one knee right in front of Lukas. Lukas slapped his hands over his mouth and stared down at John with tears in his eyes.
“Lukas Brown, I love you more than I could ever express, but I want to spend the rest of my life trying. Will you please marry me?”
“Oh my god,” Kevin whispered from next to Lukas, his voice watery. John was fairly sure he heard Lydia sniffling behind him, but his focus didn’t deviate from Lukas, who seemed too stunned to speak.
“Baby?”
Lukas started nodding, then he pulled his hands down and whispered, “Yes, I will.”
The room exploded in cheering and well-wishes, but John could barely hear it as he stood and pulled Lukas into his arms. “Thank fuck.”
Lukas laughed wetly and threw his arms around John’s neck. “Like there was even a chance I’d say no.”
He smiled but didn’t respond. Lukas didn’t need to know that John had lost sleep over the last week, ever since he’d decided to just ask him on the day they moved in together. He’d contemplated doing it before or after, but in the end, felt like it’d be even more special with their loved ones—plus, Singer and Hank—present. He’d almost driven into the city to buy a ring but had ultimately decided against it. He wanted them to pick out their wedding rings together—and who really needed an engagement ring anyway? He’d be marrying Lukas as soon as possible.
“Once you’re my husband, I can touch your butt whenever I want, and no one will be able to say anything,” he whispered in Lukas’s ear, grinning at his renewed laughter.
Much too soon, they were pulled apart so their friends and family could congratulate them individually, but John’s gaze kept finding Lukas’s, and each time, they’d grin at each other.
“Lukas, can I talk to you?” Dave said a little while later, drawing John’s attention away from where Lydia was pouring glasses of wine for everyone to toast the engagement.
Lukas nodded and followed his dad out of the dining room, shooting a questioning look at John as he went, but John could only shrug in return. Despite Dave putting his foot in his mouth sometimes and having messed up when it came to supporting Lukas’s career choices, he knew his friend really did love his son.
Taking the wineglass Lydia passed him, he relaxed a little at the smile and wink she gave him. If she wasn’t worried, he wouldn’t be either.
“Do you mind if we run upstairs? I need to check on Vivian. She probably didn’t like all the noise we made today?” Lukas asked as he led the way to the stairs, shooting a smile at his dad. He wasn’t sure what his dad needed to say in private, but he was fairly confident he wasn’t going to ruin Lukas’s engagement.
Pretty sure.
“That’s fine. Who’s Vivian?” His dad followed him up, face creased in thought as he kept his head tilted down at the steps.
“A Maine Coon we’re fostering until she can be put up for adoption. Our county Humane Society uses Dr. Mason, and a couple other veterinarians, for surgeries and vaccines when animals are surrendered or found. Viv had to have surgery because of an obstruction in her intestines.”
“Jesus. She going to be okay?”
Lukas shot a surprised look at his dad as he pushed open the guest room where Vivian had been staying. They’d decided against putting her in their bedroom since Leeloo kept pestering her, and they didn’t want them to fight, especially while Vivian had still had stitches. While unloading and having so many people over, all the pets had been closed upstairs, and he and John had taken turns checking on them and bringing Ruby down for potty breaks. Once the truck was empty, Ruby had been allowed downstairs, but both cats were kept isolated so they didn’t get overwhelmed.
“Yeah. Her stitches came out the other day, and Doc said she was healing up nicely and was back up to what will probably be her regular weight.” He peered around the room, finding the fluffy brown-and-white cat on a chair by the window. She was curled up in a ball with her face covered with her tail, her preferred snoozing position, but when Lukas and his dad walked over, her tail flicked away, and he found her eyeing them.
“Wow. She’s big.” His dad stopped behind him, not getting too close, and Lukas was appreciative. Vivian hadn’t been around many people except him and John, and it had taken nearly a