Page 15 of Big & Bossy

Not to mention the sheer audacity she’d had to say all of those awful things about me. She’d think twice about that if she knew what I’d done for her. The hell I’d put myself through.

It made my chest ache just to think about, right beneath the little spot that marked me forever as hers.

“Jack! Nice to see you, man,” Fred called from the sofa, one arm around my little sister’s shoulders and his chin pressed against the top of her head. “It’s been too long.”

“It has,” I deadpanned, too tired to pretend to be enthralled by any of them. “You should come out to Boulder.”

“Nah, too many rocks,” he joked. I tried not to take offense as my dad burst out laughing at his arguably horrible one-liner. “I do think Colorado is in our future though. Tiana loves it out there.”

Mom’s lips twitched upward as she watched the two of them giggle and squirm on the couch. Tiana was always friendlier around Fred, always sociable, happy. A stark difference from her usual angry facade that she definitely didn’t learn from me.

“Honey,” Mom cooed at my father as she untied her spotless apron from behind. “You remember that thing we bought for tonight? Why don’t you go get it?”

“The Dom Perignon? Now?”

“Yes, Paul.”

Fred’s brows rose as he looked between the three of us. Already? he mouthed at my mother, and she nodded in return.

“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled.

“Shh.”

Dad came around the corner, a bottle in each hand, and behind him, one of the many helpers around the house carried a tray of champagne flutes. “We haven’t even had dinner yet,” Dad grumbled, his shoulders slumping forward as he started working on opening one of the bottles.

I sat down on the corner seat next to him, reaching out one hand, requesting the other bottle. He handed it to me without a word. Every twist made my fingers wish they were doing something else, something far more mischievous, something that involved a lot of Mandy and very little clothing. I don’t know how I ever let myself love a man like you. She loved me at one point. That was enough. It had to be enough to fix things.

“Fred…” Mom urged, stepping around my father to take a seat next to me. She smoothed out the lines on her slacks, shooting a glare over to me suggesting I do the same. No.

Fred shifted in his seat across from us, slipping out of my sister’s embrace and standing up straight as he cleared his throat. “Tiana,” he began, and as I watched his hand reach into the pocket of his jeans, I noticed he was trembling. “The last two years with you have been the absolute highlight of my life?—”

The cork popped in my hand so loud that the room stopped. I thanked my nonexistent gods that it didn’t fizz and spray everywhere.

“You’ve become so ingrained in my life that I can’t see a future without you in it. I know we’ve had our ups and downs…” Is he really doing this now? Is that why they waited for me? “…and I know that things aren’t always easy. But between us, I think we can handle the world together.”

My chest warmed as I watched Tiana’s eyes light up when Fred dropped down to one knee. Mom sniffled beside me, as if she hadn’t known this was coming, but obviously she had. Dad was too entranced by the champagne to actually pay attention.

“Tiana Big, will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to be my wife?”

That got Dad’s attention.

“You didn’t ask?—”

“Shh,” Mom hissed at my father.

Fred’s hands shook even harder as he pulled the box from his pocket, opening it in front of an anxious Tiana. Even from where I sat several feet away, I could see how much the ring shone.

“Oh my God, yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!” Tiana squealed as she lunged for him, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. The smile on her face was larger than I’d ever seen—even bigger than it was the Christmas she got the life-size Barbie dream house she’d been begging for.

A new record for the books.

Mom clapped beside me as Dad side-eyed her, his excitement hidden behind his irritation that no one had told him. Join the club, Dad.

“We can have that Colorado wedding you’ve always wanted,” Fred said, his face buried in the crook of Tiana’s neck. “I’m sure your brother knows all the good spots.”

“I’m sure Tiana knows more places than I do,” I chuckled. She’d been planning her wedding since she was a kid and knew what she wanted before she even knew what marriage truly was. She’d made sure the entire family was clued in on her plan.

“Now it’s your turn,” Mom joked, nudging me with her knee as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

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