Chapter 18
KAGK
KATHERINE
Kingston’s soft green eyes go wide as he realizes what he said.
What he admitted. And in the same instant, my breath catches, and bubbles of excitement explode through my veins.
I knew it was going to happen, obviously.
Marriage has been on my horizon for the last two months, but we kept kicking the can down the road.
There’s been so much else on our minds and on our plates, and here they are, looking like a dream. So serious and so silly all at the same time.
Alex and Gabe turn to look at King, jaws dropped. They vaguely resemble bobblehead dolls.
King’s fingers squeeze mine. “That wasn’t a secret, I hope.”
“That you wanted to put a ring on it?” Gabe quips, slapping King on the shoulder. “Hardly.”
“Remind me not to share any secrets with you,” Alex adds.
They’re both so good-natured. And I know they, like I, see King’s excitement for this new chapter of our lives. But I can’t help teasing Gabe.
“Do you not want to put a ring on it?” I ask.
ALEX
She’s got him there, and he knows it. My best friend’s lips open and close like a fish.
In what I now think of as Classic Katherine Style, she lifts a brow and then steps in front of him. Pulling her hand from King, she presses her fingertips to the brilliant white of Gabe’s shirt.
Those blue-green eyes flash up at him with affection and sass, positively impish. His jaw drops, and he tries to recover. To fill the silence. Answer her question. The third finger on her left hand, a very important finger, tap-tap-taps against the black button over his heart.
He presses her hand tighter against his chest, and they stare at each other, communicating without words, as if they have a language all their own, one that defies time and duty. It’s the soft half-smile curving her lips and the smirk on his that speaks volumes.
She takes another moment to look around, like reality is setting in, then lifts glistening eyes to mine.
Her fingers give my hand the gentlest squeeze, letting me know we’re still connected.
She hasn’t forgotten me. My chest tightens the way it always does when she turns the spotlight of affection my way.
And when she steps closer, toe-to-toe, sliding her free hand up the lapel of my jacket, all the jangled pieces of me settle into place.
It brings me immeasurable peace to know that if something should happen to me, she’ll be taken care of.
Loved and supported. The breath I’ve been holding in silence releases, and my soul is soothed.
The soft scratch of her fingernail along my jaw shouldn’t be a leash that’d make me follow her anywhere, but it is what it is.
A snare.
A siren’s call.
An invisible cord uniting us.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
GABE
Of course, I want to put a ring on it.
In fact, said ring is burning a hole through my pocket, branding my thigh with its presence. How does such a slender bit of gold weigh so much? And I don’t mean metrically. I’m talking woo-woo shit. Metaphysical or whatever.
I want my ring on her finger. I want to bind myself to her and her to me and make promises and commitments and build a future and dream new dreams together. I want that morning I imagined so clearly in my beach house. Us wrapped in fuzzy robes, enjoying coffee while watching the world go by.
Next to me, King drops to one knee.
Katherine stumbles back a step, but Alex is quick to steady her.
“Now you’re following the plan?” I grouse, shoving a hand into my pocket.
Retrieving the ring, I lower my right knee to the floor, passing a rising Kingston on the way down.
“We—ll—” he stutters, flustered.
His cheeks turn pink beneath his tan, and I can’t help but want to kiss him. How freaking adorable.
“We might need some extra rehearsal time before the ceremony,” Alex says from my left, then joins me on one knee. He holds out his hand, and a silently laughing Katherine takes it.
“Times three,” I add. “One per groom.”
“Now who’s jumping the gun?” King asks, playfully shoving me into Alex.
My rock of a best friend doesn’t budge, just wraps an arm around my waist, keeping me upright. Then he reaches over and tugs King’s tuxedo pants. “Get down here.”
When we’re at last shoulder to shoulder, each of us holding part of Katherine’s left hand, I twist the ring around my other thumb.
I’d imagined this moment dozens of times.
How she’d look. The expression on her face when she saw the ring we had made.
Every little detail planned out and ready to execute, but for some reason, I’m tongue-tied.
