Misha stood next to me, pacing a little, which was unusual for him. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, his brow furrowed in thought. Logan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching the door that led to the beach like a hawk, while Kody and Lincoln worked together to adjust the lighting one last time, ensuring it was just soft enough to make the room glow without being too dim what with the big lights being turned off.
I glanced at the ring box in my hand, checking for the billionth time that it was actually still there and I hadn’t accidentally lost it.
“You nervous?” Misha’s voice cut through my thoughts, low and steady, though I could hear the edge of tension in his tone.
I chuckled lightly, glancing over at him. “Not nervous. Just… okay, yeah. Nervous. You?”
He smirked, though the worry lines on his forehead didn’t quite fade. “Same. But that’s fine. It would be weird if we weren’t nervous, right?”
Lincoln stepped back from the lighting, wiping his hands on his trousers. “It looks good, right?” he asked, his gaze flicking between the rest of us for approval. “You think the princess will approve?”
Kody clapped him on the back. “It looks amazing. She’s going to love it – hopefully enough to let me tie her up with some of these fairy lights later.”
Logan pushed off from the wall, glancing down at his phone as it beeped with an incoming text.
“Henley said she’ll be here any minute. Everyone ready?”
A murmur of agreement passed between us as we all got into place, not a single one of us completely confident.
This was terrifying. Worse than any other gangster thing I’d ever done.
The sound of the front door creaking open echoed through the air a few moments later, and every muscle in my body tensed with anticipation.
Sapphire was home. She washere.
Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she stepped inside, her voice carrying through the hall as she called out, “Hey! I’m back – Henley said her sushi was bad, and she needed to go back to her hotel. So if I start being all sick and gross later, then you know why.” We heard her chuck her shoes on the floor and the same with her purse as she carried on talking. “But if I am sick, then you can wear nurse costumes and care for me. I think this could be hot, no?”
I exchanged a glance with the guys, trying not to laugh, as we all shifted into place. I moved forward a little, positioning myself just in front of the main section of the floor. That spelled out exactly what I wanted to ask her. In glowing tea lights I was being extra careful not to kick over.
Sapphire rounded the corner into the living room. The moment she saw the room, she froze. Her big blue eyes widened, flicking from the soft glow of the lights to the candles, to the roses, and then to us, standing there waiting for her. Her lips parted in surprise, and for a second, I wasn’t sure if she was about to smile or cry.
“What… what is this?” she asked, her voice soft, almost breathless.
I knelt down, my heart racing, but a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
“I proposed to you drunk and without a ring.” I said, my voice steady despite the rush of emotions swirling inside me, “And then we got engaged again for a plan, and our party was just a ruse… so now I we figured we could do one part of it for real and maybe I could propose again?”
Sapphire blinked, her gaze moving from me to Misha, then Logan, Lincoln, and Kody. Slowly, she began to piece it together, her hand lifting to cover her mouth as her eyes welled with tears and she truly understood what was going on.
She took a step forward, then another, her eyes locked on mine. “Are you serious?”
I smiled, glancing back at the others for a moment before returning my gaze to hers. “More serious than I’ve ever been. So tell me, gorgeous. Will you marry me? For real this time. With a big wedding and real party and all the other over the top nonsense, Kody will beg us to have to satisfy his inner softy.”
“My wedding will be the best wedding to have ever wedding-d.” Kody drawled. “You just have to say yes,cica, otherwise it’s going to be awkward when we drag you down the aisle under duress.”
Sapphire’s breath hitched, and she let out a soft laugh and she wiped at her eyes. She walked toward us, her steps slow and tentative, like she couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
“We wanted this to be perfect for you,” Logan said, his voice breaking his silence as he moved closer to her. “You deserve it, and even though Price is the one asking… it’s from us all.”
“Yeah.” I added as I pulled out the ring box. “I’m husband number one, but they’re all here too as backup. We’re gonna be one giant super married family one day and make all the country jealous.”
Lincoln nodded in agreement, even if he rolled his eyes at me. “We’re not saying we all have to get married in one go. But we are saying that we are in this together, princess. We all want to be like this forever.”
“So what do you say, sweetheart?” Misha’s voice was soft.
Sapphire’s eyes fell to the box in my hand that I hurried to open, and she reached out with trembling fingers to offer me her hand. Her gaze locked on the ring as I slowly pulled it out,revealing the set of five sapphires sparkling against the band of diamonds that I hurried to slide onto her finger.
She gasped softly, her hand flying back to her mouth as fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh my God… it’s beautiful,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Of course I say yes. Yes, yes, yes!”
