Page 178 of Loving the Legend
“Sid, it’s gorgeous…too gorgeous.” I make him laugh when I exaggerate the weight of it and pretend to need my other hand to hold it up.
“I thought of you the second I saw it,” he says.
I shake my head. I’d kill to see myself the way he sees me.
He kisses my hand, then turns to our guests and exclaims, “We’re engaged!”
There's an explosion of shouts of congratulations. We're enveloped in hugs as soon as we’re on our feet.
When I reach Kieran, I catch him full-blown crying and blowing his nose.
With a side-eye, I ask, “You knew he was planning to propose?”
“I plead the fifth,” he says, beaming through sniffles. “Tommy has it all on camera. Just for you two to show your kids one day. It was beautiful,” he says, patting my chest.
I pull him into a hug. “You and Tommy are amazing.”
“Let me see your ring. I helped him pick it out. Guess how many carats?”
I stare at it. “Twenty? It’s unbelievable.”
“Thirty-one!”
“Holy fuck! Wait, when did he pick it out?”
“When you were separated.”
My jaw drops.
Jaden and I’ve been working on building my self-compassion, and while I’ve made some progress, I still cringe when I think about my refusal to get help. Even though it led me back to therapy, it’s still rough to think about the weeks that we were separated.
I clear my throat. “K, why would he get me a ring when we were on the rocks?”
Kieran waves it off. “It was always you for him.”
I wipe my eyes as I try to wrap my head around that.
“Both of your rings will become priceless heirlooms. Sid said he only plans to get married once.”
I grin. “That’s funny. I told Norah the same thing.” I brace his shoulder. “What would we do without you and Tommy?”
He stares off, and it's like he and Tommy have a private line into each other. As soon as Kieran looks at him, Tommy meets his gaze and smiles.
Kieran turns back to me, a soft blush dusting his face. “We have your wedding to plan.”
“Can’t we just do a small ceremony on V or here?”
“Ooh, an intimate yacht wedding.” He thinks it over. “The idea has potential. Or we can rent a private island. Or a chateau.” By the sound of his faraway voice, I’m sure Party Planner Kieran has taken over, and I’ve lost him. Sid and I will have to recruit Lily and her frugal nature to temper Kieran’s imagination, which rivals Walt Disney's.
“I’m happy you’ll be my cousin,” I tell him.
“Pfft. You’ve been my cousin. Even if the world turned upside down and you two broke up, you were ours since the first Christmas Sid brought you home.”
And there I go, choking up again. “Means a lot.”
“Kiddo!”
I turn and fall into Adam and Ishan’s embrace.
