Page 97 of Thanking Her Brother's Best Friends

Sailboats and yachts gracefully glided through the water, their sails billowing in the breeze. Seagulls soared overhead, their wings catching the warm sunlight, their cries echoing through the air.

Seaport hummed with the vibrant energy of a place on the cusp of transformation. Modern glass and steel structures towered alongside historic warehouses.

Nature, too, joined in the celebration of the changing season. In the distance, the sun, still in its ascent, bathed the city in a soft, golden glow.

Its gentle rays kissed my skin, a gentle reminder that summer's grip was loosening.

It’s all sickeningly beautiful.

I sighed and turned around and almost gavemyself a heart attack.

The three boys, on their knees, lined up in front of me, looked up at me. Aiden had a box in his hand.

"What the heck?" I stammered. "What's going on?"

"What should have gone down a long, long time ago," Aiden said.

"Selene, I want to ask you the question, but before that, I also want to ask you if you have it in your heart to forgive me for being the stupidest fucking person in the whole world."

I clutched the nearby table for support.

"When you... when you said what you did yesterday, I only thought one thing. That this girl, this beautiful girl with her unbelievably large heart—all she has ever done is love, nourish, and support the asshole that I am. At no point did you ever question my decisions or nature, even though..." Aiden stopped talking and swallowed.

"Even though I said things that were absolute shit. And I don't know if you can forgive me one more time, but if you do, Selene, I swear on whatever is good in this world that I will spend the rest of my life loving you. I would, even if you were to say no, but—ugh, words." He stopped and scowled for a second. I wanted to cry, laugh, and break down, but most of all, I wanted him to finish.

"Go on," Dom said, his expression passive. "You're doing a helluva job."

"A little help here?" Aiden snapped.

"No, no," Niall replied. "I think Selene is enjoying this more. Aren't you?" I nodded, unable to keep a little smile from my lips.

"I—" Aiden looked at me like a little puppy and made another attempt. "Selene, I ache for you. When I'm with you, I'm my best self. And even in your absence, I'm always thinking of ways to be the man you want me to be. I'm not good with words. I think we've all established that. But I—all three of us—we love you. We love you, and we love your kid, and we love the little ‘uns that are on the way too. It's the biggest, sweetest gift that we don't deserve. And I just—marry me, Selene. Marry me and be with us, because without you, life sucks big time."

A strangled little cry escaped my lips.

"If you say yes." Niall smiled. "You're saying yes to all of us, Selene. We don't want you to do this alone. Hell, we know you can. There's nothing you can't do. But we want to be part of this journey and every subsequent one you go on."

"Of course," Dom interjected, "if you want us. We won't—we're not imposing, not putting any limits on you. It's us, Selene."

Aiden's smile was like the sun. "We're endgame."

I glared at him through my tears. "Why did you run yesterday?"

He winced slightly. "I went home to the old row house where we grew up. I know it was stupid, running like that. But I wasn't... I didn't want to run from you. In that one second, I realized too many things, including how I'd been sabotaging myself my whole life. How I had something so good in front of me, and I'd been so blind to it all the time. And the more life flashed in front of me, the more I needed to get away from myself. I'm sorry, Selene."

I rubbed my face and cleared my throat. "Come on, then. We've got to go."

Aiden almost fell on the floor. "Ow, cramp," he groaned. "No, I mean, where?"

I was already at the door. "To tell Ben I'm getting married and having three kids. I'm not doing that shit alone."

The boys got on their feet as fast as they could and ran after me. I got into the car. "We have to get Ollie from school first."

Aiden nodded. From the corner of my eye, I could see he looked like he was about to pee his pants.

"Scared that Ben's probably gonna hyperventilate and have a self-righteous heart attack?"

He exchanged a quick glance with Dom and Niall. "We're pretty sure he will," Dom replied. "But we'll be there to soften the blow."

---