Page 33

CHAPTER 33

Matt

I watch Zoey make her way up the stairs. As soon as she’s out of sight, I take my seat again. I met Zoey’s brothers a few times growing up, but she’s talked about them enough that as soon as they showed up, I knew who was who. And right now, I know I need to focus the majority of my attention on Henry and Ezra.

“I don’t know how long she’ll be up there for and I need to say this before she comes back down. I know you’re protective of her. She’s your younger sister, and you spent a lot of your life raising her. I get it, I have younger sisters. You guys helped her become the amazing, strong, independent woman she is now. I’ve told her I’m all in, and now I need you guys to know it, too. I want it all with Zoey. I want the life, the family, the memories. All of it. When she’s ready, I want to marry her. It’s too soon now. She needs time to let herself come to terms with how she feels about me and how I feel about her. But I will spend the rest of my life making sure she knows she’s loved and supported.” I sigh, knowing this next part will not be as easy for them to hear. “She told me about your parents.”

The shock on all of their faces is visible.

“I need her to know she’s in a safe space and loved unconditionally, and I’ll always be there for her.”

John, who hasn’t said anything this entire time, finally says, “She said she’s happy and even though she looks like a mess, she seems it.”

I grimace a bit at the full realization of what they came into hitting me. “Yeah, I just moved, and Jayden’s been sick. He’s only wanted Zoey. Like in a cry his head off when she hands him to me kind of way.”

Ezra chuckles. “Zoey was that way when she was sick as a kid. She only wanted me. It drove Henry up the wall, kept going on about how he was the one who did all these things for her and she just wanted to curl up in my bed and cuddle and sleep.”

Henry grumbles something, and Ezra nudges him with his elbow. “When she didn’t feel well, she never came to me. It was usually you or even Kai and Riley. She never wanted me.” Henry seems genuinely upset by this.

“Have you ever asked her? I’m sure she’ll shoot straight with you if you ask.”

The man rolls his eyes at me. “No, I haven’t asked my baby sister why she never wanted me when she was sick,” he says as though it should be obvious.

“Because I didn’t want to seem weak.” Zoey’s voice comes from the entrance to the dining room. “You were always the strongest of us all. You were kind of forced to be. I didn’t want to seem any weaker by needing to cuddle you when I was sick.”

Henry does his best to hide the pain, but I see it flash through his expression quickly.

“I know that’s dumb now, that you wouldn’t see it as weak, but I was a kid.” Zoey rounds the table and hugs Henry from behind and kisses his cheek. “If it will make you feel better, the next time I’m sick, I’ll climb into bed with you and snuggle.”

He pats her arm. “I’ll be perfectly fine, Zo.”

“My bed is off limits, the number of times you got me sick from your cuddles was insane,” Riley says.

“She was always patient X, she’d bring it home and then cuddle us and we’d all be sick by the end of it,” Kai says.

She grins at them from Henry’s shoulder. “You know you love me.”

“Loving you doesn’t mean we want your sick cuddles anymore, my bed’s off limits, too” Ezra says, shaking his head.

Everyone else, including Henry, says, “Same.”

“I forgot she’d pass those things around like free candy,” Henry says, and they all laugh.

“That’s fine, Bug. You’ve always got my bed.” Now I get her smile, and I can’t help but return it.

“Well, thank you. You are the superior cuddler.”

John groans, and she shakes her head. Her stomach growls again and I look at her full plate of food. Grabbing it, I head into the kitchen and pop it into the microwave. When it beeps, I bring it back with me into the dining room.

“Come eat, Bug.”

She rolls her eyes at me.

“You’re hungry and you’ve been taking care of a sick baby all day. Come eat something.”

She finally relents and takes a seat beside me and digs in. Everyone else has finished eating, but this girl prioritized Jayden, a baby who isn’t biologically hers, because she was the only person he wanted. I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear and feel an overwhelming sense of love for her right now. As I stare at her, I wonder if I’ve bounced from woman to woman because I’ve spent the last twelve years in love with my sister’s best friend, but had convinced myself I couldn’t have her. Did a small piece of me always know this, but because she was always off limits, I subconsciously pushed it to the side so I didn’t look into it too much?

I look around the table and know if her brothers weren’t here, I’d be blurting the words out right now, but I want those three words to be said when it’s just us. When I can not only tell her but also show her.

I’ve told her before I’m all in, but this is so much more. If I told someone I’ve caught myself getting pulled in by engagement ring ads and have browsed, getting a sense for what I know she’ll absolutely hate and what she’d be more drawn to, they’d think I was crazy. It’s like every part of my subconscious has been screaming at me for weeks, months, years, that I love her, but I was too dumb and stubborn to see it. Now that I’ve realized it, I don’t know if I can convince her I’m worth taking a shot at forever with. I don’t want to do just for now with her. I want everything. I can’t wait to watch her grow our children and for us to fill this house with adorable kids.

Zoey looks up at me and raises a brow. “What?”

I shake my head and smile. “Nothing.”

“Do I have something on my face?” She grabs a napkin and wipes it.

I shake my head again. “You look perfect.”

“You know it’s rude to lie,” she says.

“Not a lie.”

“Whatever.”

I lean in close so only she hears me. “Zoey, I wouldn’t lie to you. You look perfect. You look like you just spent the day being selfless and took care of a sick baby who has grown so attached to you and loves you so much that you’re the only person he wanted. You look like when I called you worried out of my mind about my son being sick, you climbed out of bed and rushed over here. You look perfect.”

She avoids saying anything by shovelling another bite into her mouth. I sit back, and her brothers all seem to be in their own conversations, Henry’s eyes darting to Zo and I every once in a while.

“What do you want to do tonight, Zo?” I ask.

She looks at her brothers then back at me. “We were supposed to play board games tonight. We used to do it when I was a kid and our parents were having a bad night. Henry would round us all up, and we’d hide in his and Ezra’s room and play all night until they went to bed. We’ve tried to put a fun spin on it as adults.”

I brush my hand over the back of her head, hating that they had to do that as kids, but loving that she feels so comfortable telling me. “Board games it is.” I turn and face the guys. “Did you guys bring games with you, or should I raid my collection?”

John grins and reaches beside him and plops a bag on the table. “Of course, we brought games. No way could we have a sibling dinner and not play.”

“Okay, I’ll just get this cleaned up and then we can play,” I say, stacking plates.

Ezra pushes back in his seat and helps, following me into the kitchen.

As I start rinsing plates, Ezra says, “I know five older brothers can be a bit overwhelming, and trust me I know how Henry especially can be, but we just want to look out for Zo.”

“I get it. I have two younger sisters, and while we may not have grown up the way you guys did, I’ve always wanted to protect them.” I turn off the water and face him, crossing my arms over my chest. “I meant everything I said in there. I will do everything I can to take care of your sister.”

Zoey pokes her head out of the dining room, a large grin spread across her face. “Come on, guys, we’ve got it set up.”

I love seeing her like this. She has this way of being the reason people smile and laugh and enjoy themselves without even trying, just by being her. “Coming, Zo.”

“I believe you,” Ezra says before following Zoey to join their brothers. I quickly make Zoey a cup of tea, knowing she’s going to want one soon, and join them. Thankfully, Jayden must have exhausted himself because he doesn’t wake up, and we spend the entire night playing games.