3. Travis
travis
. . .
Ten Years Later
A point-five carat diamond is enough, right? No, but Cass is an overnight nurse. Most of the time her hands are covered with surgical gloves, she probably wouldn’t wear it half the time anyway.
It’s not good enough, not by a long shot.
She’s Cassidy Fucking Rogers; she deserves so much more than this ring and a better man than me. It’s not going to stop me from getting down on one knee and praying she’ll say yes.
Everyone’s already at the bar for Cass’ birthday celebration, including her boyfriend, Zack. He’s a fucking tool, and I’m not just saying that because Cassidy and I should be together. She’s smarter, wittier, and way the fuck out of his league. Sure, he’s a great veterinarian and they likely have a lot in common, but I’m amazed he’s lasted this long. I should’ve proposed on my birthday, but when Cass arrived with Zack, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even though he’s all wrong for her, she looked happy. I didn’t want to ruin that.
I want to be the one who makes her happy .
Caleb claps me on the back as I slide onto the stool next to him. “Hey, Travis, where’s Inferno?”
“I didn’t know how late this was going to be,” I lie. I left my Dalmatian at home; he’d probably betray me if he saw Zack. Why can’t my pup be normal and hate vets? I pivot to ask about his Dalmatian he adopted the same day I brought home Inferno. “Did you bring Smitten?”
“Yeah, she’s out back with Ingrid and the kids.” He takes a long pull of his beer. “I’m hoping this doesn’t run too late. Sebastian has been on a weird sleep schedule. I don’t want to mess with it or I’ll be waking up with him in the middle of the night.” I never thought I’d see the day that my best friend had a wife and two kids. It feels like it was yesterday that we were kids ourselves.
“Hey, everyone,” Zack calls out, tapping the microphone twice. “Can everyone hear me okay?” There’s a chorus of yeses. “Great. As you know, it’s Cassidy’s birthday. Cass? Can you come up here?”
As she makes her way to him, Caleb grumbles, “This better not be what I think it is.”
What does he think it is?
Fuck!
No. It won’t happen.
With Ingrid out on the patio, he wouldn’t dare get down on one knee. Except, that’s exactly what this fucker does. Cass’ hands fly to her mouth as Zack drops at her feet, presenting her with a ring.
“Mother fucker,” Caleb growls. “Where’s my wife?”
I can’t tell if he’s upset because Ingrid’s missing his sister’s engagement, someone proposed to his sister without his knowledge, or that Ingrid might’ve known about it. Could be a mix. No matter the reason, I stand and offer, “I’ll find her for you.” If nothing else, it’ll be an excuse to get away from this shit show.
My stomach is in knots as I find Ingrid with their children, Sebastian and Darcy. Smitten is laying protectively next to Darcy, as she always does. I should’ve brought my pup—Inferno adores his sister, Smitten—but my plan was to propose to Cass and who knows where the night would’ve taken us. Ingrid, Caleb, their kids, even their pup would be my family if I was in Zack’s shoes. A swirl of emotions tornadoes inside me.
“Hey, Ingrid, Cay is looking for you.” I rub the back of my neck and wince, unable to help asking, “Did you know?”
Ingrid’s brows pinch. “Know what?”
Glancing behind me to the bar, I blow out a long breath, then return my gaze to her. “Cass is engaged.”
“What?” she shrieks, eyes wide, and the noise causes Seb to cry. “Shh, it’s okay, Mommy is just upset she missed Auntie Cassidy’s proposal.”
So, she did know…
“I can watch the kids if you want to congratulate her.”
As Ingrid stands, she grips my bicep, asking quietly, “Are you okay?”
Nope.
“Yeah.” I swallow hard, trying to play off my indifference. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Ingrid quirks an eyebrow and we remain in a brief standoff until she finally breaks. “Fine. Don’t admit you're in love with my sister-in-law. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She pats my arm twice and leaves to find Caleb.
I don’t know how she knows, but if she thinks I’m in love with Cass, did Cass tell her about the pact we made ten years ago, and that I’m ready to marry her sister-in-law?
Fuck.
“Ingrid, wait.” She stops before entering the bar and makes her way back to me.
“It was supposed to be you, Travis.” She pins me with a glare, and my shoulders sag.
“Does Cay know?”
“Not to my knowledge. I knew you liked her the moment you stepped onto the pontoon for my wedding. I’m not sure what’s going on between you two, but you should’ve made your move years ago.” Ingrid turns on her heel and rushes to the bar in search of Cay.
Once she’s inside, Darcy asks, “Is Auntie Cass getting married?”
“Yes, yes she is.” But little does my soon-to-be niece know, it won’t be to Zack.