Marry me, Murph. I could hear it echoing in my head on repeat. Hell, I could close my eyes and bring the moment back as if it just happened.

I’d panicked. Totally balked. And I had no idea why.

There were hundreds of reasons if I really wanted to make excuses. But that wasn’t me. I had to have valid points to back up my feelings. The problem was that I’d run out of valid points. There was no reason to not marry Jared. We were living together. Working alongside one another. We shared everything. Thoughts, feelings, disappointments, and fears. When he wasn’t around, I looked for him. If I heard something exciting, he was the first person I wanted to tell.

He’d become my entire world.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe I subconsciously thought I was losing a part of myself, and that part of me went into fight-or-flight mode? Whatever it was, it was unsettling.

Jared had snuck in under all of my defenses. That was my starting point. That was where I needed to look first. Maybe I’d figure out what it was that made me decide to let him in, and it would help.

It wasn’t the moment we met, that’s for sure. I thought, remembering the second I’d clapped eyes on him sitting in the plastic chair at the airport. I’d tried to carry his guitar for him, and he’d balked at it. I’d decided right then and there he was just another typical musician with an ego the size of the world. That wasn’t the case, though. What I hadn’t known then was Jared was actually a gentleman. A real gentleman in a sea of overinflated egos, and he bobbed along with his own way of doing things.

But that wasn’t it. What was the first thing he did that resonated with me on the spot? Had it been when we were stranded without a driver, and my truck died? He’d taken the situation in hand, and guided me through it. That had been a first for me. I was the problem solver, and I’d hit a wall that day. I would have eventually figured it out, but he’d done it faster without batting an eye. There’d been the time when our bus driver hit the mother of all potholes, and Jared had taken care of me after I’d smacked my face against the table. That was when he told me that sometimes we all needed someone to take care of us.

That moment stood out the most to me. And it hadn’t been some grand overture either. It told me Jared truly cared about people. That he was a good person all the way around. It was only further confirmed after I heard him say the name Riley in his sleep, and I questioned him about it. That had been the first glimpse of the Six I got. And it had been through his eyes.

That had to be what it was. That had to be the moment I allowed my defenses to drop enough, because he’d made such an impression on me when he’d told me about his friends.

We’d grown over the years. Each differently, but together. Our dynamic was pretty amazing, and sometimes when I thought about it, it sort of blew me away.

Why then had I freaked out when the most obvious next step was marriage?

I huffed, clutching my fist, and felt the ring biting into my flesh. Groaning, I curled up in the center of the bed. I’d fled again, but it hadn’t been from anything Jared said or did.

No, I fled because my emotions had hit a critical point that had me shaking in my boots, and it wasn’t from the cold.

When I’d opened the box, my attention immediately went to the larger ring. Maybe it was because I could see the detailing better, or maybe because holding that one felt safer somehow.

When Riley had asked me what was in my hand, I bolted.

I sat up, kicked off my shoes, and then sat cross-legged on the bed. Almost hesitatingly, I cupped my left hand in front of me and looked down. It was Jared’s ring I’d run off with.

“Murph?” he said, stepping into the bedroom.

I darted a look at him, and was hit with a wave of empathy. Jared was a talker. He could spin any type of story at the drop of a hat. He was, for the most part, a happy person with a quick temper. I’d witnessed many emotions, but I’d never witnessed whatever it was he had going on inside of him right then.

“I, uh… I didn’t mean to take off with this,” I said, holding it out to him.

He moved slowly toward me, hands loose at his sides, and then sat on the edge of the bed. I scooted from the center and moved closer to him. He turned enough to face me with one foot on the floor. His knee bumped mine when he held his hand out for the ring.

There was no sign of the box it belonged in. If he’d put it back in his jacket, he didn’t make any move to take it out.

The ring looked small between his pinched fingers. “I drew a sketch for this about a year ago. And after I sent it off, I never thought I’d see it made. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”

A year? If he drew it up that long ago, how long had he been thinking about marriage before that?

“We hadn’t been together for a long time, but I knew it then, the same way I know it now, that you are the only woman for me.”

I tensed. My mouth opened, but no words were forthcoming.

He gave me a soft smile. “No, I’m not going to ask you again. You can relax.”

I blew out a long breath, wishing my thoughts would come together. It would be easier to tell him that he was the only one for me as well if I could think straight.

