Chapter Forty

Demetri

“I have to admit, this plan kicks ass.” I rubbed my hands together in excitement and kissed Alyssa on the forehead.

“Thanks.” Alec shifted nervously on his feet next to me. “Shit, I'm nervous as hell.”

“It will be fine.” Alyssa reached for his hand and squeezed it.

The cafeteria was full of friends and family. Both of Nat's parents had made it, as well as some of our friends from school. I patted Alec on the back and waited for the doors to open.

Nat had been slumming around the house just like Alec.

I didn't think it was necessary until I saw Nat yesterday. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked thin — which couldn't be good considering she was pregnant.

The door opened.

Damn. Well done, Angelica.

Nat gasped when she walked into the room. She was wearing a white sundress with strappy sandal things, and her hair hung loosely around her shoulders.

I nudged Alec, but he seemed paralyzed. His mouth dropped open, and then he took a stride toward Nat, then another. Um, not part of the plan, but—

And then he was kissing her.

Mauling her in front of everyone.

I cleared my throat and wondered if I should cover Alyssa's eyes or something.

“Why don't you kiss me like that?” she whispered.

“What?” I turned to her. “I kiss you like that all the time.”

“No, you don't. You've never done that with your tongue. Did you see his tongue—”

“—Please don't refer to Alec and his tongue ever again. Ever.”

Alyssa giggled. The little tease.

Finally Alec pulled away. Nat's eyes were shining with tears.

“Nat.” Alec sighed and went down on one knee. “I'll never stop loving you. I'll never stop wanting to be with you. My heart…” He shuddered. “It's yours. It's always been yours.

“I can't take back the mistake I made this last year. I can't take back all those times I didn't protect your heart when it should have been my first priority.

“I also can't promise that I won't mess up again. I'm an ass, but I'm learning, and all I know… is that I want you by my side every single day for the rest of my life. I want us to be a family.

“I want to be your family.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a six-carat antique cut diamond solitaire ring.

I knew it was badass because Jayemeson and I went into Portland to get it with him.

“Be my wife. Be my partner. Marry me?”

The room was deathly silent. I swear I was sweating for the guy.

I expected Nat to cry. Instead, she laughed out loud and pulled Alec up from his knees and kissed the hell out of him in front of everyone.

When they broke apart, she laughed again and shouted, “Yes!”

“He should have sung to her again,” Jaymeson said next to me. “Americans. No romance whatsoever.”

“Says the man who abandoned yet another woman in his bed last night.”

“She left satisfied.”

“Boys!” Alyssa interrupted. “Do you mind? They're kind of having a moment and I want to listen.”

Jaymeson snickered. “You're next, Demetri.”

“Laugh now… but remember what I said. When you fall, and you will… it's going to be hell.”

Jaymeson rolled his eyes and walked off.

Alec twirled Nat in his arms around the room. Everyone began to clap and disperse. We had taffy, cake, and tons of snacks for friends and family.

It hit me in that moment, that you never really know where life is going to take you. Our bad choices led us to Seaside, Oregon of all places. But that's where we found our forever.

It made me realize that sometimes forever isn't where you expect it to be, and that's okay. Because the best parts of my life have been unexpected, and I wouldn't change that for the world.

Epilogue

Alec

Nat grabbed my hand and pressed it to her swollen belly. “Do you feel her moving?”

I nodded and tried like hell not to cry. We'd just started the first leg of our tour and already I was ready to have a nervous breakdown over the fact that my pregnant wife was carrying a girl.

A girl.

As in a girl who would grow up into a teenager, then a woman, and date. Dating. Not gonna happen. I'd told Nat, but she just laughed at me as if I was joking.

Seriously, I was losing sleep over it. Holy shit, I was going to be that dad. The type who cleaned his guns in front of his daughter's potential dates in order to scare them off.

“What's wrong?” Nat rubbed my head.

“Oh, just thinking about guns.”

She laughed. “Do I want to know?”

“No.” I chuckled. “You don't.”

A knock sounded on the door. We'd been hanging on the tour bus for the last day while we traveled through Washington state to our stop in Seattle.

“Guys!” Demetri burst into our room.

“Good thing we weren't indecent,” Nat grumbled.

Demetri waved her off. “Whatever. You guys are always all over each other, and can I just say I've seen my fair share of PDA since starting this tour? Seriously, you guys disgust me.”

“I heard that!” Alyssa shouted behind him.

Grinning, Demetri winked at us and shrugged. “Sorry to interrupt, but big news.”

Nat whispered something naughty in my ear and tugged it with her teeth. “Dude, make it fast or I'm going to punch you in the face.”

“They added more tour dates because we completely sold out all cities, so we aren't going to get home as soon as we thought, but the good news?”

I waited.

Demetri chuckled. “Jaymeson fell.”

“Fell?” I repeated. “What does that even mean?”

“You'll see.”

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