Chapter 5
Chapter five
Natalie
“Tell me this is a joke.”
Mason doesn’t even close his condo door before he says it.
He’s still in workout shorts. Sweaty. Jaw tight. The protective older brother's energy is so strong it could qualify as a weapon.
Gabriel stands beside me. Not touching. Not crowding.
Just there.
“It’s not a joke,” I say.
Mason looks at me first.
Then at Gabriel.
Then back at me.
“You proposed?” he demands.
“Yes.” Gabriel’s voice is steady.
“And you said yes?”
“Yes.”
Mason drags a hand down his face. “This is because of the custody thing, isn’t it?”
“It’s because I asked,” Gabriel says calmly.
“Dex said get married,” Mason snaps. “But not to my sister.” He points at Gabriel. “You didn’t even date her. You don’t know her that well. And she doesn’t know you like I do. This is fucked up.”
The words hit hard.
Gabriel doesn’t rise to it.
He doesn’t step forward.
He doesn’t puff up like an idiot.
He just stands there.
“I said yes,” I repeat.
Mason’s eyes snap back to me. “Nat—”
“No.” I step in front of Gabriel now, not shielding, just claiming space. “You don’t get to talk about me like I’m not standing here.”
He exhales sharply.
“I thought about it,” I continue. “I didn’t say yes because he panicked. I didn’t say yes because I felt bad. I said yes because I decided to.”
“You decided to marry him,” Mason says flatly. “Without dating him.”
“We know each other.”
“You know him as my teammate. That’s not the same thing.”
“And you know him as a teammate. That’s not the same thing either.”
Silence.
That one lands.
Mason looks at Gabriel again.
“If you hurt her—”
“I won’t.”
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just certain.
Mason studies him.
“You think this fixes everything?” Mason presses.
“It’s not about fixing everything,” Gabriel says.
“It’s about building something solid.” He looks at Mason directly.
“Look, I’ve been around. Married. Kid. Divorced.
I see things differently than you do. You’re out there dating, screwing around, having fun.
I did that. I’m past it. I don’t move fast unless I mean it. ”
Mason scoffs. “That sounds rehearsed.”
“It’s not,” Gabriel replies. “I asked Natalie because she’s the only person I trust with my daughter. And I know her well enough to know that matters. I like her. And that's more than enough to mean this.”
That shifts the air.
I feel it.
Not the words themselves. I like her. I trust her with my daughter. But the way he says them. Like they’re facts. Like they’ve been true for a while.
Heat creeps up my neck before I can stop it.
He didn’t have to say that in front of Mason.
He didn’t have to make it personal.
But he did.
Mason feels it too.
He hates that he feels it.
“You trust her,” Mason mutters. “That’s not the same as loving her.”
My heart thuds once.
“This isn’t a rom-com speech,” I say quietly. “We’re not standing in the rain. We’re making a choice.”
“Fast,” Mason shoots back.
“Yes.”
He runs both hands through his hair.
“God. This is insane.”
He looks at Gabriel again. “You don’t just skip the whole middle. You don’t go from barely-more-than-acquaintances to husband. She’s my sister, not someone you see around the rink. That’s not how this works.”
“And you,” he says to me, “you don’t blow up your life because he’s scared.”
I don’t flinch.
“I’m not blowing up my life,” I say evenly. “I’m expanding it. There’s a difference.”
Mason’s jaw tightens. “You call this stable?”
“I call it intentional,” I reply. “Yes, he’s scared. Of course he is. There’s a threat hanging over his daughter. But you think I’d tie myself legally to someone if that were the only reason? You really think I don’t know the difference?”
That hits him harder than yelling would have.
Gabriel steps in then, calm but firm.
He doesn’t flinch.
“I am scared,” he says plainly. “I’d be an idiot not to be. There’s a threat hanging over my kid. But I didn’t wake up yesterday suddenly craving a wedding.”
Mason’s eyes narrow slightly.
“I asked her because when things get hard, she doesn’t panic,” Gabriel continues. “She thinks. She shows up. I’ve seen it. I know her well enough to know that matters. And, like I said, I like her. Enough that this isn’t just strategy.”
He looks Mason straight in the eye.
“If this were only about fear, I’d hire help and keep my life simple. I didn’t. I asked your sister.”
Mason points between us. “You’re not moving in tomorrow.”
“I’m not,” I say.
“You’re not eloping.”
“We’re not.”
“You’re not turning this into some spectacle.”
“We won’t,” Gabriel answers.
Mason paces once across the living room.
“I swear to God,” he mutters. “If Mom finds out from Instagram—”
“She won’t,” I say quickly. “We’ll tell her. Together.”
He stops pacing.
“What happens when the custody threat goes away?” he asks.
There it is.
The real question.
“We’re still married,” I say.
No hesitation.
No flourish.
Just fact.
Gabriel looks at me.
Not shocked.
Just… still.
Mason notices.
“You’re serious,” he says slowly.
“Yes.”
He stares at me like he’s searching for doubt.
He doesn’t find any.
“You don’t even know what marriage to him looks like,” Mason says.
“I know what kind of father he is.”
That shuts him up.
I press forward.
“I’ve watched him at games. I’ve watched him when Maddie loses. I’ve watched him get down on one knee in the dirt so she doesn’t have to feel small by herself. I know what that looks like.”
Mason’s jaw tightens.
“I’m not rescuing him,” I add. “And he’s not rescuing me. We’re choosing this.”
Gabriel finally moves.
He steps up beside me again.
Aligned.
“I won’t take her lightly,” he says. “And I won’t take this lightly. This isn’t some fly-by-night thing. Maddie needs stability. This isn’t a game.”
