And this group of Heirs and their girlfriends… are the only family we’ll ever need.

Elliot

All afternoon I’ve watched my girl laughing and joking with her friends. She looks as beautiful as ever in her summer dress, her hair for once pulled back from her face, letting us see her.

My heart is fuller than I ever thought it could be. But something is missing.

Everything we’ve achieved this year has been incredible. More than I ever thought it would be. And I know that we’ve only got more of it to come.

I can’t wait.

I want to experience everything with Abigail.

“You look like a love sick puppy,” Oak says, stepping up beside me as I watch my girl laughing with his.

“I am,” I confess without taking my eyes off her.

I get it, man. I fucking get it.”

“Do you think about it…” His brows pinch as I trail off. “About the future?”

“Fuck, yeah. All the time. Graduating, our first jobs, our home,” he says, getting this far off look in his eye.

“Y-yeah,” I agree, but… Abigail and I have already kinda done that. Albeit a little backwards. Recently, I’ve been thinking about more than just that.

“Oh shit,” Oak gasps, reading something in my eyes.

“What?”

“Are you gonna?—”

“Excuse me,” I say, interrupting his question and stalking towards my girl. “Sorry, Tally. I need to steal Abigail away for a few minutes.”

Abigail stares at me, a frown forming between her brows as I take her hand and tow her away.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as we hurry around the back of the gazebo.

With my sights set on the summer house right at the bottom of the garden, I pick up my pace, forgetting that she’s in heels.

“Jesus, Elliot. You need to slow— Fuck,” she cries when I spin around and sweep her into my arms. “What the hell is going on?” she asks, staring up at me with a mixture of curiosity and panic in her eyes.

“I need a minute with you?”

“Why? What’s happened?”

“Nothing,” I say, hoping to reassure her.

The second we get to the summer house, I kick the door open and step inside.

“You’re scaring me,” she whispers as I set her back on her feet. “Why are you hiding down here?”

I stand before her, my eyes studying hers before I let my gaze drop down her body.

“I…” I start, although with the rate my heart is pounding, I struggle to conjure up any other words.

“You what, Elliot?” she asks, her eyes bouncing frantically between mine as she tries to read my mind.

“I was just talking to Oak, and I realised something.”