hadn’t had a fucking thing to do with picking out her engagement ring. He would offer to pay Beck for half, of course. But that wasn’t the same as the two of them choosing it together.
Seth wanted to be annoyed the doctor had bought it without consulting him. Hell, without even talking to him. But he could only blame himself. Until an hour ago, the two of them had feared—with good reason—that he had one foot out the door.
“It looked like you.” Beck pressed a soft kiss to her lips.
“Gosh, we’re engaged! I guess we need to set a date.” She turned to Seth. “But I don’t want to upstage your mother’s wedding.”
“And we have to consider your schooling,” Seth pointed out. “You’ve worked hard. We want you to graduate on time.”
“I do, too, but if we keep this up, by the time I get my degree, I’ll be pregnant. And if we get married after that, I’ll have to waddle down the aisle.”
All the talk about conception stabbed Seth with anxiety, but he pushed it aside. He’d not only crossed that bridge tonight, he’d burned it. There was no going back.
“Then we’ll plan on getting married after Grace, something small and intimate before you’re too far along to enjoy it,” Beck suggested. “Unless… Did you have your heart set on a big wedding?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have any family, and I don’t need an elaborate production. I just want to marry you two.”
Seth wanted that, too…but he’d have to explain the three of them to his mom. That stumbling block wasn’t new, and he wasn’t about to let that stop him. Grace would come around…eventually. “That works for me. Just…not December.”
They both nodded, well aware that December would always belong to Autumn and Tristan’s memory.
“We could always hop on a plane to Vegas tomorrow.” Beck grinned.
“Um…” Heavenly winced. “I don’t want Elvis marrying us.”
Seth nodded. “Same. And if I got married without inviting my family, they’d kill me.”
Beck shrugged. “Fair enough. January?”
“I’d be okay with that,” Heavenly replied. “Are we having a purely symbolic ceremony? Or am I legally marrying one of you?”
Seth exchanged a glance with Beck before the doctor spoke. “Actually being married will make medical and legal stuff easier, not to mention bank accounts, insurance… And the caveman in me, wants you to tie the knot with one of us.”
“You’ll still belong to us both,” Seth added.
She paused, her brow furrowing. “Okay…but how do we decide who I’m marrying?”
“We’ll figure that out later. Maybe we’ll flip a coin.” Beck smirked. “For now, come here, our bride-to-be… We want to make sure you feel really loved.”
The waggle of his brows suggested something a lot dirtier.
Seth was all too happy to join in.
As they made love again—slower this time, reverent and pulsing with their new commitment—Seth felt a deep sense of rightness. His future was set. His angel would be theirs, bound to both of them by choice and by love.
When he figured out how to break the news of their unconventional arrangement to his mother, she would love Heavenly. The whole family would. How could they not?
But even as he lost himself in Heavenly’s soft sighs, reveling in the knowledge that they were engaged and might soon be pregnant, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind.
If his future was mapped out and everything was falling into place, why did he still feel so unsettled?