SARAH Ronan must sense it because his hand tightens on my waist, and when I look up at him, there’s heat in his blue eyes that makes my knees weak. “You know,” he leans into me. “I know what you’re thinking,” he murmurs, soft lips brushing against my ear. “Oh yeah? And what am I thinking?” I arch my brow and fold my arms across my chest. My eyes catch Jaxon’s smirk. He’s so fucking hot. I press my thighs together. His hand slides lower…down my naked back, just barely above my waist, and his voice drops into a sultry, deadly sound. “You’re thinking about how badly you want us right now.” Rocks the size of tennis balls appear in my throat. I forcefully push them down with one forceful—and painful—gulp. “Can you blame me?” Ronan and Malachi shake their heads as they laugh. Slowly, Malachi’s thumb brushes over my cheekbone. “I can tell you exactly what we’re going to do to you, kitten. But the house is filled with workers,” Oh. So that’s why I felt like I was being watched. “Let’s have dinner first.” He leans in closer. “And then we can go upstairs. We have the bedroom prepared for you.” I actually whimper. “You three are fucking cruel.” Jaxon chuckles. “Patience, sweetheart,” Malachi says from behind me, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Good things come to those who wait.” “I hate waiting.” “We know,” He adds, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. Right over my new rings. “But trust us, it’ll be worth it.” I look between the three of them, all wearing matching smug expressions, and realize I’m not winning this one. “Fine,” I huff. “But this better be the best dinner of my life.” “Oh, it will be,” Ronan winks at me, and I can tell his words are a promise he intends to keep.Dinner is set up in the back pavilion, overlooking the lake. The table is gorgeous with pink and white candles everywhere, more lilies and turnips, and more food than I know what to do with. It’s a whole feast. “Did you guys cook all this?” I ask, sliding into my chair. I know for a fact they wouldn’t have been able to hide all the ingredients from me. The house was almost empty when we came in yesterday. I would know. I did my fair share of exploration. “God, no,” Jaxon says, laughing at the absurdity of it all. “We hired a catering company. Even Malachi can’t cook up this storm.” “You’re right on that,” Malachi adds. “I know my limits.” I’m about to respond when I notice Ronan staring out at the lake, his jaw tight. He’s been quiet since we sat down, and there’s something in his expression that makes my chest tighten. “Hey,” I say softly, touching his arm. “You okay?” He blinks, then looks at me. For a second, I see something—worry, maybe?—flash across his face before he tucks it away, deep down, to the bottom of his heart where he ticks everything else away. “I’m fine, kitten.” “Ronan.” He turns to me and slowly takes my hand, threading our fingers together. “We’ll talk about it later.” My jaw remains tight, and his gaze softens in response. “I promise.” Something in my chest makes my heart burn slowly, in a good way. He didn’t brush me off or lie. He acknowledged that something’s on his mind and promised we’d discuss it. And when he smiles at me, I know he didn’t just say it to deflect, he meant it. It feels different. I like it. “Okay,” I say, squeezing his hand. “Later.” He kisses my temple, and I feel some of the tension leave his shoulders. We’re halfway through the second course when Kevin appears, he rolls his eyes immediately the brothers call out to him, but behind the fake annoyance is a genuinely proud smile—directed at only me, but it’s a smile nonetheless. “Well, well, well,” he says, dropping into the empty chair beside me.“I never thought I'd see the day.” “You should be thanking me,” I say, and I mean it. “This is as close to true love as you’ll get.” Kevin grins. “Tell me about it. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if they hurt you,” I know he’s talking to the brothers, but his eyes are fixed on me as his fingers dig into the skin of my shoulders. “I already made myself very clear to them.” You have?” I look at Ronan, who’s trying not to smile. “Oh. He did alright.” He chuckles and takes a sip of his wine. “And I meant every word of it,” Kevin adds. “You have my blessing, until you DON’T.” “Alright, Kev. We get it.” Malachi says. My brother flashes him an overly bright smile. “I hope, for your sake, that you do. So,” Kevin turns to me, eyes sparkling with mischief. “How’d they do? Good proposal? Or should I tell them to try again?” “It was perfect,” I say, and my voice cracks a little at the thought of it. “It was everything.” Kevin’s expression softens. “Yeah? They didn’t cheap out on you?” “Kevin, they literally bought me a vineyard and proposed with these stones,” I stretch my hands out to give him a view of my rings. “They could never cheap out even if they tried.” He studies it for a while. “Fair point.” He steals a piece of bread from my plate. “I’m happy for you, Berry. Really.” “Thanks, Kev.” “Now,” he sighs and looks around the table. “Has anyone thought of baby names yet?” And just like that, we’re off. The conversation flows easy after that. Kevin tells an embarrassing story about Ronan from college has me crying with laughter. Malachi argues with Kevin about whether pineapple belongs on pizza, and I’m of the opinion that it just might, not that I’ll die on the hill or anything. Ronan mostly watches us, but I catch him smiling more than once. “Okay, real talk,” Kevin says during dessert. “What’s the plan? Big wedding? Small wedding? Are you going to elope and rob me of my chance to walk my sister down the aisle a second time? Second’s the charm, after all.” “It’s third.”Jaxon corrects. “Man, fuck you.” Kevin hisses, and we all chuckle, “We haven’t talked about it yet,” I admit, looking at my guys. “We literally just got engaged an hour ago.” “We’ll do whatever she wants,” Jaxon says simply. “That’s a cop-out answer,” Kevin accuses. “No, it’s the truth,” Ronan says. “If Sarah wants a wedding tomorrow, we’ll do it. If she wants a year-long engagement with a massive celebration, we’ll do that too.” “Don’t put on me, I’ve been married before. You three haven't. This will be your first,” I lean into the table, batting my lashes at Malachi and Jaxon. “What do you want?” “You,” all three say at once. “Okay, that’s it. I’m going to throw up. You guys are so weird.” We ignore him. “What about you?” Malachi asks me. “What do you want?” I think about it, looking at the three of them. My fiancés. My family. “I want something that feels like us,” I say finally. “Not too big, not too small. Intimate, but not secret. I want the people we love there. It’s going to be our little, perfect arrangement.” “That sounds perfect,” Jaxon reaches across the table, for my hand. “You’re perfect.” After dinner, Kevin hugs me tight and whispers in my left ear. “Don’t tell them I said this, but they’re good men, Berry. The best. I’m really happy you found each other.” “Me too,” I whisper back. He leaves, and suddenly it’s just the four of us again. The night is quiet now, just the sound of slow waves and crickets in the “Ready?” Ronan asks, and there’s a promise in his voice that makes heat pool in my stomach. “So ready.” “Good,” Malachi says, taking my hand. “Because we’ve been waiting all night to show you exactly how much we love you.” “And we’re done waiting,” Jaxon finalizes.