Chapter Seven
Seven
Levi
“They’ll be here today,” Macbeth says nervously, draping a bare leg over my naked torso.
I nod, feeling like I’m going to be sick. Today may be the day the Jones family banishes me from their lives.
After spending Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and the day after Christmas alone with Macbeth, it’s time to leave the safety of our love cocoon and finally face the music. The snowplows have cleared the roads, and the others are on their way.
Her brothers are my best friends in the world. The brothers of my heart. Will they see that I love their sister down to the marrow of my bones? Or will they think I’m a brute who’s defiled her innocence?
Macbeth and I debated whether to tell them about our news over the phone. We’ve chatted with them every day, but we’ve pretended like we’ve kept busy by working jigsaw puzzles and playing boardgames. Ultimately, we decided that this sort of news is best delivered in person.
Despite both wanting to stay naked as long as possible, we shower and dress, and are sitting next to each other on the sofa when they arrive.
The door swings open and they all come inside, laughing and talking over one another.
Pete, over the flu now, enters first, followed by Will and his extremely pregnant wife, Carly.
Then Theo and his wife, Macbeth’s best friend, Holly, who’s holding their baby girl on her hip.
Hamlet and Annie file in next, back from Los Angeles.
And finally, the one I’m most afraid to face: Romeo. He’s holding his toddler in one arm and his wife’s hand in the other. Good. That’ll make it harder for him to punch me.
Holly is the first to register that something’s up. Macbeth is sitting quietly on the couch with her hands folded in her lap—which is not normal for her. She’s usually boisterous and outgoing, offering hugs to everyone.
“What’s gong on?” Holly demands.
Everyone turns to look at us. It’s like facing a firing squad.
But I’m no coward. I’m an Army-trained pilot.
I reach out for Macbeth’s hand, entwining my fingers in hers. “We’re getting married,” I announce.
Macbeth looks at me in surprise. I suppose I should have mentioned this to her before, but surely, she knew that’s what I meant when I promised her forever.
Pandemonium breaks out amongst the others, but I don’t hear a word as I stare into Macbeth’s beautiful eyes. “I love you,” I tell her.
“I love you,” she says back.
I glance back at the crowd and make eye contact with Romeo. His face is a mask of fury. “What the actual f—” he bellows.
“Romeo,” his wife says in a low tone. “There are children present.”
“What do you mean you’re getting married?” His voice is still menacing, but he uses an ‘indoor voice’ for the kids.
“Seriously,” Theo mutters. “Have we entered the Twilight zone?”
Macbeth pops up from the couch, looking like she wants to crack her brothers in the skull with one of her mechanic’s wrenches. God, I love this woman.
“I’d have thought,” she says slowly, like she’s talking to an idiot, “that ‘married’ would be a word in your vocabulary, Romeo, since the rest of you have all taken the plunge.”
“But you’re our baby sister,” Theo interjects.
She turns on him with the ferocity of a bobcat. “Your wife is the same age as me. And when I objected to your relationship with my best friend, I seem to recall you telling me to butt out.”
Theo swallows. “But…”
“Isn’t this a little sudden?” William asks, steel in his tone.
I stand up, too, squeezing Macbeth’s hand. “When you know, you know.”
“When you know, you know?” Hamlet scoffs.
Hamlet’s wife, Annie, laughs. Her laughter, nearly as loud and clear as her Grammy-award winning voice, draws everyone’s attention. A hush falls over the room.
“We fell in love just as quickly, Ham,” she points out, “and we were complete strangers. Levi and Beth have known each other forever. I think they know their own hearts.”
“But—” he splutters.
Romeo’s scowl deepens. “It was that kiss under the mistletoe, wasn’t it?”
My face splits into a grin. “Let’s just say we owe Mercury Slice a thank you card.”
None of the brothers are happy with my response. They all glower at me with fists clenched.
This is not going well.
“Good grief,” Holly says, pushing past her husband and crossing the room to pull Macbeth into a hug. “Congratulations!” The other women quickly come forward to offer their own congratulatory hugs. They include me, too, but I can’t help but see their husbands glaring at me over their heads.
“Did you…” William begins, his voice shaking.
I know what he’s asking. He wants to know if I put my hands on his sister.
“She’s mine, and I’m hers,” I say simply.
William’s eyes bulge and his face turns red, but Pete steps in front of his sons and speaks for the first time since entering the cabin.
“That’s enough, boys. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a Christmas miracle.
All my children have found happiness, and that includes you, Levi.
It’s exactly as it should be, and you have my blessing. ”
“Thanks, Pete,” I say, tears stinging my eyes as he shakes my hand. Then he hugs Macbeth. “I love you, Beth.”
She buries her face in his chest. “Thanks, Daddy.”
I look at the other men, my best friends. My brothers. “You know I’m a man of my word. And I love her. I’ll take care of her. I swear it.”
“You’d better,” Will snarls.
“Or we’ll throw you off Bald Rock,” Hamlet agrees.
Romeo’s face softens. “I’ve always thought of you as a brother. We may as well make it legal. But if you hurt her—” He shakes a fist menacingly.
“You’ll have to answer to all of us,” Theo says. The others nod in agreement.
And I know they mean it. Macbeth has the fiercest protectors a woman could ask for. These men would die for her—and they’d kill for her if they felt it was justified.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.