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“I intend to.” He takes my face between his hands and kisses me in front of everyone, ignoring the whistle from somewhere behind us and the filthy suggestion somebody shouts from the third room. When he finally lifts his mouth from mine, he stays close enough that I can feel his smile. “I’d marry you every fucking day if you let me.”
I smile against his mouth. “You are marrying me twice.”
“So I am.” His thumb moves over my cheek, his expression softening. “Come on, then. Let’s make this one ours too.”
They arrive just after half past three. I hear Onyx from the second room, and by the time I get there he’s got both arms around Seren’s neck and his feet off the ground.
“You!”
“Onyx.”
“You absolute—” He’s laughing and won’t let go. “Eleven months. It’s been eleven months and one fucking message, and it said fine?”
“I was fine.”
“That’s not a message. That’s—”
Seren snorts and hooks an arm around the back of Onyx’s neck. “Missed you too, asshole.”
Aleron stands close beside Seren, almost tucked against his side, while Seren keeps one hand at the small of his back without seeming to think about it.
Ryven is already beside Onyx, one arm around his shoulders while he laughs at something neither of them finishes saying.
Looking at my brother still catches me off guard, but not because he looks like me. Because he’s standing here without oxygen, laughing hard enough that his whole face changes, and eleven months ago I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see it.
“You could’ve stayed a few days,” Ryven says.
“We had plans.”
“Oh, we know exactly what your plans were.”
Ash arches an eyebrow. “Careful.”
Ryven grins. “Or what?”
Onyx suddenly finds the orchard case fascinating.
Then Ryven releases Onyx and turns towards Aleron, a grin already pulling at his mouth. “Prince.”
Aleron’s head comes up at once, and he goes pink to the ears. “Hello. Maybe...” He stops, looking up at Seren before trying again. “Maybe Onyx and Ryven could come and stay with us. One day. If you want that.”
Seren looks down at him and presses a kiss to his forehead. “Maybe they should.”
While Onyx and Ryven pull Aleron into the conversation, Ash pours three glasses. A few minutes later, Seren murmurs something against Aleron’s ear and sends him back towards them before the three of us drift away.
Ash passes him a glass. “You know, that whole I did it for the family story might work on everybody else, but I’ve known you too fucking long.”
Seren takes a drink, his eyes still on Aleron across the room. “It wasn’t a story. You’re my blood. You and Ryven are the only good things that house ever made, and I grew up watching what he did to you. I wasn’t going to stand on that lawn and watch him ship one of you off too.”
“I know.” Ash tips his glass towards Aleron. “I just don’t think that’s all of it.”
Seren huffs out a laugh. “Fine. You want the part I didn’t tell you? I’d seen him before. A picture, months before any of it. I might have mentioned to Ryven that the prince was pretty.”
“Pretty?”
“Very fucking pretty.” Seren’s mouth tips. “So when the two of you went and got yourselves goners, you over your liar, Ryven over his,” he nods towards Onyx, “I thought, well. Somebody in this family should get the good ending on purpose instead of falling into it. Out from under the old man. Somewhere the storms are only weather. Marry something beautiful.” His eyes find Aleron. “Fixed everything, didn’t it?”
“You look like a man who fixed everything,” Ash says.
