Happy Ending (Fisher Brothers 4)
“I’ll go make you one,” I said, and her face instantly broke out into a huge smile.
“Thank you. But in the meantime, I’ll take this while I’m waiting.”
Britney reached for the last No Bad Days and took a giant gulp like it was filled with juice instead of premium vodka. I started to warn her to slow down, or maybe not to mix liquors, but stopped myself.
“It’s adorable the way Matson loves Jess.” She motioned toward him, and my gaze followed. He was still glued to Jess’s side, and she had her arm wrapped around his shoulders.
“He’s been obsessed with her since the minute he first saw her.”
“Must run in the family.” Britney nudged my body with her hip, and my heart swelled at her words. I often forgot that Matson wasn’t my flesh and blood. It was nice hearing that someone else did too.
“I’ll be back with your drink, slave driver,” I teased, then headed toward my beautiful angel.
“Hi, baby,” Sofia said as I bent down to give her a long-overdue kiss.
“How are my two angels doing?” I placed a gentle kiss on top of Hope’s head.
I’d been concerned at first that Hope barely had any hair, and but Sofia acted like it was totally normal. It took a few days, but she finally convinced me that the baby’s hair would eventually grow in and she wouldn’t be bald for
ever.
“We’re good,” Sofia said as she swayed back and forth, rocking Hope.
“I have to go make some more drinks. You don’t want anything, do you?”
She shook her head, and then her eyes widened. “Wait! Can I get a Diet Coke?”
“You can get anything you want.”
Her voice turned playful. “Well, in that case . . .”
I cocked a brow in her direction, baiting her to finish that sentence. When she didn’t, I sighed and headed back to the bar to mix a few more drinks.
After filling the tray four more times, I decided to take a break. As I was behind the bar washing some of the glasses we’d used tonight, Nick gestured for me to meet him in the back room, where the cake was waiting in a small refrigerator.
“What’s up?” I dried my hands and tucked the towel into my back pocket where it seemed to live during shifts.
He blew out a long, dramatic breath. “This is it.”
“Nervous?” I asked as he spun the combination lock on the safe and pulled down the handle.
The sound of the lock disengaging echoed in the small room, and the door creaked open as he reached inside. After pulling out the black ring box, he flipped it open, making sure the pear-shaped diamond still sat inside. It did. Of course it did. It had been sitting there for forever.
“I’m excited more than anything, but yeah, I’m a little nervous.” Nick smiled at the ring, then closed the box and tucked it into his pocket. “What was I thinking, planning to propose in front of everyone we know?”
I shook my head, debating whether I should answer him honestly or give him some brotherly advice. “You were thinking that you wanted to make one last good memory here. And you wanted to do it in front of everyone who cares about you and Jess. This is a good thing, Nick. It’s going to be amazing.”
He nodded, his gaze bouncing everywhere but meeting mine. “Yeah. You’re right. Okay.” He turned to walk out of the room, but I stopped him.
“Bro, the cake.”
“Shit.” He stopped and turned back toward the fridge, and I laughed. I’d never seen him so flustered. It was amusing.
“You good?” I asked, and he nodded.
I left him unsupervised, deciding that if he didn’t emerge from the office in less than five minutes, I’d go back in and get him. But Nick walked out a moment later, the cake topped with unlit candles in his hands.
I jogged into the office to be sure he hadn’t taken the ring out of his pocket and left it behind. It would ruin his whole plan if he had. Scanning the room and finding no ring box in sight, I hustled back out into the bar, not wanting to miss a moment.