SARAH I blink rapidly, heart racing as my right hand comes over my mouth, masking my audible gasp. “I—I don’t understand.” I’m still looking at Ronan. My mind is reeling. It’s impossible to process any of the words that just left his sexy, luscious lips. “We thought you would love it,” Malachi replies. I force myself to look at him, even when it’s obvious I’m trembling. My throat’s dry, and my hands are shaking and sweaty, I keep rubbing them over the skin of my thighs. His dark eyes drop to my thighs, and he takes my hand in his. Our fingers interlock, calming me, grounding me. “Seeing as you love your wines so much.” He finishes the rest of his sentence with a cheeky smile. It wakes up every single butterfly in my stomach. Hell! Even the caterpillars become grown all of a sudden and flutter around too. My eyes dance around his face while I search for the words I need to speak. My head is empty. I am not one to be speechless most of the time. To know me. Sarah Wellspring, is to know that I always have things to say. But now…now in this very moment? I can confidently say I have no words. All I can do is swallow hard to dampen my dry throat, and shake my head. “If you knew I loved wine, you could have gotten me several bottles. Hell! Shipped wine from several different continents,” it’s all too much, I have to pause and breathe. “Sign me up for monthly crates and unleash the alcohol in me. That’s what you do to a wine lover. You don’t go ahead and buy a whole vineyard!” “Where’s the fun in that?” Jaxon chips in. I look ahead to find him smiling at me from the rear view mirror. “We know how difficult the last few days have been for you. With the bastard you married, with your office, everything. If you ever need a break from the madness of the big city,” his brown eyes sparkle with delight as his smile broadens. “You can come here. Relax, rewind. That’s what we used it for, at least.” My left brow raises in a query. This is—was theirs? As if hearing my thoughts, Ronan takes my other hand and places it gently on his thigh. His fingers trail across each and every one of my knuckles, caressing them softly. I notice how he lingers on my index finger, staring at it intently, he can’t take his eyes away. “It was ours. Now it’s yours.” I can’t fight it anymore. The tears, the laughter of disbelief, both come rushing out of me at the same time. My shoulders vibrate as I break into a violent sob. “Why?” I’m happy, so happy I’m a crazy burst of emotions. Crying and laughing, really? But I don’t care. I can’t find it in me to. Yes. Maybe I’m crazy. Fuck it. They are crazy too. So fucking crazy. Let’s all be insane together. I don’t give two shits anymore. “You don’t under—you don’t…” the rest of my words are buried inside the skin of Ronan’s chest as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. My fingers grab the fabric of his shirt and I squeeze roughly, holding as much of him as I can take. “I wish I could tell you how much this means. No one’s ever done anything like this for me. This is too much,” I shake my head, still crying into his shirt. Malachi’s hand rubs my back gently. “I can’t take it. I just can’t.” Ronan stiffens against me. Slowly, his hand grips my chin, and he lifts my tear soaked face up, so I have no option but to meet his fiery gaze. I see the care in them. The want, the desire, the trust, the…the love. “You can, and you will.” “But…” “This is nothing, Sarah. Nothing compared to everything we want to give you. Don’t you ever, even for a single second, think you’re undeserving of anything, because baby,” he swipes his thumb over the teary line underneath my right eye. “We will give you the world in a heartbeat if you ever asked for it.” “Don’t ever wonder what we won’t do for you, kitten,” Malachi’s voice is soft against the back of my neck. “Such a thing does not exist.” My tears only pour from my eyes even more. But every time one streak falls, Ronan kisses it away, again and again until I can’t help but laugh at the feel of his lips all over my face. “And we’re here!” Jaxon squeals, and it’s the only thing that finally takes Ronan’s eyes off me. At this point, I’m bursting with excitement myself. The car is parked in the middle of a vast field, and far ahead of us, my squinted eyes catch sight of… Wait. What? “Is that…” I point