Mason studies him for a long beat.
“Dex is going to think this is hilarious,” Mason mutters.
“That’s his default setting,” Gabriel says.
Despite himself, Mason huffs out a laugh.
Then he sobers.
“This is my sister,” he says quietly.
“I know,” Gabriel answers.
“And if you screw this up, I will make it my personal mission to ruin you,” Mason says quietly. “Teammate or not.”
“I won’t,” Gabriel says, but he doesn’t stop there. He steps closer, not aggressive, just grounded. “If I screw this up, I don’t just lose her. I lose my daughter’s trust in my judgment. I lose the one person I trust to stand in hard places with me. I’m not gambling with any of that.”
The certainty in his voice makes my stomach do this weird triple flip.
Mason exhales.
He walks toward me and grabs my shoulders.
“You’re sure?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“You’re not being noble?”
“No.”
“You’re not trying to fix something?”
“No.”
“You want this?”
I hold his gaze.
“Yes. I want this. I know it’s fast. I know it’s messy. But I’m not confused, and I’m not cornered. I’m choosing it.”
He searches my face.
Then nods once.
“Okay,” he says finally.
Just like I did last night.
Okay.
Gabriel doesn’t relax visibly.
But I see it.
Mason drops his hands.
“So what’s the plan?” he asks.
The shift is almost dizzying.
“We were thinking small,” I say. “Courthouse. Immediate family.”
“Immediate meaning who?” Mason asks suspiciously.
“You. Mom. Dad. Maddie.”
“Daisy?”
“Probably not inside the courthouse,” Gabriel says dryly.
Mason snorts.
“You’re getting her a ring?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Have you bought it?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Good. Don’t screw that up.”
Gabriel’s mouth twitches. “I won’t.”
“You don’t know what she likes.”
“I have a general sense,” Gabriel says calmly.
“Define general.”
“She doesn’t like flashy. She likes simple. Clean.”
Mason looks at me.
I don’t hide my reaction.
He’s right.
Mason points at him. “Okay. That was correct.”
Gabriel doesn’t gloat.
Mason turns back to me.
“You’re keeping your apartment.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not giving up work.”
“No.”
“You’re not playing housewife.”
I stare at him.
“Absolutely not.”
Gabriel cuts in. “That was never the plan.”
Mason nods slowly.
“And Maddie?” he asks.
“She’s good,” Gabriel says. “She asked about a sparkly dress.”
Mason groans. “Oh God.”
“And cupcakes,” I add.
“Of course she did.”
The tension cracks just a little.
Mason sinks onto the couch.
“This is wild,” he says.
“Yes,” I agree.
He looks at Gabriel again.
“You didn’t even date her.”
Gabriel meets his eyes.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you would’ve shut it down the second it looked casual,” Gabriel says evenly.
“You know that. I’ve liked her for a while.
I just never thought the timing was right.
I’m a divorced guy with a kid. She’s your sister.
That’s not something you test-drive. And I wasn’t willing to sneak around or do it halfway. ”
The room goes still.
I didn’t know he was going to say that.
Mason stares at him.
“That’s either the most mature thing I’ve heard in a month,” Mason says slowly, “or the dumbest.”
“Probably both,” Gabriel answers.
I laugh before I can stop myself.
Mason looks between us.
“Jesus,” he mutters. “You’re actually serious.”
“Yes,” I say again.
He stands.
He walks up to Gabriel.
They’re close now.
Mason extends his hand.
“This isn’t approval,” he says.
Gabriel takes it.
“I didn’t ask for approval.”
“Good,” Mason says. “Because you’re not getting it yet.”
They shake.
It’s firm.
Not hostile.
Not friendly.
A warning disguised as civility.
Mason pulls me into a hug next.
“You scare me,” he murmurs.
“I know.”
“You always do things big.”
I smile against his shoulder.
“I’m not doing this small.”
He pulls back and studies me one more time.
“If he messes up—”
“He won’t,” I say.
He nods once.
Then he leaves the room so abruptly it’s almost theatrical.
The door closes.
Silence settles.
It’s just us now.
Gabriel doesn’t move for a second.
“That went better than expected,” I say.
“Did it?”
I turn toward him.
“You didn’t hesitate,” he says quietly.
“I didn’t.”
He studies me like he’s memorizing something.
“Thank you,” he says.
“For what?”
“For standing your ground, not making me fight for it in there, and for everything.”
“We’re not doing this for applause,” I remind him.
“I know.”
“And we’re not doing it because it’s dramatic.”
“That's for sure.”
“And we’re not pretending this is some epic love story.”
A corner of his mouth lifts.
“Not yet,” he says.
I roll my eyes as my heart skips about three beats.
But I feel it.
That shift.
It’s not panic anymore.
It’s momentum.
“We should figure out dates,” I say, grounding us again.
“Soon,” he replies.
“Soon how?”
“Before anyone can talk you out of it.”
I laugh.
“That’s not how this works.”
“Then how does it work?”
“We plan it. We tell our parents. We buy a ring.”
He looks at my hand like he can already see it there.
Simple.
Clean.
Intentional.
“I’ll handle the ring,” he says.
“I assumed you would.”
He steps closer.
Not touching.
Close enough to feel it.
“You’re sure?” he asks one last time.
“Yes.”
The word feels different now.
Stronger.
He nods.
“Okay,” he says.
Outside the window, the world looks exactly the same.
Traffic.
Sunlight.
Normal.
Inside, everything has shifted.
Not because of custody.
Not because of fear.
Because we just made it real.
And for the first time since this started, I’m not thinking about threats.
I’m thinking about vows.
And how this might be the biggest, bravest thing I’ve ever done.