Page 112 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends
During the long ride up, I take a breath and adjust the collar of my white blouse, my black skirt hugging my hips. It’s also nice to be back in some of my old clothes.
When the elevator doors slide open, I step out onto the rooftop, expecting a large crowd of people and waiters rushing around everywhere. Instead, I don’t see a single soul at the bar, at the lounges, or at the tables. All I see are glowing string lights and lush plants as decorations.
“Um…” I say in confusion as I take a few steps forward, my eyes sweeping around before people start to emerge from behind the bar and lounges. “Oh my…”
My jaw drops in shock as my family and Max’s family come out of hiding with smiles on their faces. Mom holds Nessa in her arms, making my heart skip.
“What’s going on?” I ask as they move to stand toward the middle of the rooftop.
No one answers me, but when Ryan, Max, and Josh reveal themselves from their hiding spot behind a large lounge seat and stride toward me in suits, I forget how to breathe. “Guys…”
All three of them chuckle to themselves as they stop in front of me. Max takes my right hand, while Ryan takes my left, coaxing me closer to them as we huddle in a tight circle.
“Emma,” Josh says, making my eyes immediately start tearing up as realization hits me. He grins at that, but he continues. “We probably have the wildest love story ever. One that none of us ever saw coming.”
“We’ve been through a lot together. Ups and downs. Highs and lows,” Max adds as he strokes my knuckles with his thumb. “But we always came out on the other side stronger. Closer. It didn’t take long to realize that this was meant to be.”
“We were already in love with you before Nessa, but when you told us that we were going to be fathers, it felt like everything clicked into place. Everything made a little more sense,” Ryan continues as his eyes meet mine. “And we have the most incredible life with you now.”
Tears well up in my eyes as I gaze at them, my heart pounding out of control. We’re surrounded by the people who love and support us, but it feels like it’s just the four of us on this rooftop right now. Just us and our strong feelings that we’ve never been able to truly contain.
“We never want to lose you,” Josh says before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a ring box. “We want to mark today as the beginning of our forever together and show you how much we love you, Emma.”
My teary eyes grow wide as he opens the ring box, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring inside that dazzles under the glow of the string lights. I squeeze Ryan’s and Max’s hands in excitement.
“Emma, will you make us the luckiest guys alive and be our wife?” Josh asks me with hope in his eyes.
With a happy sniffle, I nod fervently. “Yes!”
Claps sound around us as our family and friends cheer for us, the sound fading into the background as Josh slips the ring onto my finger. I immediately lunge forward, throwing my arms around the guys and pulling them close to me with crushing pressure.
Their laughter surrounds me as they hug me back, pressing brief but loving kisses against my cheeks and my temples. I drink in every ounce of affection as more happy tears spill from my eyes, pure joy radiating through me.
We’re getting married! I’m not even worried about the logistics right now. I’m just happy about the thought and the meaning.
They want to be with me forever, and I can’t imagine this incredible life without them right by my side.
“Where’s our baby girl?” I say once I dry my tears up, mostly.
“Right here!” Mom tells me as she carries Nessa over to us. She pecks me on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you! The wedding is going to be beautiful!”
“We haven’t even started planning,” I say, my voice shaking with laughter as I take Nessa from her.
“Well, it’ll still be beautiful,” Mom replies before embracing each of the guys. They were already like sons to her before, but they’re officially family now.
After accepting a gentle hug from my dad and Max’s parents, I turn to face Ethan and Andrew as they approach me with warm expressions on their faces. “Things turned out pretty okay, didn’t they?”
Andrew laughs, while Ethan smirks and shakes his head at me.
“We might’ve overreacted in the past, but this is what we have always wanted for you,” Andrew replies before kissing the top of my head. “We just didn’t expect it to happen in this specific way.”
“Life is a crazy thing,” Ethan says as he puts his arm around my shoulders and smiles down at his niece. “There was a time when I thought that you would never settle down in New York City. I thought you would float around the world, constantly chasing something that you could never catch.”
I lift my eyes to gaze at the guys as they talk to my parents and Max’s parents. Their smiles are radiant, and their laughs are deep and genuine. Seeing them happy proves to me that, despite all the stress and obstacles that we dealt with, we were always on the right path.
We were meant to crash into each other’s lives. We were meant to have that heated night in the office. We were meant to have a baby together.
Everything fell into place how it was meant to be.
