Page 18 of Duress (Birch Falls #3)

EVERLY

“ D o you think tonight is the night? Is Bryce finally going to shit or get off the pot?” I snort out an incredibly unladylike laugh at Ana’s vulgar idiom.

She’s standing behind me, putting the finishing touches on my hair.

We are supposed to be meeting with Bryce’s mom, stepdad, and brother and my parents for dinner tonight in celebration of him passing the bar.

Bryce and I have been together for three years now, and Ana isn’t the only one who has been wondering when he is going to propose.

My parents have been dropping not so subtle hints about how much they would love for Bryce to become more than just a college boyfriend.

My dad helped Bryce land his first job at one of his college buddies’ firms. They even let him come along on our annual family summer cruise for the past two years.

They would love nothing more than for him to wife me up and put a bun in my oven.

I can practically see the baby booties knitting themselves in my mom’s eyes.

Never mind I’m not even twenty-five and have barely gotten started with my own career.

But it seems to be some foregone conclusion from everyone in our lives that he’s been waiting to propose until after passing the bar exam. I’m even starting to buy into the excitement, despite my best effort to make this celebration about Bryce’s accomplishment.

“I’m trying not to think about it. I just want to celebrate him.

If I spend the whole night wondering, it’ll make the vibes weird.

” The butterflies in my stomach flit around, and I try to tamp down the excitement.

I meant what I said. I want to celebrate Bryce.

My eyes meet Ana’s in the mirror, and she pops her shoulder in a half shrug with a bounce of her head.

“That’s a good point. Plus you two do have that trip to Paris coming up!

I bet he’ll do it there!” Ana’s blue eyes light up in excitement, and it’s so contagious I get caught up in the feverish daydream she conjures up of Bryce proposing to me in front of the Eiffel Tower.

We saved up all year to take this trip as a celebration for him finishing law school.

What better time to take the next step of our relationship?

By the time Bryce comes to pick me up, I’m convinced Paris is where I will become an engaged woman.

Dinner with our combined families is only mildly awkward.

This is the first time our parents have met, and Bryce seems to have tucked away his usual simmering animosity toward his stepfather away for the sake of peace.

I’ve tried over the last two years to bridge the gap between them, after noticing the toll it has been taking on his mother, Caroline.

While she is clearly proud of Bryce, every time he ignores a conversational olive branch from Jake, her smile falters.

Jake, to his credit, doesn’t let Bryce’s coldness get to him.

When Bryce and I first started dating, he made it seem like he had a hard home life with a stepdad who made his life hell.

The truth seems to be less nefarious than that, and I think Bryce’s main problem with Jake is that Jake isn’t his dad.

But every time I’ve tried to bring it up, he’s shut me down with no discussion.

The little boy who had his world upended when he was twelve is still inside there, and I don’t know if I will ever find a way to soothe his pain enough to repair the rift in his family.

Fortunately, he has no hard feelings toward my dad.

Ever since that first Thanksgiving when I introduced him to my family, Bryce and my dad have been thick as thieves.

It’s no secret that my dad hoped I would find someone like him— respectable , career driven , someone who could provide for me in relationship.

Never mind that I don’t plan on needing to be provided for.

My dad is old-fashioned and it’s just an area we will never see eye to eye.

So it felt like I won the lottery when I saw how welcoming he was toward Bryce.

It was a far cry from the stern father figure who did his best to scare away all the high school boyfriends he never approved of.

Just before the dessert course is set to arrive, Bryce stands, tapping on his wine glass, drawing the attention of not only our table, but most of the tables nearby as well.

“Family, and soon-to-be-family, I just wanted to take a quick moment to say thank you to everyone here tonight, helping me celebrate this milestone in my life. It’s been a rough few years finishing out law school, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Not the late nights studying or the hours spent writing case arguments or the asshole professors.

Not when it led me to this moment, on this night, with the most perfect woman by my side.

” Bryce turns his handsome face toward me, and I find myself enraptured by his gorgeous smile.

I’m so starstruck, it takes a moment for his words to process in my brain.

Soon-to-be-family…

“Everly, I knew the first night I met you that you would be my endgame. Who knew my buddy Brody being a drunk idiot would land me my dream girl?” Bryce lets out a can you believe it?

snort laugh while I squirm, thinking of the night we met and how scared I had been of Brody.

Sure, it led to me and Bryce meeting, and I’m not mad about that .

But it still bothers me how Bryce never stopped hanging out with Brody.

Bryce continues his speech, drawing my attention back to the present.

“…Everly has been my rock. My port in the storm. She has given me a sense of belonging and being loved that I ha ven’t felt in a very long time…

” My stomach flips at Bryce’s touching words, but I can’t help but sneak a glance across the table where his mom sits.

There is a wobbly smile on her face, but tears in her eyes.

Did she feel the sting from his words? Jake has one arm slung across her shoulders, idly rubbing reassuring circles on her upper arm, a bland, passive mask on his face, hiding any reaction from Bryce’s speech.

Dane, his younger half brother, sits slouched in his chair, eyes cast down, like he’d rather be anywhere but this dinner celebrating Bryce.

Then again he’s thirteen, so that could just be his default setting.

“Martin, Jennifer, you welcomed me into your home with open arms and made me feel like part of the family. Your support has been instrumental with helping me get my career off the ground, and I will always be grateful for that and the incredible daughter you raised.”

My mom blushes at the compliment, and my dad beams with pride.

“I think it’s time to stop feeling like part of the family and make it official.

” Bryce gives my dad a knowing wink before turning back to me, going down on one knee.

I can’t stop the surprised gasp that escapes when I see the shining diamond ring in Bryce’s hand.

It’s a gorgeous, albeit flashy, oval cut center stone, surrounded by tiny stones in a halo around it, set in white gold.

It catches the light from the chandelier above our table, flashing brilliantly.

“Everly Elizabeth Strauss, you have been amazing these last two years, putting up with my crazy schedule and grueling hours of studying. You have helped keep me focused on the prize, and now it’s time to collect.

It’s time to put you first and take the next step of our relationship.

Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? ”

My mom squeals in excitement at Bryce’s proposal. My vision is blurry from the tears threatening to fall. I’m so stunned, it takes a few long seconds before I remember I’m supposed to give him an answer.

“Yes! I will marry you!” The tears obscuring my vision finally fall, revealing Bryce’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

He slips the ring on my finger before capturing my mouth in a kiss that I definitely don’t want my parents watching.

When we pull apart, I see my dad beaming at us with a sense of fatherly pride that is wholly unfamiliar to me.

Well, at least I finally did something to make him proud.