And she’s right.

  Kayla and Eva hit it off almost immediately when I make introductions in the foyer of the restaurant later that night. It starts with mutual compliments about their respective outfits. Out of the five of us, they’re the two most provocatively dressed. Kayla swoons over Eva’s two-piece outfit that bares a good bit of her midriff.

  “Can we please become friends so I can borrow that from you?”

  Eva grins. “Of course. And I love that skirt.”

  “Really? I’ve had it since high school.”

  “It’s a classic.”

  Meanwhile, Leanna and Julia are chatting, albeit much more quietly. I’m glad to see everyone getting along so well as the hostess leads us back toward our table.

  I should have known better than to trust Eva to pick a quiet bistro for us to sit and sip wine and eat a casual dinner. To be fair, the restaurant’s location in West Hollywood should have tipped me off. The demure entry gives way rather quickly to a full-fledged club. It’s early, only a little past eight PM, but the place is already packed with people dancing and drinking. There’re cocktail tables strewn around the room and some booths located on the outer edges. That’s where we’re led by the hostess, to a secluded booth in the back where a security guard is already posted. Not that it matters. Nikko is with us. When we make it to the table, he nods to the other guard and they stand like sentries, blocking clubgoers from getting to us.

  “I thought we were going to eat dinner,” Leanna shouts over the music.

  “We are!” Eva insists, holding up a menu. “Look, they have appetizers! Now, what does everyone want to drink?”

  “I have an early class tomorrow,” Julia says, looking to me for help.

  “No. Boo. No talk about school!” Kayla argues. “I know for a fact you don’t have to be on campus until nine AM. Now buck up, because it’s your birthday tomorrow and we’re celebrating big.”

  “With what money?” I point out, trying to bring Kayla back to reality. The drink prices in this place are outrageous. Between the three of us, we’d be able to afford exactly half of a mojito.

  “Did I not already say? Drinks are on me.” Eva beams.

  A voice clears behind us and we turn to look at Nikko. “Tonight’s tab has already been taken care of,” he says simply, not going into further detail.

  “I knew I loved Ben!” Kayla says, flagging down a passing waiter. “Yes, hi. My friends and I would all like to take a shot, please, and you know what? You can just keep ’em coming.”

  “Yes!” Eva echoes, high-fiving Kayla.

  I lock eyes with a worried Leanna from across the table, and I shrug. “One shot won’t hurt us.”

  Oh how I was wrong.

  Four hours later, I lie in the back seat of Hermann’s car, threatening death.

  “I really am going to puke.”

  “Please don’t,” Nikko says from the front seat.

  “It’s not like I can help it.”

  “We’ll be home soon.”

  “It feels like it’s taking forever. Where’s Kayla again?”

  It doesn’t seem fair that I’m taking up the whole back seat. Surely I need to make room for the others.

  “Leanna’s driver took Kayla and Julia back home.”

  Oh right. I remember that now.

  “And why didn’t I ride with them?” I ask, massaging my temples.

  “We already went through this.”

  Did we?

  My head is a little fuzzy. It’s been that way for a while, ever since Eva made me down that fancy drink that looked innocent enough but might as well have been straight vodka.

  “I don’t usually drink this much. Or at all really.”

  “So you’ve mentioned.”

  The car comes to a sudden halt, and I nearly tumble off the back seat.

  “Whoa, hey. Warn a girl next ti—”

  My words are cut off when the back door opens and I peer up to see Ben’s upside-down face smiling down at me.

  “Ben!”

  “Hi.”

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  He smiles and nods to the guys up front. “Thanks for bringing her home safely.”

  “It was no trouble,” Hermann says.

  “You should be really proud of me.” I smile. “I didn’t throw up once.”

  One of Ben’s eyebrows rises teasingly. “What an achievement.”

  Then he leans in and gathers me up off the seat so he can lift me out of the car and carry me inside.

  “Look at me, not even protesting. I like you carrying me. It turns me on.”

  Nikko chuckles behind us then tries to cover it up with a cough.

