“Okay, everyone,” I said to the room.

Faith, Jackson, Forrester, Grady and Grant all looked up at me expectantly. I’d called this dinner to make an announcement, and now was the time.

“So, the news I wanted to share, is that I’m getting married.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. Everyone looked up at me, their eyes wide, their mouths open. This was my family, they knew everything about me, and now, out of the blue I was announcing my engagement, and they didn’t even know who the lucky man was.

I looked at them, my heart pounding, dying for them to give me their support.

To my amazement, it was Grant who spoke first. He rose his glass and everyone else followed suit.

“Congratulations, Lacey,” he said, giving me a warm smile. “That’s amazing. We’re so happy for you.”

“Are we?” Forrester said. “How is this the first I’m hearing of this?”

“Of what?” I said.

“Lacey,” he said. “I don’t even know who you’re marrying.”

“Rob, of course. Rob Crawford.”

“Rob? I didn’t know you were still seeing him.”

“I am.”

Grady spoke up next. “You’ve only been going out with him a few weeks.”

“Sometimes things move fast,” I said.

“Yes, they do,” Faith said, giving Grady and Forrester a stern look. She obviously saw that I needed everyone’s support on this next step in my life, even if it was sudden.

Only Jackson hadn’t said anything. I looked at him. Of course, I didn’t need his permission to get married, but I did need his blessing. I needed blessing from all of them.

“Well,” Jackson said, looking at Grant as much as at me, “I don’t really know Rob Crawford, but if you think he’s the man for you, Lacey, that’s good enough for me.”

“So I have your support?” I said.

All of them nodded. “Of course you do, Lacey,” Forrester said. “You’re our family, the best family we have, and we’ll support you in whatever you decide. We just want your happiness.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, looking around the table at the faces I loved most in the world.

“This means there’ll be a wedding,” Faith said, a look of excitement on her face.

I nodded.

She got up and hugged me. “Oh, Lacey, it’s going to be perfect. You know we’ll all pull together to give you the perfect wedding.”

“Thank you, Faith.”

“Speaking of weddings,” Jackson said, “where’s the happy groom to be?”

I took a deep breath. That was the question I’d been dreading. I’d told Rob that this dinner was important to me, I’d begged him to be there for it, but he’d said he was swamped at work and couldn’t make it.

“Rob’s got a lot of clients right now. He couldn’t make it.”

“Couldn’t make it?” Forrester said, indignantly. “Doesn’t he know we’re your family?”

“Of course he does.”

“Doesn’t he care enough to show up for his own wedding announcement?”

“He really wanted to be here,” I said. “He just couldn’t.”

Faith saw my distress and stepped in. “He works hard, Forrester. He’d have been here if he was able.”

“It just seems a bit weird that he wouldn’t want to be here for this.”

“Forrester,” Faith said. “Drop it.”

Everyone looked at me. I felt a flush of heat on my cheeks. It was so humiliating. Yes, I was the girl who was getting engaged to the guy who didn’t even care enough to come to his own announcement. It was just one more sign that I was a complete loser when it came to matters of the heart.

They all knew everything that had ever happened to me. When my last boyfriend, Matt, cheated on me, the brothers had punished him for it. I was grateful to them for always defending me, but I was also ashamed and embarrassed of the fact that I needed them to do so. When would I just find a good guy? A guy who didn’t let me down and humiliate me?

Didn’t I deserve that?

I was beginning to have my doubts.

“Let’s see the ring,” Grady said, trying to turn the topic onto something more positive.

But it was no use. I shook my head. I stammered as I spoke, humiliation and embarrassment flowing over me.

“I don’t have one yet,” I said, weakly.

They all nodded. There was kindness and sympathy on their faces. I opened my mouth to offer more explanation. I was going to make some excuse for Rob, say he was planning on getting me a really beautiful ring and just needed more time to find it, but I knew there was no point. He hadn’t even bothered to give me an engagement ring, and everyone at the table knew it.

I sat down and looked at the food I’d spent the whole day preparing.

“Please start,” I said, and passed the potato dish to Faith on my right.

Quietly, in an atmosphere that was far more somber than it should have been, we started our meal.