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Leander and I exchanged a glance, both looking away with a quiet laugh. The butterflies in my stomach were on a rollercoaster, more so for his nerves than my own. I’d been out for more than half of my life. To say this was a turning point for him was a massive understatement.
“Well, it was, umm...” He bit his lower lip, his cheeks flushing more than I think I’d ever seen in a social setting.
“There’s something we wanted to tell you,” I said slowly, waiting for him to jump back in at any point.
A hush fell over the table as everyone exchanged glances with one another, as well as us, waiting to see who would speak next.
Leander canted his head and smiled at me, giving an almost imperceptible nod.
“We are... together.Together, together,” I announced. Olivia smiled brightly, but the rest of the table stared at us. Some blinked, some gaped. I cleared my throat and continued. “While we were in Puerto Rico, I asked Leander to marry me.”
“And I said yes,” Leander added helpfully, reaching for my hand again, this time ontopof the table. In full view of everyone. If they looked closely, they would have seen his black wedding band.
“And then we did,” I said.
“We did,” Leander agreed. “We’re married.”
You could have heard a pin drop until Gavin squeaked, waving his fists in excited little movements.
Olivia shrieked, her chair screeching as she pushed it out quickly. Running over, she threw an arm around each of our necks and pulled us in for a strangling sort of hug. “You guys! I’m so happy for you!”
“I knew it!” Gavin yelled with a laugh, pointing at me. “I knew you called dibs on him!”
Cole and Elijah smiled and said their congratulations, one sounding very confused while the other wasn’t fazed at all. Typical Jake was silent, glaring a hole through his plate.
Once everyone settled down, Gavin piped up again. “Youhaveto let me help you plan the reception!”
“Uh, I don’t think so,” Olivia interjected, sliding back into her seat and flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. “If anyone is planning a reception, it’s me.”
“I got them together!” Gavin snapped.
“I got thembacktogether,” Olivia countered.
“Ladies, ladies. You’re both pretty,” I said, holding my hands out to the two of them like a referee. “There’s no need to fight because we’re not having a reception.”
“What?” They gasped in unison.
“Why not?” Elijah asked.
Leander cleared his throat softly. “It’s better for business if we keep this between us.”
“Business?” Olivia shot me a perplexed look.
“Oh…” Gavin’s shoulders slumped. “The Russians.”
Leander and I nodded. I was pretty confident Sergei wouldn’t jeopardize his contract with Leander’s shipping company, but it would definitely be an unnecessary strain to our working relationship. Besides, until the whole Marchese nonsense was over, I didn’t need anyone knowing I had a vulnerability.
“So, I have a question,” Cole said, leaning forward on his elbows, peering around Elijah. “Which one of you is the chick?”
Before Leander or I could react, Olivia and Elijah both smacked him in the head from opposite sides. He winced and ducked, giving each of them a glare. “Come on! You’re all wondering!”
Gavin giggled and swatted Jake’s bicep playfully. Jake managed to muster a smirk and rolled his eyes.
Leander and I exchanged a long, knowing look. Giving him a wry grin, I arched an eyebrow at him, waiting patiently with my hand outstretched.
Sighing, Leander pulled out his wallet and fished a hundred dollar bill from the center. He held it to me between two fingers, his jaw shifting as he looked away in defeat.
I chuckled and plucked it out of his fingers, tucking it into my own pocket. “Thank you very kindly, sir.”