  “Night, guys,” he calls back to them. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  “Good night, Mr. Castillo.”

  Ben carries me in through the front door of his house while I wax poetic about how handsome he is. I describe in great detail my favorite things about him.

  “Your lips are so hot. They’re so full I just want to bite them. And your hair. I mean it’s just so sexy. Here, let me feel it.”

  He tries to suppress his laughter, but he doesn’t succeed.

  “Just how much did you have to drink?”

  “I don’t know. Ask Kayla and Eva. They’re wicked. The two of them should never be left alone together. I worry for humanity.”

  “I think humanity will be just fine. C’mon, let’s get you changed.” He carries me down the hall toward his room.

  “Okay, but I have things I need to remember. What were they? Oh! I have to be on campus tomorrow. I have a seminar in the morning, but I can’t remember what time.”

  “I’ll set your alarm for 6:30. That should be early enough.”

  “Oh good. And what time is it now?”

  “A little past midnight.”

  I do some quick calculations in my head, and it feels like I’m trying to solve a Newtonian equation. “So that gives us roughly six hours to have sex. Right, let’s get started.”

  I’m pawing at his shirt, trying to rip it off, but the task seems suddenly too difficult, especially without his cooperation.

  “Birdie, we’re going to sleep.”

  I jut out my bottom lip, hoping that will do the trick. “Why can’t you just take advantage of me like I’m asking you to?”

  He laughs again, shaking his head at me. I think he’s really had enough of my drunkenness. I lean up to kiss his cheek.

  “You’re sweet to take care of me. I thought I was going home.”

  “I asked Nikko to bring you here, just in case you weren’t feeling well.”

  “You’ll take care of me?”

  “Of course.”

  I nuzzle into his neck and close my eyes, suddenly so sleepy and warm now that I’m here and safe with him.

  Once we’re in his room, he helps me change and brush my teeth before leading me to bed. He draws back the blankets and tucks me in beside him.

  “If you feel sick during the night, I put a trash can beside you just in case. And I’ll stay up for a bit too.”

  I snuggle in beside him, wrap my arm around his middle, and close my eyes. “Thank you, but I don’t feel sick anymore. Not now that I’m here.”

  His arm tightens around me and I can sense that he’s looking down and watching me, but I’m too tired to peel my eyes open. I feel his knuckle trace reverently along my cheek, and I smile.

  “You know I love you, Birdie?”

  I keep my eyes closed, starting to drift off as I hum with happiness. “Yes,” I answer quietly. “And maybe I’ll be too shy to tell you in the morning…but I love you too, Ben. I love you so much. You know what? I just had the best idea. I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”

  I keep right on rambling until my drunken slumber finally overtakes me. I don’t hear his reply, but that’s okay because I wouldn’t have remembered it anyway.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Ben

  The next few weeks pass in the blink of an eye.

  We’re busier than ever with the end of Raelynn’s spring semester and my NBA season. Through the madness, we carve out time for ourselves as best we can. Raelynn stays at my house more and more, and each time she’s here, she leaves a few additional things behind. It’s a gradual transition and nothing’s official, but it might as well be. Even though she’s still paying rent at her place, more often than not, she’s at home when I get back from practice or a game. She’s adapted to having Hermann drive her to and from the Caltech campus, and her friends are over here a lot with her too, studying or hanging out. Nina loves it. She loves cooking for a full table, and Caleb is in heaven too. He thinks everyone comes over just to play with him. He talks about his “fwiends” all the time.

  When we can, we go out with Trey and Leanna on double dates, or we have them over to the house for dinner. Amara and Caleb are getting close to an age where they can actually play together, so it’s fun to have everyone over.

  We’re up against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, and it ends up being a seven-game neck-and-neck series. We play the final game in Los Angeles, inside a packed Staples Center, and we come out on top by two points. Anthony makes the game-winning basket, and the guy hasn’t shut up about it since. Raelynn was there watching with Caleb, up in the private box, celebrating as confetti rained down from the rafters.

