SARAH “I still can’t believe you’re making me pack at seven in the morning,” I grumble, tossing another shirt into my suitcase. “This is cruel and unusual punishment.” Ronan leans against my doorframe, arms crossed. He looks way too good for someone who’s been awake since the crack of dawn. I wonder how they stayed awake long enough to drive here without falling asleep and crashing into a pickup truck. I had tried to get them to sleep over last night, but Kevin wasn’t having it. “Don’t you miss the feeling of your own bed?” He had asked, and the scowl on his face was enough to send his best friends right out of the door. Back to the present. “You said you wanted to leave early.” “I said I wanted to leave at a reasonable hour. I don’t see how making a trip by seven in the morning is reasonable.” Jaxon appears behind Ronan, already carrying two of my bags. “We’re not even going that far,” he laughs. “Would you be carrying these two?” He holds the bags up to me. I look over them briefly before nodding. “Most definitely. I need to have coffee.” Malachi’s laugh echoes from downstairs. “Already made you some. It’s in the car!” I pause mid-fold, a pair of jeans dangling from my hands. “You made me coffee?” “We’re not monsters, Sarah.” Jaxon says, grinning as he grabs my third bag—a baby pink one seated comfortably on the foot of my bed stand. They did say it was only a weak trip, but one can never fully know what to expect with the HawkThornes. “Debatable,” I mutter, but I’m smiling now. The drive is beautiful. I’m tucked in the back seat between Malachi and Jaxon while Ronan drives. The morning sun streams through the windows, turning everything golden, and I can’t stop looking at them. “You’re staring,” Malachi says without looking up from his phone. “Am not.” “Are too.” Jaxon’s hand finds my thigh, squeezing gently. “What are you thinking about?” You. All of you. How lucky I am. How terrified I still am. How much I want this to last forever. “That I need more coffee,” I say instead, reaching for the thermos.Ronan’s eyes find mine in the rearview mirror. He doesn’t say anything, but the corner of his mouth lifts, and I know he sees right through me. “How far is this place anyway?” I ask, settling back against the seat. “About an hour,” Malachi says. “You’ll love it.” “I don’t even know what ‘it’ is. You three have been annoyingly secretive.” Jaxon leans closer, his breath warm against my ear. “Where’s the fun in spoiling surprises?” His hand moves higher on my thigh, and I swat it away. “Behave. Ronan’s driving.” “I don’t mind. You know I love a good show.” Ronan says from the front seat, and I can hear the mischief in his voice. It takes me back to the night in Mykonos, to that party. I clench my thighs and clear my throat. “Well, I care. I’d like to arrive at this mystery location alive, thank you.” “So dramatic,” Jaxon teases, but he moves his hand back to safer territory: my knees. This is what happiness feels like, I think. Not the absence of fear, but the presence of something stronger. When we finally turn off the main road, my breath catches. “Holy shit.” The driveway is lined with grapevines, stretching as far as I can see. The mansion—because there’s no other word for it—sits at the end, all stone and glass and elegance. But it’s the view behind it that makes my heart stop. A lake. Massive and glittering in the morning sun, surrounded by trees and sky and absolute peace. We’re in the vineyard. The vast surprise they gave me. I can’t believe I completely forgot all about it. “We saw how much you loved it the last time.” Jaxon says, and I turn to find him watching me with barely concealed anxiety. I’m out of the car before he’s even fully stopped, stumbling toward the edge of the property where I can see the lake better. “Sarah!” Malachi calls out, laughing. “At least let us show you inside first!” “In a minute!” I yell back, spinning in a slow circle. “I’m having a moment!” Strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I lean back into Ronan’s chest. “I’m so glad you love it,” he murmurs against my hair. “I do,” I whisper, nodding my head.“I can’t believe this is real.” “Get used to it, kitten. This is your life now.”The inside is just as beautiful. High ceilings, huge windows, a kitchen so beautiful, I almost want to learn how to cook so I can use it. And the bedroom—our bedroom, I’m learning to think—has a balcony that overlooks the lake. “I’m never leaving,” I announce, flopping onto the massive bed. “You three can visit me here on weekends. It can’t be that far from my office anyway.” Ronan and Malachi chuckle. “Bold of you to assume we’re letting you out of our sight,” Jaxon says, climbing onto the bed beside me. Malachi appears on my other side. “Yeah, we’re kind of a package deal now.” “Noted,” I manage to speak while grinning like an idiot. My cheeks are burning from all the smiling I’ve been doing. Ronan stands at the foot of the bed, watching us with that quiet intensity that makes my stomach flip. “Let’s have a meal first. We have plans to christen every room in this house.” My heart leaps to my throat and I clear my throat. “Every…room?” My voice comes out higher than intended. His smile is slow and dangerous. “Every. Room.” The balcony is open, right? So why is it suddenly so