Page 85 of Complete Me

“Love you too, Dad. Love you, Mom. Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

I end the call, feeling very good about how it went. I’m glad I told them about Bjorn and Kaino. And I’m actually looking forward to their visit. “Thank you both for being so understanding and jumping on the call with my parents. They can be a bit nosey, but it comes from a place of love.”

“You’re welcome.” Kaino seems unfazed by meeting my parents, but that’s very Kaino. Not much fazes them. “They seem very nice.”

Bjorn nods. “They are. And I get it. About wanting to be part of your life and know what’s going on.”

“I know you do.” I kiss him softly on the cheek. “And thank you for offering to let them stay here when they visit. You didn’t need to do that, but I appreciate it.” It would have been awkward for me to propose that without talking to him first.

“Of course. We’re a team. We love and support each other.” He grins at the two of us. “There’s just more people to love.”

“I do love you both, very much.”

I lean into Kaino, and they rub my back. “Love you too, Kit. And you, Bear.”

“I love you three. Get it? You said—“

Kaino presses their hand to Bjorn’s lips. “We get it.”

Blinking away the prickling in my eyes, I watch the antics of the people I love more than I can say. It’s not just me anymore. I have other people. My people. My loves. My everythings. We balance each other, just like Bjorn predicted all those weeks ago. They complete me, and I, hopefully, complete them. Together, we’re better. The best. And hopefully, with lots of patience and work, we’ll be each other’s forever, too.

Epilogue: Bjorn

Two years later

“Hey everyone. I’m Easton McCormick, and we’re Pride of Place. On behalf of the bride and groom, we’d like to thank you all for being here. We hope you’re enjoying our music and this beautiful evening. At the request of the bride’s brothers, we’re gonna make a small change to the set list and slow things down for a bit.”

Astrid pins me with a look. “Bjorn, what did you three do?”

Easton’s voice interrupts whatever she was going to say after that. “If everyone could clear the dance floor for just a few minutes, we’d appreciate it.”

With her hands on her hips, Astrid glares at me. “Tell me you’re not doing any kind of choreographed dance number with Erik and Gunnar.”

I burst out laughing and shake my head because the image is too ridiculous. No one needs to see the three lumbering giants attempt anything like that. “Hell no.” She tilts her chin down and glares harder, so I hold up my hands in surrender. “I swear! It’s not anything bad. Promise.”

“Pinky swear?” She holds up her pinky, and just like that, my baby sister is seven again, making me promise she can hang out with me and my friends after school.

Blinking away the sting in my eyes, I wrap my pinky around hers and squeeze. “Pinky swear.”

The strum on the guitar pulls everyone’s attention back to the band. “This one’s for you, Bean.”

Astrid glares at me again, but I grin while I can and wait for the music to start. When the first few chords of Lee Ann Womack’s I Hope You Dance start to play, her glare disappears and her eyes go all soft. “Bjorn.”

I hold out my hand to her. “May I have this dance?”

My baby sister, the most put together human I know, the one who never loses her cool and truly is the glue that keeps our family together, gets teary-eyed, and I second- and third-guess this plan. If she cries, I’m going to cry, and then everyone will be crying. She punches me in the shoulder. “You’re such a fucking jerk. I can’t believe you did this.” Her grin, and her hand in mine, belay her words.

“This is not news.” We walk out to the middle of the dance floor, and I pull her into my arms, slowly swaying to one of our parents’ favorite songs. “You look beautiful, Bean.”

She sniffs and clears her throat. “Thank you. And I’m so glad I wore waterproof mascara. I can’t believe you’re making me cry on my wedding day.”

I pull back a bit and look at her. “Are you angry?”

“No, you big jerk. It’s so damned sweet that I’m going to need a dentist.”

She laughs, and I relax. “Okay, good. Gary said you wouldn’t mind.”

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