  The next day, to celebrate the end of the season and the championship win, we have everyone over for a Texas-style backyard BBQ. It was Raelynn’s idea and she’s gone all out planning it. She’s covered the outdoor table with a red and white checkered tablecloth and clustered mason jars overflowing with daises in the center. There are hay bales and big buckets filled with sunflowers and cornhole and ring toss, a bounce house and tractor rides. Around noon, we get a call about a guy who’s at the neighborhood gate, saying here’s here to set up pony rides, and Raelynn blushes sheepishly. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”

  We let them in, and Amara and Caleb squeal with happiness when they see the ponies being led into my backyard.

  Raelynn sidles up to me, looking like a Southern belle in her white tank top, jean shorts, and little red bandana tied around her neck.

  “Is this okay?” she asks. “I feel like I kinda went overboard. I mean, to be fair, you gave me free rein, and that mistake is on you, frankly.”

  I lean down to kiss her. “It’s perfect. Caleb’s going to be talking about those ponies for the next year.”

  I suggested we get the party catered, but Raelynn had other plans. Trey and I man the grill, churning out hamburgers and hot dogs. Raelynn has been busy in the kitchen all day, making Nan’s potato salad and deviled eggs with the help of Nina and Julia. On a side table, there’s pecan pie and Texas sheet cake and some homemade sugar cookies. Caleb’s been trying to steal the plate of cookies all day. Raelynn finally broke one in half and shared it with him, promising more after he ate a good dinner.

  Through all of this, Kayla and Anthony are, unsurprisingly, nowhere to be found, and I worry for the sake of my guest bedroom. I might have to burn the sheets by the time they’re done in there. Maybe gut the whole damn room if I’m honest.

  Just when all the hard work is finished, when the meat’s been grilled and iced teas have been set at everyone’s spot at the table, Anthony strolls out of my house looking like the cat that caught the canary.

  “So, when are we eatin’?”

  “Whenever you start helping,” I toss back as Kayla stumbles out of the house after him, wearing a sly grin.

  Raelynn’s right on their heels, bringing out a platter of appetizers for the table. “You two could at least look a little more sheepish than that. This is a family barbecue.”

  “Hey, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kayla says, holding up her hands in innocence. “Anthony and I were just inside talking.”

  “Okay, well you two were talking for the better part of an hour.”

  Kayla winks at Raelynn. “What can I say…Anthony’s a real talker.”

  “Talk talk talk,” Caleb parrots, making us all laugh.

  I’m not sure how Kayla and Anthony came to be. They met a month back, when we were all at dinner, and I swear to god, within five minutes of meeting, they were making out at the table.

  I’ve asked Raelynn and Anthony about it.

  Anthony says he’s in love. Raelynn says Kayla won’t stop talking about him either.

  At the end of dinner, when everyone’s relaxed and picking at their desserts and the sun’s gone mostly down, coloring the sky orange and pink, I nudge Raelynn with my shoulder.

  “Hey, walk with me for a second?”

  When she smiles and nods, I take her hand and we circle around the side yard, hidden from the group as we walk toward the trees that line the perimeter of the property.

  “You can lure me away from cornhole if you want,” she teases, “but you know you still owe me a rematch. You might be a big NBA superstar with a handful of championship rings, but I’ll have you know I’m the reigning third grade cornhole champion at Barbara Bush Elementary School.”

  She talks like she’s some bigshot, and I can’t help but smile before leaning down to steal a kiss.

  “I’ll gladly give you a rematch if you want it,” I say, keeping my voice low as I draw back. “But I don’t think it’ll work out well for you.”

  She scowls and pokes me in the side. “We’ll just see about that.”

  With a chuckle, I tug her toward me, throwing her off balance for a second so I have to loop my arm around her waist and right her as we keep walking. She slides her hand into the back pocket of my jeans and asks me if I noticed Ryan and Julia flirting by the pool. I didn’t, because I have other things on my mind.

