Page 51 of Brother's Keeper

I took one under Grimm’s expectant gaze and held it, scanning the room I hadn’t paid much attention to before. As the home’s main living area, this was one of the biggest spaces. The usual couches and chairs had been replaced with cocktail tables and areas for mingling in between. The fireplace wall had been transformed into a photo op, bedecked with dried floral sprays in the thematic colors of beige, white, gold, and silver.

Preston stood in the middle of it, holding a champagne glass aloft and wearing a new American flag pin on his lapel. Always on duty. I could relate. He scanned the crowd until he found Holland and waved to her.

“Come on up here, Holly,” he said.

She blushed faintly and left to join him. Across the crowd, I spotted Tobin, Vesper, and Felix gathered and watching. Everyone else took the hint to turn as well, and others funneled in from adjoining rooms.

Grimm pressed in beside me and threw an arm across my shoulders as though he feared I would bolt.

“Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and family.” Preston waved the champagne toward the crowd with one hand and hooked the other around Holland’s waist. “Thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of this incredible woman. I have known Holland for three years and am continuously impressed by her work ethic, strength of character, and her vision for the future of this city.”

A scan of the room found everyone eating it up. Butanticipation hung in the air, and I began to suspect there was more at play than a shower of compliments.

“Thisisa birthday party,” Preston continued, “but I wanted to make it a bit more special.” He turned toward Holland and lowered his chin to meet her eye-to-eye. “Holly, it has been a pleasure growing close to you. You brought a renewed sense of purpose to my life and a common goal that I can’t wait to see through together.”

Reaching into the pocket of his slacks, Preston produced a black velvet box. He hinged it open, revealing something metallic and sparkly inside.

Holland gasped.

I did, too.

Preston smiled. “Will you stand by my side as a partner? An equal? A wife? Will you marry me?”

A mouthful of champagnenearly shot out through my nose. Grimm’s fingers dug into my shoulder, and I glanced aside to find him staring ahead while nodding. Not the least bit surprised. He could have looked disappointed, at least. It was a shitty proposal. Preston hadn’t even bothered to kneel.

A check of Holland’s reaction found her typically pale face more so. Her eyes darted from the ring box to Preston’s face and back again. After three years of dating, marriage was the natural next step for most humans, but we witches moved at a slower pace. Twenty-seven years made Holland a very young witch, not likely ready to sign up for a sixty-year commitment to a human who would die and leave her a still-young widow.

But, if Preston’s speech made anything clear, it was that this was not a love match. He had wasted no words on her beauty or worth outside of her political leanings. Theirs was a business arrangement. Maybethat changed things in her mind. Then again, judging by her lingering shock and lack of response, maybe it didn’t.

The crowd seemed trapped in a state of expectation while Holland leaned in and whispered in Preston’s ear. None of us had any hope of hearing what she said, but Preston smiled. He pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger, then held her hand in the air for all to see. Despite his enthusiasm, her expression barely changed. Scared stiff.

“Cheers!” he shouted, and everyone tipped their glasses back.

Holland stayed beside her new fiancé, flocked by a sudden receiving line of well-wishers. The entire guest list rushed forward to offer congratulations.

I pressed my drink into Grimm’s chest and took the opportunity to move away from him, joining the throng before the half-happy couple. After a few minutes of waiting, I reached the pair.

Preston found me with a wide smile. “Fitch. Glad you could make it.”

Holland was tied up with another woman marveling over her ring, so I couldn’t move along quickly. Left without options, I grinned back at the ambassador.

“Big win for you, huh, buddy?” I cocked my head and gave him a quick onceover. “How old are you, like thirty?”

His smooth face creased. “Uh, thirty-three. Why?”

I shrugged. “Just thinking about the future when you’ll be a crusty old grandpa with a fine-ass wife. You’ll be in a care home, and she’ll barely be in her prime. Every man’s dream, am I right?”

Preston’s wrinkles of concern deepened. “Right…” He looked aside, as ready to be rid of me as I was him.

We were both spared by Holland freeing up, and I scooted down the line with a wave and parting comment. “Congratulations, etcetera. Hope you have lots of human babies. Asshat.” That last part was a grumble, and he probably didn’t hear it, but I didn’t mind if he did.

When I slid in front of Holland, she grabbed both my hands and pulled me close. “Can you get me out of here?” she asked, her eyes wide and pleading. “Now?”

I glanced at the wall of French doors near where Grimm stood. A pang of guilt struck me for stealing this moment from Maximus. Even if Preston was a douche, it was still a big event.

“Wanna go outside?” I asked Holland. “Because if I don’t get a smoke soon, I’m gonna lose my shit.”

She bobbed her head. “Outside is fine.”

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