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Both guys grab hold of one of my hands, lacing our fingers together as we make our way towards the restaurant. If people stare, I don’t notice, as all I can think about is how safe and loved I feel when they’re both holding onto me like this.

We walk over to where Chloe and Marcus are already seated, and the guys reluctantly let go of my hands when Chloe rushes over and pulls me in for a hug. She’s got a bright smile on her face, and looks even more bouncy than normal.

The guys do their manly handshake thing, and we all take our seats, each of us muttering greetings to one another. The server comes over to take our drinks order and hands us our menus before leaving.

We settle into a comfortable silence as we each look over the menu, but when Jacob places his hand on my thigh, I let out a sigh. It’s something he’s done at every meal, and I’m not sure ifthe calming gesture is for his anxiety or mine. It’s just become our thing.

The server brings us our drinks, and I notice Marcus and Chloe keep sharing conspicuous glances with each other, like they’re trying to silently communicate with each other. Marcus seems reluctant, but I’ll admit, he’s still really hard to get a read on, even after months of getting to know him.

Eventually, he lets out a sigh, and it’s clear whatever Chloe is asking of him, he’s relented and let her get her own way. The smile on her face only makes him shake his head, but I can see he’s trying to hold back a smile.

Chloe picks up her glass and clears her throat, getting everyone’s attention. She’s still got a bright smile on her face, but there’s also a little apprehension in her eyes.

“So, I… I’ve thought of a million different ways to say and do this, but none of them seemed right, so I’m just going to come out with it. Marcus has asked me to marry him, and I said yes. We’re engaged,” she blurts out, holding out her hand for us to see the large sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

The table is silent for a second, stunned by how casually she just blurted out their news, but as it finally sinks in, we all erupt into congratulations. Jacob pulls his sister in for a hug, wrapping his arms around her as he tells her how happy he is for her.

Miles hugs Marcus, albeit with less emotion than is happening on the opposite side of the table. Miles says something to his best friend that’s too quiet for me to hear, but for the first time, I see a splash of emotion on Marcus’ face. I see the love these two friends have for each other, and my heart feels full as Miles congratulates him.

Once Jake lets go of his sister and moves over to Marcus, I quickly grab Chloe for a hug. “Congratulations, Chloe. I’m so happy for you. This is amazing news,” I tell her, and she holds me closer, squeezing tightly.

“It was hardly the most romantic proposal, but it was everything I expected from Marcus, and maybe even a little more,” she says with a laugh.

Miles, who has just walked over and put his arm around Chloe’s shoulder, chuckles. “Are you saying my miserable bastard of a friend isn’t a hopeless romantic in secret?”

Chloe pulls back from me just enough to wrap an arm around Miles, so that all three of us are hugging. She rolls her eyes at him as she laughs. “No, but it was romantic in his own way.”

“Do we get to hear the proposal story?” Miles asks, and before Chloe can respond, Marcus cuts in from across the table.

“No, you don’t. Stop being a nosey fucker.”

Marcus then quickly turns back to Jake, who hasn’t even stopped whatever he was talking about, despite Marcus clearly not listening. It doesn’t take long for us to hear why Marcus is ignoring Jake.

“I’m serious, Marcus. If you hurt my baby sister, I will have to kill you.”

“Are you threatening him?” Chloe asks, sounding exacerbated.

“Too fucking right I am,” Jake replies, holding his head high.

Marcus fixes his gaze on Chloe, staring at her with such love and devotion that it almost makes me want to turn away to give them some privacy. “If I ever hurt her, you have my permission to kill me. But I can promise you, I have no intention of ever hurting her. I love her far too much for that.”

Chloe grins at him, and my heart aches at the love they have for each other. For just a moment, something that feels very much like jealousy slides through my veins like ice, and I don’t know what the hell to make of it.

I have two guys that look at me with just as much love as Marcus has with Chloe, so why is the green-eyed monster getting the better of me right now?

I try to push the feeling away, to focus on the happiness of the celebration, but no matter what I do, I can feel it bubbling away under the surface, refusing to leave.

I thought I’d done a pretty good job of hiding it, as I kept a smile on my face for the whole night, cheering and laughing in all the right places, but when we got home, I realised Miles had noticed all along.

He pulls me onto the sofa, taking a seat beside me as Jake sits on my other side. He keeps hold of my hand as he turns until he’s facing me.

“Talk to me, Gorgeous Girl. What’s going on? Are you okay?” he asks, his keen gaze assessing me to see if there’s more I’m not saying.

Jake obviously had no idea there was something more going on, as he seems confused by Miles’ question. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

Miles rolls his eyes at Jake, before turning his attention back to me, though he responds to him. “She’s been a little off ever since the engagement announcement. I know she’s happy for Chloe and Marcus, so I’m not entirely sure what it is, which is why I’m asking her to talk to us.”

“It’s nothing,” I mutter, dropping my gaze to the floor.