He wipes at his eyes, giggling just a bit more as he stands. My stomach drops out, but then he’s reaching into his pocket and dropping to his knees in front of me, holding up a ring. The laughter dies down, his expression turning serious. “You beat me, you asshole.”
I don’t even have words, so I just pull him into a tight hug, damn near squeezing the life out of him. He giggles, but this time it’s wet, and then he’s sobbing and burying his face against my shoulder. “Yes,” he whispers, almost too quiet for me to hear it.
And then I’m crying too. And I’m sure we look like a hot fucking mess, sitting on the floor openly crying like a bunch of babies, but I can’t help it. Holden pulls back, sniffling a little. “So, does that mean you’ll marry me too?”
His green eyes are so fucking gorgeous, and he’s staring at me like he can see straight through my soul, so I nod. “Yes. Would be kind of impossible not to marry you if you’re marrying me.”
There’s applause, and we smile at each other like a couple of fucking idiots as I stand and reach down to help him to his feet. “I’m throwing the flowers at your wedding too,” Wren says over the sounds of Roman and Beck’s obnoxious cheering.
Eli looks a little shell-shocked, but he’s clapping too. Poor kid. We’ve probably traumatized him.
Beck stands up, rushing around the table to me, and pulls me into a fierce hug. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you guys.”
Before I can even blink, I’m being grabbed by Roman and Beck is pulling Holden into his arms as well. “Thanks for asking first,” Roman whispers so only I can hear him. “I won the bet, and now I get a special prize.”
Ugh. Donotneed to know about the special prize. “Wait,” I say, pulling back. “You guys knew?”
Beck laughs. “Yeah, you told me and Hold told Roman. We decided to keep it to ourselves, though.”
Of course they did.
Chapter 11
Holden
Ipull up to Ro and Beck’s house, more excited than I have any right to be. First, I love shopping. Second, I’m excited to have someone to shop with.
Ro is eh about it at best, and Beck just pats my head like I’m a child as he tells me he’d rather not. Julian goes, but I can tell he’s not really into it, and Wren and Warren get fed up in approximately three point seven seconds. Shopping with kids? Not for the faint of heart. That’s for damn sure.
When I open the door and step inside, Roman and Beck are in the living room. “Hey, guys.” Ro turns around and gives me a wave, and Beck follows suit. “Where’s Eli?”
“Hey, he’s getting ready,” Ro says.
Beck nods. “I think he’s actually freaking out a bit, but he kicked us out of his room, so I’m not really sure what’s going on.”
“What do you mean, he’s freaking out a bit? What did you guys do to him?”
Ro shrugs. “Nothing. I think he’s just worried about going out with you today.”
Ow. Okay. Not sure how I feel about that. “Jeez, beautiful. Give him a complex, why don’t you? I think what Roman means to say is that we think Eli has a bit of hero worship going on and is stressing out about making a good impression.”
I almost want to laugh at that. “He’s worried about making a good impression on me?”
No one gets a chance to answer me because the door to Eli’s bedroom swings open, and he steps into the hallway. He seems to be doing okay until his eyes settle on me, and then he stops in his tracks, so quickly he almost tumbles over his own feet. “Oh,” he breathes, his face turning pink.
It’s lowkey adorable. “Hey, Eli.” I give him a little wave and flash him a smile. “Are you about ready? I’m super excited.”
He nods slowly, resuming his walk back into the living room. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Great.”
Beck chuckles under his breath. Loser. I get it, though. I’m not usually this awkward, but it turns out Eli isn’t the only one who wants to make a good impression. I’ve never really had someone look up to me before. Not like this. Sure, Wren and Warren do. More Wren at this point, but still. I want to be someone Eli can rely on. It actually means a lot to me. More than I thought it would.
Eli gives me a blinding smile, then leans over to hug Beck and Ro goodbye. “I’ll keep him safe and all that good stuff. And spend way too much money. Bye.”
I start to dart out the door, but Beck’s voice stops me. “Hey, you have my credit card, right?”
If bydo I have his credit card, he meansdo I have it tucked away safely in my nightstand at home, then yes. “Yeah, I have your credit card.”
