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“What did she say?” Seren asks again. “Can you guys speak up?”

“Did you send out an invite to your whole email list?” I ask. “Did everyone know?”

“I told you California was a bad idea,” Elizabeth says. “You should have just done it here.”

“Can you all shut up long enough for me to ask herproperly?” Easton drops down on one knee. “You’re already holding the ring, but I knew the moment we met that you were just as unique—no, more unique than that Verona diamond. It’s perfect for you, just like you’re perfect for me. Please,please,say you’ll marry me. Because the other rings, they’ll take back as returns, but that one, well. It cost a bundle, and I’m stuck with it even if you say no.”

“Is that really true?” I glance at Jake’s phone.

Elizabeth’s shaking her head.

“A marriage founded on lies isn’t a good one.” I frown.

“Fine,” Easton says. “But clearly you like that one best, so just put it on.”

“No.” I step toward him and pull him to his feet. “I like you the best.” I smile. “The ring’s just frosting on an already amazing cake.”

“Except the frosting’s the best part,” Killian says. “The cake’s just an excuse to eat it.”

“Hush,” Seren says. “I can barely hear as it is.”

“Oh, she’s going to say yes,” Octavia says. “Just kiss her already.”

“How embarrassing would it be if I said no?”

But Easton’s sliding the ring on my finger, and everyone’s cheering, and when he’s done, I look up at him and nod. “Yes, alright. I’ll marry you, Easton Moorland. But only because this ring is one of a kind.”

He kisses me then, and like everything else in our lives, it’s pretty darn special. Even with all the jeers, hoots, and hollers from my ridiculous family.

Actually, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

A moment later, when waiters come in with trays covered in strawberries and cream, I can’t help laughing. I suppose this is my life now—joy and laughter.

“Please tell me these are the twenty-dollar variety,” I whisper.

“Even if they aren’t,” Easton hisses. “You don’t have to worry anymore.” His smile is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

26

JAKE

The first key to the success of any good con is choosing your mark wisely. I hadn’t been enrolled for very long when I spotted Beatrice. She was kind, she was open, and she was almost unbearably naive.

She was also alone and desperate for a friend.

As the new kid in school, it was pathetically easy to convince her that I too had no friends, and that I too really wanted one. Dad said we were in a hurry, so I didn’t waste a lot of time. I started with the small signs right away.

A minor but persistent cough.

Fatigue, which as a side benefit got me out of pointless running in gym class. A little bit of wheezing.

But the clincher was that Bea wanted me to join choir with her. Of course, the second I tried to sing, my symptoms worsened. It only took me a week to get her entirely vested. And that’s when I confessed that I was sick—no, I was dying.

“You need to see another doctor,” Bea says, her eyesutterly sincere. “Get a second opinion. Your dad should take you right away.”

“No.” I shake my head and step back, lifting my chin. Strong men are always a little defiant. “I won’t waste his money like that.”

“But Jake, you have to?—”

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