“I won’t say that it was fighting against Dylan that made me realize that he was worthy of my sister’s love, but that it was the moment when I realized that he is a solid fighter, and that he could take care of her. Not that my sister needed someone to take care of her,” Bobby added, giving me a sardonic smile.
“It doesn’t take more than a look at the two of them to know how happy and in love they are,” Bobby continued. “And even though I selfishly wish Lucy was back in Boston, I know that this is exactly what she wants.” He raised an eyebrow at us both. “It’s a good thing the two of them only want each other, because I quickly realized that they always get exactly what they want.”
Everyone laughed along, I simply blushed and tightened my fingers against Dylan’s.
Bobby turned to my new husband, holding up his glass. “Seriously, man, take care of her—or I’ll go back to my original threat of taking care of it outside the ring. I’m not a gangster, but we both know that my sister can’t lie to save her life. There’s got to be some kind of punishment in there.”
With that, he turned back to the crowd, his eyes dancing in amusement. “To Dylan and Lucy.”
The crowd echoed his wishes, and we all took small sips of our drinks.
Bobby wasn’t done, though: “And for my wedding gift,” he added, turning towards the two of us, his eyes still twinkling. “It’s sort of in deed only because we all know that you’ve already settled here, but Lucy, I wanted to give you the lake house. For real.”
I stared at him; my eyes wide in surprise. I felt choked up by his generous gift. The lake house was the last thing left of our family, and by all rights, it should go to him as the boy. Even though I knew that I had spent more time at the lake house in recent years, he was the one with memories of this place from when we were kids. Good ones, from before everything went to shit.
I couldn’t imagine taking his inheritance away from him.
Then again, I wasn’t taking it. He was willingly giving it away.
I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes as I stumbled to my feet and went to give him a hug. “Thanks,” I said, my voice muffled by his shoulder. I was sure that he could still hear all the unspoken emotions in my words.
I could only imagine what this meant for Dylan and I. We had made the place a home over the past few months spent here. More than that, it meant that we could stay where we had first truly fallen in love with one another.
And most importantly, the old lake house was large and sprawling, perfect for a growing family one day. I could already picture future barbecues up here during the summer, the kids playing tag on the lawn and racing one another into the lake. Maybe we’d get a boat and teach the kids how to fish. Or maybe…
There were a million possibilities, each one more beautiful than the last. I couldn’t wait to lay in the dark with Dylan tonight, after we’d consummated the marriage for the billionth time, talking about our plans for forever. It was something that we had touched on a few times over the past few weeks, but now, things would be serious. Definitive. Now, it wouldn’t just be dreams, but actual plans.
Still, I never would have imagined Bobby giving us such a generous and heartfelt gift—although I probably should have expected something like this, at the end of the day. He had always wanted the best for me, even when it went against everything that he thought I should want.
Dylan looked just as surprised as I felt. He laughed nervously, glancing towards the crowd before looking back at Bobby. No matter how well the two of them got along, Dylan would always be the type to keep important matters and decisions private, as much as he could. “That’s amazing, Bobby. But seriously, we were already looking for places,” he told him.
“Well then, you can buy a place for me instead,” Bobby said, shrugging. “There’s nicer places on the other side of the lake. You guys can keep this sentimental money-pit.”
Dylan laughed. “I mean, the other thing is, I don’t know if we need a place quite this big for only the two of us.” He looked over at me, and I could see the unspoken question there. We had talked about kids, and we had both agreed that we wanted them. But we hadn’t agreed about when exactly we’d have any.
Bobby whipped around to stare at me accusingly. I blushed in response. “You didn’t tell him?” he asked. “You just married the guy, sis. You can’t keep telling me things first.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t tell you anything, you just guessed,” I reminded him with a pointed look. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Dylan, sure that by now he had figured things out. There was no way to keep a secret in this family.
Dylan was grinning widely, although looking a little green around the edges. “You’re pregnant?” he whispered, as though he didn’t dare jinx it.
I faked a grimace and looked out at the crowd. “That’s right, I’m pregnant,” I declared. “So pretty soon, I guess you’ll all have to come right back up here for the baby shower.”
There were loud, happy cheers among the guests. I knew that I would hear more from them later, but right now,
