“It’s fine,” I deflect. “I left two years ago and have been totally okay on my own.”
“Oh, love,” Teri says, wiping tears from her eyes. “It’s not okay at all. We are all so heartbroken for you. Unreal is what it is, and the fact that somehow you and your brother found one another ... after all this time ... it’s a miracle.”
“And we’re gonna kill those motherfuckers,” McQueen says. Then, looking at his mom—our mom—he grimaces. “Sorry, excuse the language.”
“No one is killing anyone tonight,” Jack says, standing behind me. “Tess is exhausted, and I’m sure everyone else is, too. There’s a lot to figure out, and we need to decide how we want to proceed with the charges and the police.”
“Call Denzel,” Ace says.
“Of course,” Jack says. “And can someone get the things Tess was packing at her studio and bring them over here tomorrow? We should get a storage unit for her other things. Can one of you guys move on that?”
“We can,” McQueen says. “JoJo’s brothers will help me in the morning. My dad, too.”
“And I’ll help, of course,” Jack’s dad adds.
I’m overwhelmed at all the people willing to help me, wanting to be here for me. I’ve never had anyone in my corner.
JoJo looks around the loft. “So are you moving in here, for now?”
“Um.” I swallow, looking over my shoulder at Jack.
“We’re actually moving in together, permanently,” Jack says, straightening his shoulders with pride. “We’re getting married.”
“What the actual fuck?” Ace asks.
“Baby!” Emmy says, smacking her husband’s chest at his outburst.
I can’t help but smile. I love that Jack just called it out. Said it like it is. He isn’t ashamed of me, or wanting to hide me. He wants everyone to know I am his.
“Jack, this is so sudden,” his mom says. “I mean, I’m thrilled; I just had no ideal.”
“I can’t live without her.” Jack says it so plainly that I know I’m just beaming. All the stress seems to disappear; he gives me strength just by being beside me.
It makes me want to be beneath him, too.
“Son,” his dad says. “I’m so happy for you. And Tess, I couldn’t be happier to have you in my family.”
He gives me a warm hug, and it fills me with such pride.
“Jeb and Teri,” Jack says. “I’d have asked for your blessing, but I proposed before I knew you were officially related. And damn, even if I knew, I don’t think it would have mattered. I needed to ask her when I did. There was no way in hell I could have waited another moment to hear her say yes.”
“Man, look at all these pussies,” McQueen says, his mouth as filthy as ever. Teri looks at her son with horror and shock, and I have a few ideas about what she actually thinks of her son’s career as a male dancer.
She must hate it—she must despise it—but there’s no denying the fact that she’s still here, with him. That is family. She doesn’t have to agree with everything her child chooses in order to love him.
“You were the last man standing,” Landon says, clapping him on the back. “But look how far you’ve come.”
Everyone is giving hugs and congratulations, gathered in so close to us that it feels like the perfect engagement party.
It also feels surreal, to gain two new families in the space of a day.
I need one of my self-help books to walk me through how to process all of this, because my head is spinning and my heart is exploding.
Emmy, Claire, and JoJo walk over to me, grinning. “Shit, Ashley is gonna flip out,” Emmy says, her eyes wide as she pulls me into a hug.
“Let’s keep this on the down-low until the press eases up. The last thing I want right now is another story about us,” I tell everyone. “Okay?”
“Absolutely,” Claire promises. “I’m just so happy for you. I had no idea two weeks at his parents’ house would equal a proposal.”
“Isn’t that exactly what happened to you?” I ask.
“Oh, shit,” Claire says, laughing, remembering our trip to England. “That is so true.”
“Do you think you’ll get married soon?” JoJo asks.
“I don’t know; I honestly haven’t even thought about it. I mean today has been a little monumental in terms of my life.”
“Holy shit, right?” Emmy shakes her head. “Honey, we had no clue your life was so....”
“Complicated?” I try.
“Yeah,” Claire says. “You’re always so happy and supportive. I don’t know how you aren’t bitter or broken.”