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After we bought the ring Victoria picked out – a three carat diamond cushion cut with a diamond-encrusted platinum band - we swung by the bookstore where Bodhi was entertaining Penelope. If we hadn’t already decided he would open his own bar on the boardwalk of Westport, he would have made an excellent babysitter. Or a manny. Maybe he would meet an older woman with a child who would whip him into shape.

Maybe I wanted everyone to feel a fraction of the happiness I felt with Victoria, but first, we needed to include Penelope and get her approval. We wandered into the store and found them in the children’s section. Penelope lit up when she saw her mother. My hands closed nervously around the velvet jewelry box. I was more nervous about this than I’d been of her mother rebuffing me.

“We have something we want to talk to you about,” Tori began quietly as she sat at the low table where Bodhi and Penelope had been waiting. She glanced up at me and I took that as my cue to sit.

My brother moved over a seat so I could sit beside Tori. I felt ridiculous with my knees halfway up my chest. My palms sweat as I waited for some signal it was my turn to speak. Tori and I had practiced this in the car. That didn’t mean I still couldn’t mess it up.

“What’s that on your hand?” Penelope asked pointing.

Her mother covered it nervously and glanced over her shoulder at me for help.

“Are you getting married?” The little girl’s brow furrowed. I watched as Tori turned six shades of pink. Then Penelope looked at me. “So, you want to marry my mom, huh?”

I nodded. “Yes, tater tot. I’ve grown very fond of her. And you.”

The girl frowned. “Do you love her though? If mom is gonna get married, I want the guy to love her.”

I cleared my throat. “This was pretty sudden, but I believe I do. And these feelings will only grow stronger with time.” I tugged at my collar. “This marriage isn’t just about love. It’s about you too.”

“Me?” Penelope made a face.

“Yes, we want you to be safe and happy. We want you to have a good life. And more than anything, I want to share my life with you and your mother.” I inhaled deeply while I pulled out the box and opened it. “I bought your mom a ring, but I want you to know you’re part of this marriage and family too. So, I’d like to give you this heart necklace as a symbol of the love I have for you and your mother.” My hands shook slightly as I pulled it out of the box and held it out to her.

Penelope looked at her mother. “She looks pretty happy. Mom hasn’t been happy for a long time. Did you do that?”

I laughed. “I’d like to think I had something to do with it.”

“Then I just have one more question.” She reached for the necklace. I handed it over and watched her examine it.

“What’s your question, tater tot?” I swallowed nervously. This kid was putting me through the wringer.

“Can you help me put this on?” Penelope smiled at me.

My brows rose. “Is that the question?”

She nodded. “Yes. I need help.”

“Well, I’m happy to help you, tater tot.” Then she turned around and I worked the clasp on the necklace while her mother watched, her eyes filled with tears.

Half an hour later, Victoria boarded the yacht with Penelope. They asked for a couple of hours of girl time which probably meant Victoria and her daughter were having a private conversation about what our marriage would mean. I hoped Penelope was okay with it. I had never cared what anyone thought of me before, but for some reason, I deeply cared what the little tater tot thought. And it didn’t have anything to do with her mother. I cared about Penelope in her own right.

As the yacht sped toward Westport, I stood at the bow of the ship, my hands tucked awkwardly in my pockets, staring out at the sea. I had never felt content this way before. I’d never been happy just for happiness’ sake. It felt good. The change in my attitude felt like it had shaved ten years from me.

“You look different,” Bodhi murmured, coming up behind me to stand by my side. “It’s weird. I think I miss that stress wrinkle between your eyebrows.” He paused. “You and Victoria...”

“I know,” I murmured with a nonchalant shrug. “The whole marriage thing.”

Bodhi wrinkled his brow, nodding his head. “That’s the one thing you and I had in common,” he noted. “Our inability to commit to women.”

“Who knows, Bodhi?” I wore a small smile on my face as I turned to look at him. “You might find your own woman you eventually commit to.”

“I’m just starting to wrap my head around running a bar,” Bodhi said. “Baby steps, bro. Although, I will admit I like kids. Which I didn’t expect.”

I snickered. “Why not? You’re practically a kid yourself.” I teased.

He snorted, a smile on his face.

We were silent for a moment, listening to the waves slapping against the boat and taking in the beauty of the ocean.

“I get it now,” I said finally. Bodhi turned and stared at me with a curious expression on his face. “The whole ‘being spontaneous’ thing. I literally proposed to someone I barely know because I wanted to. It’s something you would do. Maybe now we can have that in common.”

“Besides the whole marriage part, yeah.” He nodded. “And I get the whole having roots. Westport is quiet, it’s beautiful, it doesn’t buy into the Seattle money and business bullshit. I don’t want to have to worry about what anyone thinks of me, of what Dad thinks of me. At least running this bar is for me. Granted, you bought the bar, but besides that, the business end is on me. I don’t have to be under his thumb, worry about failing to meet his high expectations.”

I chuckled. “Right. Now you’ll have to meet mine.”

“This is true.” He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “Still, it’ll be nice to not have to run away from something.” He glanced over at me. “So, when’s the big day, and are you allowed to have a bachelor party? As your best man, I thought…”

“Oh, this is awkward.” I gripped the back of my neck and shot him a look. “Penelope is actually my best man. You’ve been given the honor of flower girl.”

Bodhi nodded as if this didn’t surprise him at all. “Then I’ll be the best damn flower girl you have ever seen,” he said.

I laughed. “For the record, I called our sister. Isla will be here in a few weeks,” I told him. “She’s going to help Tori coordinate things for the wedding. I figure it will give her something to do.”

This brought a genuine smile to Bodhi’s face. We both loved our little sister. Granted, she was only two minutes and twenty-seven seconds younger than Bodhi, but he never let her forget it. I couldn’t remember the last time when all of us were together like this.

“So,” Bodhi began slowly. “Since you’re getting married and you’re overseeing the building of the bar, do you plan on moving down here? At least, temporarily?”

I rubbed my lips together, feeling light ocean spray hitting my face. It was so nice to just relax and not worry about mergers and acquisitions, stock, marketing. It was nice to not worry about anything. “Yeah,” I nodded. “I still haven’t talked to Dad about this. He won’t be happy obviously, but I can still work from here. He’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Dad isn’t happy about anything,” Bodhi grumbled. “Why do you think I don’t stick around? I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.”

I nodded. “I just thought in order to be successful, I needed to work hard and not worry about being happy, because happiness could be snatched away at any point,” I murmured. “But being here with you, being with Tori, I realize that isn’t true.”

“Glad you’re finally figuring it out. So, where are we going now?” Bodhi asked.

I smirked. “Home.”