Page 146 of Mr. Broody

“We can’t just accept the house.” Jade shakes her head, eyes wide.

“Victoria, it’s too much. You could get a lot of money for this.”

She smiles. “I appreciate that, but she would’ve been happy to give it to the both of you. Seeing you two making it would have really made her believe in true love again.” She laughs.

Jade’s grandma had been divorced a long time when I first met her and apparently had a pretty awful ex-husband.

“Thank you,” Jade says with tears in her eyes.

Her mom drops the key in Jade’s hand.

“Thank you, Victoria,” I say, knowing those words alone aren’t enough.

She opens her arms and hugs us. “You’re welcome. I’m gonna go next door to make sure everyone is handled.”

“Hey, can you send Bodhi over?” I ask.

“Sure.” She smiles and hopefully it doesn’t give anything away to Jade.

Jade spins around. “A house.” Her shoulders fall. “An old house.”

“Your grandma’s house.”

She nods, and her gaze falls to every corner. “I loved this house.”

“Me too.”

She leans her head on my chest, and I tighten my arms around her. “This is where our friendship bloomed.”

“I know.”

She pulls back. “I’m sure we can figure out a way to redo it, but…” She stops. “Maybe we shouldn’t leave The Nest. You probably don’t want to be away from your teammates.”

I laugh. “Last I checked, I’m a grown adult, not a frat boy. I think it would be good for us to live here next to your parents. Waylon and Owen.”

She hums. “Do I really want to share you with all those people?” She taps her lips.

“Plus, we’re not far from the guys. We can go to Peeper’s, and we have built-in babysitters next door. It’s really a win.”

She nods. “I guess we can talk about it in Holland, but I do love the idea of making this our own. It feels full circle.”

“Here he is,” Owen says and leaves Bodhi with us, shutting the front door behind him.

“What is it?” Bodhi asks.

I eye him because it’s time. I was going to do it in front of everyone, but it feels right to do it here now. It’s perfect.

Jade walks into the kitchen, looking around. “There’s not a ton of space in here. It felt so much bigger when we were younger, you know?”

“Hey Jade, I just remembered you forgot something for Holland,” I call.

I fall to my knee, and Bodhi does the same beside me. We both pull the ring boxes from our pockets.

“What did I forget?” Thankfully, she comes to the archway from the kitchen to the family room.

I open the ring box to reveal a diamond ring nestled in velvet. Bodhi opens his that holds a ring with our three birthstones set along a band.

“Say yes,” Bodhi says.

---