Page 122 of Spark

“What lying and scheming?” Titus interjects.

Shit. Ruby’s protective brother is standing behind me, much closer than I realized.

Reluctantly, I fill him in on the gist of the story, since he wasn’t at C-Bomb’s poker party; and to my relief, Titus seems every bit as amused about everything as his sister.

“You two already knew about all this?” Titus asks, motioning between Savage and Laila. Apparently, he’s surmised as much from their not-at-all-shocked body language.

“KC came to me for advice,” Savage says proudly. “And I helped him tap into his inner Doberman to get what he wanted.”

“And surprise, surprise,” I add sarcastically, “he then babbled everything we’d talked about to his wife.”

“She’s mywife,” Savage mutters, like he had no choice in the matter.

“Adrian knows there’s no point in him keeping anything from me,” Laila says with a waggle of her eyebrows. “I’ve got a few foolproof ways of getting information out of him.”

Everyone laughs.

Everyone but Kai, I can’t help noticing.

“Hey, Ruby,” my brother says. “I’ve already apologized to Kendrick for fucking everything up for you two. But let me apologize to you, too. I really fucked up, and I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Kai,” Ruby says. “I think Kendrick and I both feel like everything happened, exactly as it was supposed to.”

“I just want you to know I couldn’t be happier for you two or sorrier for what I did.”

Ruby and I wrap Kai in a warm, forgiving hug, and my big brother is visibly holding back tears by the time we release him.

When that side conversation is done, everyone sits again, this time with Ruby and me sitting together and holding hands, and the rest of the group chatting enthusiastically about our happy news.

“Honestly, I’ve wanted you two to get together since high school,” Titus confesses. He flashes Kai a snarky look. “When I found out she had a crush on you, I thought, ‘Wrong Cook brother, Ruby, ya dumbass!’”

We all burst into happy laughter.

“Trust me, if I could rewind the clock, I would,” Ruby says, squeezing my hand. “But in my defense, I did try to right that horrendous wrong pretty early on. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.” She tells the group the story of her coming to surprise me at school, and everyone reacts with gasps and pained body language, the same way I did when Ruby told me.

On and on, we talk about everything with our best friends. Our found family. And every time I lock eyes with any of them, whether it’s Savage, Kai, Titus, or Laila, their smiles and body language tell me they couldn’t be more thrilled for Ruby and me. For our whole band. Because at the end of the day, our happiness is theirs. Our love, theirs to share. The truth is, we all want what’s best for every person in this room, in whatever form that takes.

After a while, Ruby looks at her watch and gasps. “Shit. Guys, we really need to get to work. Let’s write a hit song.”

“Actually, sorry, before we do that,” Savage says. He looks at Laila, and she beams a smile at him that he apparently perceives as permission. “As long as we’re sharing good news with the band, Laila and I have some we’ve been waiting to share in person with all of you.” He looks at Laila again, looking like a kid on Christmas. “Tell ’em, Fitzy.”

Laila’s practically bursting with excitement. “I’m pregnant,” she shouts. “Four months along!”

The room erupts with congratulations and cheers. And in short order, we’re all up again and group-hugging with Savage and Laila this time.

When it’s my turn to hug Savage, I squeeze him tight and tell him I’m thrilled for him. “I must admit,” I say, “I’m surprised to see how happy you are about this news.” As long as I’ve known this boy, he’s always said he’s got no interest in becoming a father, thanks to his own difficult childhood. At age twelve, his amazing grandma, Mimi, saved him from the hell of his early life in Phoenix by moving him to live with her in Chicago. But before that, to put it mildly, those first twelve years of Savage’s unhappy, neglected, and abused life left more than a mark on the poor guy.

“I’m surprised, too,” Savage admits. He looks at Laila across the room. “But Laila makes everything fun for me. Iwant to do everything there is to do in life, now that I’ve got her. Every damned thing.”

I look across the room to where he’s gazing, to where Ruby and Laila are chatting happily, and it’s just in time to witness Ruby doing a little happy dance while laughing with Laila. “I know what you mean, my brother. When you find the right person, it changes everything.”

Savage follows my gaze. “Can you imagine yourself having babies with her one day?”

“Hell yeah.”

He returns to me with a beaming smile on his face. “Does that mean you’re planning to pop the question, or are you two just gonna live together and?—"

“Hell yeah, I’m gonna propose to her. As soon as possible.”

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