Page 159 of The Price of Forever

I looked up at him. “Trying to say something profound?”

His ear-to-ear grin was contagious. “Maybe. Metaphors are one of the few things I’m not good at.”

When I had recovered from the side-splitting laughter we shared, I drew a deep breath and turned to Trace. “Should Mercedes go next?”

He looked over at me, something heavy in his gaze. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Then he said, “You should ask Mercedes if she thinks that’s a good idea.”

An odd response. I called out for Mercedes, waving her toward the kitchen. She and Willow came our way.

“Do you want to go next?” I asked her.

Her brows dipped together. “I really did want to perform today. But I found out something a couple weeks ago that I…” She glanced at Trace, rolling her lips in as she handed Willow to him.

“Tell them if you want to,” Trace said softly. “It’s up to you.”

Mercedes looked back at me, her cheek twitching from the effort of hiding a smile. “I’m pregnant.”

I gasped, covering my mouth again. Cora shrieked, wrapping Mercedes in a hug. Jessa showed up a moment later. “Don’t tell me I missed some big news.”

“Congratulations, Mercedes!” I gushed, claiming the next hug. Jessa heard the news from Cora, and she also shrieked. Soon, we were all hugging. Axel, Damian and Seven all clapped Trace on the back. He beamed as he looked over at Mercedes.

“Our little Christmas present,” he said.

“It’s so early,” Mercedes said, “but I want to be extra safe. I had a loss before this, so…”

“I completely understand,” I told her. “Maybe Willow can go up there and do a little dance in your place?” I suggested. “If not, I’ll just send Roxie up there. She’s champing at the bit, anyway.”

Axel appeared at my side, glancing around the room. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Oh, you’re going to perform after all?” I asked.

He shook his head, his gaze not wavering from the front of the room. Then his meaning clicked into place. We’d talked about the possibility of this. “You mean…for the…” My gaze drifted to Cora, who chatted with Mercedes.

He licked dry lips, nodding. “Totally.”

I gave him a gentle push toward the front of the room. “Go for it, big bro.”

Axel headed for the pole, but instead of beginning a routine, he called out a quick, “Hey, guys” over the din. The chatter in the room quieted, all eyes turning to the front. “I just wanted to thank you all for being here. Big thanks to Seven for hosting this unconventional Christmas party. It’s the only kind of party we’d have, as Fairchilds, I suppose.” Laughter trickled through the room.

“I mostly just wanted to share how much you all mean to me. I’m so thankful you’re all in our lives, that we’ve come through to the other side together.” He shifted his gaze to Cora, who had started to drift closer to the front of the room as he spoke. “Cora, come here, I need to touch you while I’m being sappy.”

She laughed and drifted his way. Axel slid his arm around Cora’s waist, smiling out at everyone. “There we go. Now I can think properly. We’ve had a crazy ass couple of years. And now that we are officially out of our financial fraud chapter, I’d like to propose the start of something new: wedding season.”

Laughter swelled as Axel tipped his chin down to gaze at Cora. Electricity snapped between them as Axel reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and then sank down onto one knee.

“I wanted to wait until our family was around us.” Axel spoke more quietly now, which caused us all to step closer and listen in. Between his thumb and forefinger, he held a sparkling ring. “Our chosen family. And I wanted to wait until everything was resolved with the storm clouds that have been following us around the past couple of years. This is a decade overdue, babe, but everything’s in place now for us to enjoy the rest of our lives in peace and bliss. There’s never been anyone else for me, since the day I laid eyes on you our sophomore year of college.” Axel paused to brush away a tear, which made me tear up as well.

“It’s always been you, Cora,” he went on. “We’re ready for the best times of our lives. Let’s finally do this right. The way we could only dream of before everything got derailed during grad school. Will you marry me?”

Cora watched him with her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes watering. In lieu of a response she sank down onto the floor in front of him and threw her arms around his neck. She clung to him, and I could tell from the way her body trembled that she was sobbing. After a few moments, she pulled her head out of the crook of Axel’s neck and said,

“I said yes, by the way!”

The room erupted into cheers. I spotted Seven rummaging in the cabinets in the kitchen. A moment later, champagne popped, which started another round of cheers. Axel slipped the ring on Cora’s trembling finger, and they hugged again.

I helped Seven pour and pass out champagne flutes to celebrate. Once Cora and Axel had stopped crying and hugging, we all began our rounds of congratulations.

“There’s a lot to celebrate in this room,” I told Seven, knocking his hip, just as an unexpected peal of laughter grabbed my attention. Maddie. She had Grace in her arms, bouncing her, as she chatted with Trojan. She was the tiny blondie next to his burly, lumberjack beefcake. I tilted my head, watching as Trojan grinned endlessly at her.

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