“And I get it. Marriage, or maybe the thought of it, scares you. I don’t understand it, but I love you enough to let go of my selfish wants in order to make you feel safe and loved. Maybe one day, you’ll decide it’s right, and maybe you won’t. That won’t change the way I feel about you, and it won’t change my dedication to you.”

A tear rolled down my cheek, but he missed it because he’d turned his focus back to the ring.

“I thought about it. A lot. But it wasn’t until Aiden talked to me that I understood. To me, getting married wasn’t about a big wedding, or all the stuff that goes with it. I wanted so badly to be able to call you my wife. It was sort of symbolic to me. Not to say that you were mine, but to know you chose me to be your husband. Marriage is a forever thing for me, Murph. And maybe that’s what scares you.”

I dashed away the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing. After drawing in a really deep breath, I let it out. “I do love you, Jared. I love you with everything in me.”

“I know,” he said, dipping his head. “I’m sorry if I upset you. I just wanted you to know I won’t be a pain in the ass about it anymore. And that with, or without, marrying you, I’m still just as committed as if we were.” He slid the ring on his finger and flexed his hand. “When the time comes that you want yours, all you have to do is say the word. And it doesn’t come with any stipulations. I’ll take whatever it is you want to give me, and know that you’re giving me everything. Okay?”

I tackled him. We ended up in a heap of arms and legs on the bed.

He’d poured out his soul with words. In return, I poured mine out with my body.

His jacket hit the floor and then his boots. Just as I shoved my hands up the back of his shirt, there was a loud bang just outside our window. Jared shot up and cursed about the same time I clapped eyes on Ace.

He wiggled his eyebrows, and then lifted the crowbar he’d rested on his shoulder. “Thought I was gonna have to come up here and use this to pry you two apart. Get your asses downstairs. It’s Christmas Eve.”

Jared busted out laughing as Ace lowered a step at a time until he was no longer in the window.

“Bastard thought that one through. I wonder how long he’s been waiting to do it?” Jared said, helping me up from the bed.

“Why would he do that?” Of all the pranks I could actually see Ace doing, that wasn’t one of them.

“Payback. I did it to him and Riley… before they were together,” he said. “I’m glad he did it now, instead of waiting another five minutes.”

I blushed all the way down to my feet. “Close the curtains, and never open them again.”

He pulled me against his chest, and kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry, he won’t do it again.”

There really wasn’t any reason I should have felt his ring pressing against the skin of my back, but I did. Happiness bloomed inside of me, chasing away the lingering panic that sat in the darkest corners of my mind.

“Come on before they come up the stairs and start beating on the door,” he said, moving to the closet and grabbing Stella’s case.

He set the case on the bed, lifted Stella, and handed her to me. Putting his hand over his heart, he said, “My girls.”

I looked at his ring. It was hard to miss, especially when the light hit it. The music notes were black diamonds. The top and bottom of the band were white diamonds. It was breathtaking against the silvery white metal.

“What?” he asked, looking down at his ring. “Do you want me to take it off before we go downstairs?”

I shook my head. “I was just admiring it. If you weren’t a super-secret agent, you could always go into the jewelry design business.”

He tipped his head, squinting. “It’s a thought. Do you think we should take our gifts down now? Or should we wait until later?”

His change of subject didn’t throw me. I was used to it. “No idea. We can go down and see if anyone else has, though.”

“Hold that thought,” he said, dashing out of the bedroom.

As I waited for him to come back, I picked up his discarded jacket and hung it up. It was heavier on one side, and the jacket tilted drunkenly on the hanger.

“There are gifts down there, so we’ll just go ahead and take ours. That way, we don’t have to do it in the morning,” he said, lifting a stack of presents from the floor and handing them to me.

“Who helped you with these bows?” I asked, seeing his beautifully wrapped packages.

“No one. I made them,” he answered, kneeling so he could grab the bags I’d put my wrapped stuff in.

“You did?” I asked as he stood.

He winked. “Jared’s Jewelry and Bows, at your service.”

I grinned. “I’ll take care of the books.”

He laughed. “Partners, then?”

I nodded sharply. “Partners.”

“Come on, partner, let’s go deliver these packages to the Christmas tree,” he said.

The Six were a nosy bunch. They noticed everything. So it didn’t surprise me when Paige grabbed Jared’s hand and brought his ring up for inspection. She whistled, bringing even more attention to them. “Wow, is that one of your Christmas presents? Dang, Murphy, you have great taste.”

