Page 58 of The Final Deal

Please, God—let me fix everything and quick.

“Z, I swear I’ll love you for the rest of my life,” I begin. My voice cracks and pitches as I attempt to make my vow. “Through thick and thin, better or worse, I promise I’ll never run away from you; I’ll stay and talk things through.”

He visibly pauses, like he wasn’t expecting that—and the way his eyes turn glassy makes me think that promise has stricken a point of insecurity.

“I promise to do and be my best, to take care of you and Adrian the way you need it. And I promise to never let anything come between us. You’re stuck with me for the rest of your life, so I hope you’re ready for forever.”

With his ring in place, he scoops me up into his arms, whispering, “Bring it on, princesa,” before crushing his lips onto mine.

Adrian cheers as I kiss his brother, sealing our promises and finally,finallystarting our forever together. Zak parts from me; Adrian captures the moment on his phone.

“I think that’s better than any wedding we ever dreamed up,” Zak murmurs with his arms around me.

I nod in agreement and kiss him again. “This is perfect. Well,” I backtrack as I look to Dree with a small smile, “almost.”

He glances uncomfortably at the statues. “Can we do it somewhere else?”

Down the road and around the corner about five minutes later, we pull up to a familiar place that’s as dead as the church was: a venue we’ve played at a few times. Zak opens the door for me, but he doesn’t take my hand; Dree does instead, and leads us to the back where it’s grassy and overlooks a bunch of dead trees.

Adrian stops us a little ways away from the backdoor.

This is where Zak asked me out.

“What I never mentioned is thatIwas gonna ask you out that night,” Dree starts. He fidgets relentlessly, like he’s restless and impatient, and gives his brother a slightly irritated but playful slant. “Great minds think alike, I guess.”

“Beat your punk ass to it.”

I click my tongue and smack Zak’s shoulder. “Hon!”

Adrian snorts as Zak rubs his shoulder. “Maybe me bein’ too afraid lost us time, but… but now we have the rest of our lives to make up for it. So.” He takes my hand, hiding a ring in the other. “I’m gonna love you forever, Steph. I promise to wake you up with coffee ready every morning and text you stupid shit that’ll make you laugh every day. I promise to be your best friend and lover. I promise to protect you from all the bad guys and fight for you.”

He seals my engagement and wedding rings with one of his own. My breath catches when our eyes meet.

“I swear to spend the rest of forever with you in this life and the next,” he murmurs.

My heart aches from the expansion, swelling three sizes too big to accommodate the love of the two men I want to be with forever. I rub a hand over my heart to ease the discomfort, and I examine the ring Adrian gave me: a twisted rose gold band lined with diamonds.

I think I’m going to blind the crowd at any show we perform at now.

Swiping away a couple of small tears, I take his ring out of my purse and hold his hand. I inhale deeply and count the breaths, calming my nerves and searching for the right words.

“Even if it took a few extra years for us to find our way to each other and figure things out,” I begin softly, “all that matters is now and our future. So I swear I’ll be yours for as long as you’ll tolerate me and my princess tendencies. I will always be your best friend and lover, and I promise to always be a pain in your ass and give you hell.”

He groans. “Ugh, I guess.”

I snort, gradually working the simple rose gold band on his finger. “I promise to be yours, now, forever, and always.”

Adrian grins down at his hand and admires the ring on his finger, wiggling and flexing his hand. And then his mouth lands on mine.

“Yeah, buddy,” Zak laughs as I pull his brother closer, kissing him as hard as I can.

If my heart got any fuller, it’d explode and bleed over everything.

Zak grumbles, “Alright, already.”

Adrian and I separate, and a warm blush works onto my cheeks. Zak takes one hand and Adrian the other, and they both lead me toward the parking lot.

A peculiar color in the trees makes me blink twice and double take.

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