“You,” Keir snapped at a guy beside him. “Call an ambulance.”
The guy hurried to do as he was told. Around them, people were too busy using their phones to video the disaster, to call for help. Mairi wanted to slap each and every one of them.
“Jonas, please talk to me.” She wiped a tear from her cheek.
Huge chunks of the costume were black and melted, but his hands were still okay. So Mairi wrapped the nearest one tight in hers.
The Wookiee stirred. “Don’t cry,” came a very human voice from his hairy mouth.
“Once we get you checked out, I am going to shout at you for a week. What were you thinking?”
“Wasn’t,” he said.
“Leave the telling off for later,” Keir said softly as a siren was heard in the distance.
Behind him, the words Jonas had written blazed to life: Will You Marry Me?
“At last,” Mairi said as she wiped away the tears. “Someone who understands it’s a question.”
Around them, Mairi’s fake boyfriends gathered. They kept the crowd back, and they closed in around Jonas, offering support with their presence. When the ambulance arrived, Keir explained the situation to the accompanying police officer as Mairi stood silently weeping. This whole situation had gotten completely out of hand, and now someone was hurt.
“He’ll be okay,” Sebastian said, putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder.
Mairi turned to him and hugged him tight. Behind her, Amir rubbed her back and the twins came up beside them. Although she felt nothing romantic for her men, and she was equally sure they didn’t feel that way about her, it didn’t mean she didn’t care for them. They were like her pets. A whole heap of clueless puppies who needed her to survive the world.
“This has to stop,” Mairi said against Sebastian’s chest. “People are getting hurt.”
“Does she need chocolate?” Amir asked someone. “I can get her some.”
“I think she needs to cry,” Damien said. “I read about this—women like to get their emotions out. It’s good for them. If they don’t, they get blocked, or something.”
Mairi looked up in time to see Darius smack his brother across the back of his head. “Idiot,” he said.
It made Mairi smile through her tears. As she listened to the ambulance drive off, the group around her parted and Keir appeared. She didn’t know why she did it, but she turned from Sebastian’s arms and straight into his. He held her tight, as she’d known he would.
“He’s going to be
fine.” Keir kissed the top of her head. “You want to go to the hospital?”
Mairi nodded against his chest.
“You guys coming?” Keir said to the other men.
“We’ll clean up here,” Darius said, “then we’ll come on over. Somebody needs to get rid of this crowd.”
“Haul in the cop,” Keir said. “He’s my cousin. He’ll help you clear the place out.”
“Your cousin?” Mairi looked up at him. How had she missed that news?
“Not one you know, big ears. I’ll introduce you later. Come on, let’s go see the Wookiee.”
“Wait,” Sebastian said. “Jonas won’t be comfortable without a costume to wear once he’s released from hospital. I don’t have anything that will fit him.” He looked at the other guys.
“I’ve got a Batman costume with me,” Damien said, making his brother groan. “He can have that.”
Sebastian let out a relieved sigh. “We’ll bring it with us when we come.”
As they walked away, with Mairi tucked under Keir’s arm, she looked at the sign that had almost killed Jonas.