Before I could stumble through some sort of explanation, Jared answered, “Yes, it is, and yes, she does.”

Three faces gave us odd looks. Paige, Aiden, and Airen. They knew something about the rings. It was obvious not everyone did, though. There was genuine surprise in seeing it on his finger.

“So where’s yours, Murphy?” Josh asked.

Ella jabbed him in the ribs. “I saw you brought stuff down. Need help getting it organized under the tree?”

“Is there even room?” I asked as we stood in front of it. “Thanks for shifting the focus.”

Ella bumped her shoulder into mine. “Any time. Now, let’s stack these little ones on top of the bigger ones. Maybe that will give us more room.”

“Christmas Jenga!” Aiden said, getting a laugh from the others.

“Should have cut more branches from the bottom,” Ace said when Nova and Eli came down with their gifts.

“Is that everyone’s stuff, or is there more?” Ella asked.

“There’s more.” All of us jumped.

“Oliver! What are you doing here?” Riley asked, sounding almost panicked.

“I’m crashing Christmas. What does it look like?” he retorted, and then dropped the bags he held in both hands on the couch. “Got room for those?”

Ella gave him a huge smile. “I’m sure we can find space. So you decided to actually celebrate Christmas this year?”

He shrugged. “Beats sitting in Chicago all by myself.”

Airen moved to Aiden’s side, hissed something in his ear, and then darted up the stairs.

“You guys went all out here. It actually feels like Christmas,” Oliver said, taking his jacket off and hanging it up by the door.

“Eggnog, cider, or a mixed drink. Pick your poison,” Ace said, gesturing Oliver toward the kitchen.

“Is he really just here for Christmas?” I asked Ella.

She nodded. “I’m glad he came. It’s probably been a long time since he’s celebrated much of anything.”

“I wish I would have known sooner,” I said, feeling guilty that he’d be here for Christmas, but there wouldn’t be anything under the tree for him.

“There are a few more bags in the trunk,” Oliver said, tossing the keys to Aiden. “I’ll take a spiced nog.”

“Nog it is,” Ace said.

“Look at all this food. It’s like you were expecting me,” Oliver joked.

It was odd hearing him be casual. More often than not, he was cut and dry. Maybe life had seasoned him to be that way. Whatever the reason, he’d decided to relax, which made me relax, too.

“Are my parents coming?” Jared asked. Without waiting for Oliver to answer, he turned to me. “Murph, cider?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Not sure. Haven’t seen them since they left the day after you guys did,” he answered.

“Who’s holding down the fort in Chicago?” Ace asked.

“Flint. He’s got things to see to there, so he told me there was no sense in me wandering the halls by myself at Christmas. I figured he was right, which is why I came,” he answered, carrying his drink to the living room and taking a seat.

Jared brought my drink. When he handed it to me, Oliver said, “Just leaves two of you left, huh?”

“Meaning?” Ella asked as she darted a look at him and then around the room.

“Last time I saw Jared, he wasn’t wearing a wedding band. Well, let’s see yours, Murphy, so I can exclaim my congratulations,” Oliver said, smirking at me, but threw in a wink so it totally changed the meaning of his words.

He wasn’t being snarky. He was being playful.

“It’s not… we didn’t…” Jared stumbled for words, and my heart broke for him. For both of us.

Oliver waved him off. “My fault. I just assumed. Where’s Nova?”

“Taking care of a few last-minute things,” Eli answered.

“It’s upstairs,” I blurted.

“What’s upstairs?” Ella asked.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the Christmas tree until Ella put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a shake. “What’s upstairs, Murphy?”

“Murph?” Jared asked, putting his hand out to help me up.

“My ring is upstairs,” I said, looking at him. When I met his eyes, it all clicked into place for me. I wanted him. I wanted everything he offered me and more. The surprise of his original proposal had taken me completely off guard, but I wasn’t unsure any longer.

“I want my ring,” I whispered.

“You sure?” he asked, searching my eyes for the truth.

“Yes,” I answered, feeling my heart try to beat out of my chest. “I want to be your wife, but I don’t want to do the whole wedding thing.”

“No wedding. Got it,” he said, and then he was up the stairs in a flash.

“Oh!” Nova said as she almost collided with him when they met at the top.

“Sorry, super Nova,” Jared shouted as he tore past her.