hot? The next morning, I wake up sore in the best possible way. Sunlight streams through the balcony doors, and I can hear birds chirping outside. The bed is warm, and I’m tangled up in sheets that reek of four different colognes, sweat, and a whole lot of sex. I carefully extract myself from the bed and move to the balcony, picking up Ronan's shirt from the floor. The view is breathtaking. The lake is calm this morning, I can see the sky’s reflection on it, like a mirror. Sucking in a deep breath, I let myself lean against the railing. “Beautiful.” I turn to find Malachi in the doorway, phone in hand, watching me with soft eyes. I didn't even hear him come in. “The view?” I ask. “You.” He lifts the phone slightly. “Can I?” I should probably feel self-conscious—I’m wearing nothing but Ronan’s shirt, my hair is a volcano, and I’m pretty sure I have a hickey somewhere on my neck. There was a lot of biting last night. The camera clicks a few times, and Malachi smiles. “Perfect.”“Let me see,” I demand, walking back inside. He shows me the screen, and I barely recognize myself. The woman in the photo looks happy. Peaceful. Loved. “I look…” “Breathtaking.” He finishes, eyes glued on me. My heart slowly melts away, and I tiptoe, pressing my lips against his. I kiss him then, soft and sweet. “Where are the other two?” I ask when we finally break apart. “Out picking fruits.” He grins at my expression. “Ronan’s idea. He wants a fresh breakfast. I’m cooking, so I stayed behind.” I am more surprised by his first sentence than anything else. “Ronan HawkThorne picks fruit?” “Apparently. Jaxon went with him to ‘supervise.’” He makes air quotes. “Very handy.” I nod, winking at him. “I love my men handy.” An hour later, I’m sitting at the kitchen island, watching Malachi work, and I can’t stop smiling. “What are you making?” “Apple and grape pie,” he says, rolling out dough with the skill of a pastry chef. Is there anything he can’t do? “You’re making pie. From scratch.” “Problem?” “No, I just…” I shake my head. “You’re all so strange, and I love you.” The words just slip out before I can stop it. It comes natural and easy, almost second nature to me. But it’s the confidence that strikes me the most, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one, because the room goes still. For a minute, we’re all there, standing in the silence, letting the words sink into each and every single one of us. Jaxon recovers first, and he crosses over to me and pulls me into a kiss. I let his lips take mine, opening up to let his tongue slide in. How can I not? He’s everything. They are everything. He closes his eyes and murmurs against my lips. “Love you too, baby.” ~We eat on the back patio, overlooking the lake, and the pie is incredible. Jaxon steals bites from my plate, Malachi takes more pictures, and Ronan just watches us all with this expression that makes my chest ache in a good way. “So,” Jaxon says eventually, setting down his fork. “We have something we want to talk to you about.” My stomach drops. “What did I do this time?” “Nothing wrong,” Malachi assures me quickly. “It’s good. We think.” I raise a brow. “You think?” Ronan leans back in his chair, studying me. “We want to move our company’s insurance to your firm.” I can feel my blood drain from my face. The piece of pie in my mouth stays stuck to the middle of my throat. I gulp down a huge amount of saliva to push it down to my stomach. It’s either that, or coughing it out. “What?” “Hawk Empire,” Jaxon continues. “All of it. We want you to handle our insurance.” My brain does a quick spin in my head, but it still doesn’t give me the words I need. “You want… Hawk Empire. You’re going to be my clients? Really?” “We’re pulling away from our old company,” Ronan says. “If you’ll have us, that is.” If I’ll have them? Are they insane?! Do they have any idea what this means? Hawk Empire isn’t just big—it’s the biggest of the biggest! The most powerful business entity in the country. If they trust me with their insurance, every other company will follow. This isn’t just a contract. It’s a game-changer, my life-changer. “Sarah?” Malachi calls out. I blink at him, half dazed. He tilts his head sideways. “You okay?” “Okay? I…” I laugh, slightly hysterical. “Are you guys serious?” “Yes,” all three say in unison.I look between them, searching for the catch, the joke, anything. But they’re serious. Completely, utterly serious. “Oh my God,” I breathe. “Oh my God.” And then I’m moving, launching myself at Jaxon because he’s closest. He catches me easily, spinning me around as I laugh and cry and can’t seem to stop doing either. “Is that a yes?” he asks, grinning against my neck. “Yes! Yes, obviously yes!” I pull back to look at his face. “You’re sure? This is huge. This is—” “We’re sure,” Ronan says, and there’s so much confidence in his voice that I have to believe him. Jaxon sets me down but keeps his hands on my waist. “We trust you, Sarah. With our business, our lives, everything.” “Besides,” Malachi adds, coming to stand beside us. “We’re family now. Might as well make it official in every way.” I kiss Jaxon first, then Malachi, then turn to Ronan who’s watching us with that small smile that’s just for me. “Thank you,” I whisper against his mouth. “For this. For everything.”