  “They’re in love, I know it. I had to run up to our office the other day to grab my laptop, and I swear they were kissing before I opened the door. They jumped apart, looking guilty and everything.” Raelynn shakes her head before switching topics altogether. “Do you think there’s enough dessert for everyone?”

  She keeps right on rambling about the fact that we don’t have a berry pie. She worries not everyone likes pecan pie, and I just listen and smile. With everything she had going on today, the ponies and sheet cakes and daisy centerpieces, she didn’t notice the extra cars in the driveway or the people bustling around back here, hanging a few hundred glass globe votives from the branches of an eighty-year-old oak tree.

  The tree is hidden until we turn the corner around the side of the house and the quiet scene I planned comes into view. Up ahead, a couple dozen yards, hundreds of twinkling lights sway in the breeze beneath the tree’s canopy.

  Raelynn comes to a sudden halt, drawing back.

  Her jaw hangs in shock as she blinks, trying and failing to comprehend what she’s looking at.

  “What is this?” she asks, turning to me, her eyes shiny with emotion. “Ben Castillo, you tell me right now—what is this?”

  I grin and tug her along, not saying a word as her hand flies up to cover her mouth.

  The sun hangs low in the sky as we dip beneath the tree and stop beside a small wooden bench Caleb and I have been building slowly over the last few weeks. It’s nothing too intricate. I know my talent lies on the basketball court, but it’s sturdy, and on the seat, right in the middle, we carved two letters that are only just legible.

  B + R

  Raelynn looks down at it and gasps in shock, though I’m not sure if it’s at the sight of my handiwork or the black velvet ring box sitting beside our initials.

  I reach down for it as she takes a step back, tears swimming in her eyes.

  “Little Bird,” I whisper, trying to give her the chance to recover from her shock before I continue.

  I tilt my head and smile, holding up the ring box.

  She shakes her head in disbelief, over and over again, convinced this can’t be real.

  I open it to show her what’s inside.

  The ring consists of a cluster of stones with an oval diamond wedged in the center. Round sapphires and blue topaz and smaller diamonds surround it, pressed together like a constellation from the night sky.

  “I wanted to give you your beloved stars.”

  Tears slide down her cheeks as she stares down at the ring. I draw it out of the box and hold it up as I bend down to one knee. Looking up at her, backlit by hundreds of flickering lanterns, my chest squeezes tight, and for a moment, I can’t speak.

  I extend a hand, palm up, and slowly, shaking, she lifts hers for me to take.

  “Raelynn Birdie…I love you,” I say, voice quiet and earnest.

  “I love you too,” she says quickly, freely, as if she can’t contain the words a moment longer. “I love you,” she repeats, and even as she tries to stifle it, a quiet sob slips out.

  I rub my thumb across her knuckles, trying in vain to still my wild racing heart.

  “Will you marry me?”

  Without hesitation, she flings herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face against my chest. Sobs rack through her as I stand and lift us and squeeze her close, holding her against me as our hearts threaten to burst. She shakes in my arms, crying, nodding, and repeating “Yes” into my shirt.

  “I promise to always love you,” I whisper as tears burn down my cheeks. “We’ll be a family. You and me and Caleb and our children.”

  I hold her like that for a good long while, until her crying softens and a light laugh escapes her. I set her down and she steps back so I can slide the ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit thanks to Kayla’s help.

  She looks down and studies it, twisting it beneath the twinkle lights so it glistens and glows. She tells me it’s beautiful before arching up to plant a kiss on my lips.

  It’s then that a chorus of shouts ring out, and we break apart and turn to see our friends gathered back toward the house, whooping and hollering, just as planned. They were all in on my proposal plans, even Caleb.

  They hold up glasses of champagne in celebration, and Caleb comes running for us. He’s too young to fully understand what’s happening, but I know how much he’s come to love Raelynn and how much she loves him in return. Over breakfast the other morning, she told me she’d learned the French word for stepson is beau-fils, which translates to beautiful son. She smiled at that, thinking it was a much sweeter way of describing her feelings for Caleb.