“How is this—” Paige’s question was cut off when Jared slid down the banister. He tore across the room, coming to a sliding stop in front of me.

Oliver moved into my line of vision. He put his hand on Jared’s shoulder, moving him so he was standing on my right and facing me. I turned to him as he lifted my left hand. No sooner did the ring move past the tip of my finger than Oliver said, “Do you, Jared?”

“Always,” he answered, winking at me.

“Do you, Murphy?”

“Forever,” I replied as the ring slipped into place.

“Good,” Oliver said. “Now, let’s eat.”

Riley moved to the stereo. After turning on some Christmas music, she grabbed Ace, forcing him to dance with her.

Jared pulled me to him and rested his forehead against my own. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” I answered, feeling the foreign weight resting on my finger.

“So why did you?” he asked, swaying us side to side.

“Because you’re not the only one who wanted this, Jared Jackson. It just took me a little longer to reason it out,” I answered.

“Skylar Jackson. Almost sounds like a pop-star name,” he said, chuckling.

“Don’t even think about calling me Skylar from now on,” I said, pointing my finger at him.

He took my hand, kissed my ring, and said, “Never. You will always be my Murphy.”

I melted into him.

Oliver tapped Jared on his shoulder with an envelope.

“What’s this?” he asked, taking it.

Oliver looked pleased with himself as he said, “This is me getting one step ahead of one of you for the first time in history.”

“Oh, now this I have to see,” Ella said, moving to stand beside Oliver.

He gestured for Jared to open the envelope.

“How the hell did you do this?” Jared asked, jaw dropping as he handed me the paper.

I was pretty sure I wore the same look as Jared, only he recovered faster than I did.

“But you had no idea I’d asked her,” he said. He turned to look at me, adding, “Murphy, I swear I didn’t say anything to him.”

“Relax. You didn’t have to say anything. I have eyes in my head. I could see this coming from a mile away,” he said, giving us one of his rare smiles.

“Yeah, but how did you get a marriage certificate for us? Wouldn’t you need our signatures or something?” I asked, baffled that he’d not only foreseen where Jared and I were headed, but to have it on hand like he’d pulled it out of thin air.

His eyebrow arched. “At least I didn’t have to bribe a boat captain to make it happen.”

“Hey!” Ella said, smacking his arm. “In case you don’t remember, it wasn’t me who bribed the captain.”

“True,” he said, nodding as his lip poked out. “And really, if Nadia could pull off getting Ace and Riley’s marriage through the system, even after the groom was considered deceased, I knew I wouldn’t have an issue getting that through. Even if I had to sit on it for a while.”

“You think you’re something special, huh?” Ella asked, chuckling when he gave her a shit-eating grin.

“I know I am. Who do you think came up with the fake divorce papers that Josh signed?” he asked.

“Fake?” Ella repeated, going bug-eyed.

Josh busted out laughing. “For the sake of it being Christmas, I’ll wait and call you an asshole until December twenty-sixth.”

“Fake,” Oliver echoed. “I knew you weren’t going to let him walk away, but I also knew you’d have to be pushed into a corner and thinking it was the end. You’re welcome.”

“Yeah, well, I’m glad I didn’t get anything for you for Christmas,” Ella huffed, and then mumbled something about being suckered.

“All’s well that ends well,” Oliver said, tipping his cup and draining it. “How about some more Christmas cheer? Also, who has a pen, so these two can sign the license? We’ll need witnesses, too.”

No sooner did our signatures dry than Oliver had the paper folded back up and slipped inside his shirt. “I could sure go for another nog.”

“You’re really taking to this holiday cheer,” Eli joked as he loaded his plate from the array of food on the counter.

“You would, too, if you hadn’t celebrated in over ten years,” Oliver replied, grabbing his own plate and balancing it on the palm of one hand while he loaded it with the other.

“Ten? Dang, that’s a lot of years to make up for,” Jared chimed in.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “So did you bring your guitar down for show, or are you actually going to play it?”

“Ya know, I’m not all too sure how to handle this relaxed version of you,” Jared said.

“It is a little odd,” I added.

“Don’t get used to it,” Oliver barked.

“Now that’s more like it,” Jared said.

“Pipe down, Jackson,” he answered.

“Which one?” Jared and I asked at the same time.

Oliver tipped his head back. “Lord help me. They act just the same.”

“Hurry up and eat, Jared. We want some tunes,” Ace hollered from the living room.