“This is like ultimate finger Jenga,” King whispers.
I immediately reach out and lock my pinky around one of Kingston’s fingers, tighten my thumb around Alex’s pinky.
“More like Lincoln Logs,” Alex murmurs.
“Never had those,” King replies.
Thank goodness she’s still grinning down at us, eyes sparkling with good humor. In fact, she looks like she’s about to burst.
“Princess,” I say, drawing her attention to me.
King and Alex sober, suddenly all business.
“This may be the most unconventional proposal ever. But nothing else would suit us, would it? And though it took us a bit to get here, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be and no one I’d rather be with than the three of you. ”
“Ditto,” King whispers.
“Same,” Alex adds. Then, “Will you marry us, Katie Bird? Build a life with us?”
We glance over at King, waiting for him to add his heart words.
KINGSTON
Oh, shit. I’m up.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve played this moment out in my head a hundred times over the years. Now that it’s here, my thoughts dive out of my head like my brain is on fire.
I take a deep breath and glance to my left.
Gabe’s blue eyes lock with mine, so steady and understanding. The tight fist around my chest loosens a bit. That’s better. They’re not rushing me. In fact, I’d bet this yacht that Gabe can read the momentary panic in me. And he’d support me through it.
Beside him, Alex watches, waiting patiently.
Honestly, if I couldn’t have Katherine all to myself, there aren’t two better men on the planet to share her with.
“Wildfire… Katherine…” I tear my gaze from the men at my side and stare up at the woman who’s had a lock on my soul from moment one. “I was too young to understand all the wild feelings the first time we met. But you’ve always been it. My true north. The sure place to put my feet.”
I feel Gabe’s finger loosen as that brilliant brain tries to puzzle out what I’m talking about. I’ll explain the ins and outs of precision jumps later. But Katherine knows because she knows me.
Her lips wobble, and her eyes go misty. It takes considerable restraint not to bound to my feet and pull her into my arms. But I’ve got to be a team player right now.
Reaching up, I cover her hand with my free one, needing more connection. More heat and skin. “I could have never known how perfect our outcome would be, but here we are.”
I jerk a finger toward Gabe and Alex.
“Asking you to be our wife. To be ours. Every flow begins with you. Our beginning, our landing. And we promise to be that for you. Your soft place. Your support. Your rock. Your lighthouse. Your light and laughter. Your friends, your lovers, your plant dads.”
I glance over to make sure they’re nodding along.
Gabe holds up the ring. The pale green diamond is unusual, just like our woman.
With a hint of turquoise and in an oval cut that is sparklier than anything has the right to be, it’s surrounded by six smaller diamonds.
The double wedding band will surround it, completing the illusion.
She’s our heart. Our center. The person who brought us together and the glue that will bind us as a family.
“You guys…” Her words are all breathy and awe-struck.
“What do you say, Princess? Want to make your grandfather roll over in his grave?”
She lets out a shaky laugh, squeezing our tangle of fingers. “This would send him to an early grave if he wasn’t already dead,” she says, a note of satisfaction—one might call it evil glee—in her voice. “But that’s not the reason I’ll marry you.”
My heart swells in my chest until I’m sure I’m going to burst and send Kingston chunks all over this gorgeous room I worked so hard to create.
“Don’t leave us hanging, Katie Bird.”
“I don’t care about a dead man’s expectations. I only care about yours. About us. About how we feel when we’re together.” Her gaze flicks to Gabe and holds. “And how we feel when we’re apart.”
“I don’t like being apart,” he blurts.
“Neither do I.”
“So that’s a yes?” he confirms.
There’s a split second where time slows, and my heartbeat roars in my ears. The corners of her sinful lips turn up.
“It’s a hell yes.”
I let out a whoop and jump to my feet. We untangle our hands just enough for Gabe to slide the ring on her finger. She studies it, and her smile turns to a tumultuous grin.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“There’s a story behind that,” Alex says, rising to his feet.
“For later,” Gabe adds, standing.
She glances past us. “And the story there?” she asks, nodding to the dress.