at the image in front of me. “Is that what I think it is?” Malachi gets down from the car and stretches his right hand towards me. My jaw drops to the ground as I take his hand in mine, allowing him to usher me out of the car. Such a proper gentleman. Back to the magnificence in front of me… “What the hell is going on?” I ask, but they don’t answer. We take quick steps towards the pink and blue striped hot air balloon tethered to the ground. “Oh my gosh.” I press my palms against my face, hoping it would hide how burnt and red they are. “I can’t believe this.” I’m still in Ronan’s oversized shirt, so the length of the sleeves slack down my hands. “Did you guys plan this? When?” Jaxon pulls me by my waist and presses a soft peck on my right ear. “You ask too many questions, Sarah.” “But…” “A magician never reveals his tricks.” He cuts in with a wink. My head falls backwards with laughter. I can hear the echo all over the field. I laugh so hard and so much, my cheeks hurt, and my chest burns. I can’t stop, even when I feel myself about to pass out from inability to breathe. My legs give out, and I stagger sideways, but Jaxon’s hold keeps me standing. “Woah. Easy there, kitten.” We’re now in front of the magnificent hot air balloon, and Ronan helps me get in before his brothers do. Goosebumps poke the surface of my skin despite the warm clothes. Maybe it’s the shorts I have on. Maybe it’s all the chills they’re giving me at once. I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t know anything anymore. We start to float above the ground, and Jaxon’s stance falters a bit. He holds onto Ronan a bit too tight, and fear flashes in his eyes for a brief second. It’s gone once he blinks. Unfortunately, I caught it. So I fold my arms as my lips thin into a smirk. “Someone is afraid of heights.” Jaxon scoffs, but he still doesn’t let go of his eldest brother. Ronan looks down at him with a familiar smile, like he’s not new to Jaxon’s reaction to our height. Malachi chuckles and shakes his head. “You have no idea.” Ronan’s smile widens as he speaks. “You know, Sarah. I have a little fun story for you. To explain Jaxon’s…” Like a little boy, Jaxon pouts and pulls away from Ronan. “Shut up.” Their laughter roars across the field, filling my heart with so much warmth. A lot has changed since that night at Vincent’s. I’m almost grateful to Aaron for saying all those mean things to me. The higher we go, the faster my heart races. Not from fear, no. It’s very far from that. I’m excited. This is literally my first time in one of these, even though it’s always been a dream of mine. I never got the chance to make it happen, but they’ve given it to me. The HawkThorne brothers. These flawed, handsome, but incredibly loving men. I wonder if they know how much they’ve saved me. I look down, leaning over the balloon’s edge to admire the view beneath me. The grass and the tall trees are evergreen and fresh. This is why I love nature. It is beautiful, ethereal to say the least. It heals and calms you. It reminds you of the beauty, all the beauty in the world. I can feel all of it. Happiness and joy, hope and love, peace and trust. All of it. A small, gentle hum of a plane snaps me out of my reverie. Curious, I turn my gaze in the direction of the sound, and my heart does an instant somersault in my chest. Slightly beneath us, there’s a pink banner slowly unfolding. I have watched enough proposal videos on social media to know what it is. “Fuck!” I scream, beyond elated. Do I finally get to watch someone’s proposal live? I didn’t even know the HawkThornes were advocates of love. “Guys, you really rented the field out for a proposal? That is so sweet!” I want to look away, to them, but I can’t. My eyes are fixed on the banner, eager to know who the lucky woman is. Where is she? Where are they? Why can’t I see them? There’s not a soul beneath or around us besides the person who helped to lift us off the ground. The pilot, I’m guessing, and I had barely noticed him earlier. So where…? My breath catches in my throat. The banner is completely unfolded, and my name is the first word I see, written in glittery sky blue letters. SARAH With my heart in my hands, I skim over the rest of the words. CAN WE BE YOURS, SARAH? My pulse quickens as a surge of warmth coursed through my body.