Page 56 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

I turned to face her. "Penny, that was amazing out there, but—"

She put up a hand to stop me. "I know, Spencer, I probably should've told you when I found out."

"When did you find out?"

"A few years ago. I guess she must have been playing hardball with getting another payment out of you. So, she made good on one of her threats, and she did actually contact me. You must've given in quickly after that because the person who talked to me said that it was just a horrible prank gone wrong and that they were mistaken. But I couldn't let it go, and so, I hired a little help to investigate. It didn't take long to find out exactly what happened. But since you had spent so many years carefully concealing everything, I thought it would upset you too much if you thought I knew, so I just went along with the secrets. It's not like she sounded like anybody I wanted to know, anyway."

I hugged my sister to me. "I am so sorry about all of this, Penny. I wish things could've been different."

She shook her head and shoved me away. "No, don't do that. Don't waste your time wishing for things that could've never happened. They ended up the way they were supposed to, and although I know it was painful, probably more so for you than me, I don't think I would change anything. Except for reacting to seeing you with Ava, I mean."

"Oh, Penny, it's really understandable," Ava tried to reassure her, but Penny interrupted.

"Listen, it's going to take a little while for me to wrap my head around the idea of you two. I mean, Spencer, you're practically my father, and she is my best friend, so suffice it to say that it's more than a little weird."

We glanced at each other but couldn't disagree with that point. "But I might've overheard you talking to each other, talking about the fact that you're going to have to give one another up for me. I decided right then and there that I couldn’t let that happen. It was enough that you had to give up everything you loved for me, Spencer. I know you walked away from photography because of me. After I saw the way you two looked at one another, I knew that I couldn’t let you walk away from something else you love because of me."

"And you," Penny said, facing Ava, "you've always had my back, no matter what. You’ve always been the first one to fight for me, no matter how long it would take or how loud you needed to be." By that point, tears streamed down Ava's cheeks.

"That's the Moretti way," Ava said, laughing.

"It sure is," Penny agreed, "and I'm grateful for it every day. Between the two of you, I have some pretty starch supporters, and I'm so lucky for that. Give me some time to get comfortable with it, but in the meantime, you have my blessing. I love you both more than anything, and if you two love each other, well, I guess that's not so bad, is it?"

I looked to Ava in question. She shrugged with a small smile. "I don't think it's so bad," she said, her smile growing.

"Are you kidding me? It's fantastic is what it is," I said.

Penny laughed. "You know, big brother, if you have any sense in your head, you'll make this engagement a real one," she said suggestively before turning to Ava and hugging her, then patted my arm. "I'll just see my way out, so you can do gross mushy stuff now."

Once Penny was out of sight, Ava looked up at me with bright eyes. "What a night," she said, laughing slightly nervously.

"Indeed," I agreed. "Not at all what I expected, but since everything's been put out there tonight, I think my sister's right. if I had any sense in my head, I'd lock you down forever."

Ava's eyes widened. "Are you sure you're ready for that, Mr. Billionaire Bachelor?" she teased.

I pulled the velvet box from the inside of my suit jacket, and her eyes got bigger. "What do you think?" I popped open the box to reveal the generously-sized diamond I had picked out for her just the day before.

I was fairly certain when I got it that would probably stay in the box forever, but something urged me to still buy it, optimistic that I would get the opportunity to ask her.

Ava had her hands over her mouth in surprise. "You can't be serious?" she questioned, eyeing the large diamond with a skittish, yet hopeful look.

"Ava, don't you know by now that I'm not the joking kind?"

She grinned at me. "Ain't that the truth."

"I'll tell you what the truth is, Miss Moretti. In a short time, I have fallen deeply and madly in love with you. I never expected that, didn't even welcome it, but you have a way of making me need things that I didn't even know I wanted. I want you. I want you more than anything. I love you. You've made me want to live my life again, and I can't imagine spending a single day without you."

I smiled at her, then I dropped to one knee. "Ava Moretti? Will you marry me?"

"For real?" she breathed out while tears streamed down her face.

I nodded enthusiastically. "For real, and forever."

She choked back a sob, her hand covering her mouth. Nodding emphatically, she finally managed to say, "Yes, yes, I will marry you!"

I rose to a standing position and yanked her into my arms, laying a long, thorough kiss on her lips. Off to the corner, she and I heard the sound of two people clapping. When we broke apart, we looked over to see Ralph and Penny clapping and giving us a thumbs-up sign.

I shook my head down at Ava. "Should've known."

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