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“Oh, we’re coming with you,” I yell as I take Thalia’s hand in mine, pulling her along.

“Jesus, Ser.”

“Don’t start, Zayn.” I throw him a warning glare over my shoulder as we follow the others upstairs, my hand tightly clasping Thalia’s.

Once we reach the top of the stairs, we turn right into a long hallway and walk to the end of it. Liam enters a code to unlock the door and motions for us to enter.

Being the last one, Kai closes the door behind him and takes a seat on the couch, next to me and Nick. Liam and Zayn sit behind their desks, while the rest of the guys are on the other couch, facing us.

“Where should I sit?” Thalia asks, looking around the room.

“You can stay on my lap, doll,” Ethan offers, smirking. “Or on the floor. It’s your choice.”

He winks, and Thalia opens her mouth to answer him. But Ethan grabs her hand and effortlessly pulls her into his lap. “We have a more important thing to discuss right now.”

Thalia rolls her eyes at him, but doesn’t resist. She adjusts slightly in his lap, then turns her attention to me and Nick.

“The famous Nickolas Hardy. What a pleasure to finally meet you,” she says to Nick, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “So you are the man who fucks my friend into oblivion.”

I choke on my own breath, eyes going wide as the room falls into stunned silence for a second.

Nick? Of course, he chuckles beside me, utterly unfazed.

“Nice to meet you, Thalia. Yes, I’m Sierra’s fiancé,” he replies smoothly, slipping his arm behind my back.

“Thalia, for the love of God. I can’t with another sex talk. Please,” Liam growls, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“Let’s make a fucking deal right now,” Zayn groans. “We’ll never talk about Sierra’s sex life again. I repeat—never again.” He runs a hand through his hair, glaring at Nick.

Holding his hands up, Nick nods, smirking. “Fine by me.”

“I’m not going to say I didn’t see this coming, because I saw the way you always looked at her when we were teenagers, Nick… but I can’t say I’m thrilled about it,” Liam starts, his voice calm. “However, if there’s one man who could make my sister happy and who I’d trust to take care of her—it’s definitely you.”

“Thank you, Liam. I promise I’ll become my best version. She deserves more than the man I used to be,” Nick answers Liam, but his gaze is on me. „I never saw her as a sister and I blamed myself every day for it. Because I knew she was my best friend’s little sister and I needed to respect that.”

What?

What is he talking about?

He turns his attention to Liam, and like always, they communicate like the twins they seem to be—without words.

After a couple of moments, Liam nods once, slowly.

“Fuck, man, he’s so under her spell, it’s making me sick,”Zayn mutters, pretending to gag.

“Hey, asshole. Fuck off,” Nick replies, rolling his eyes.

“Now that everything’s settled, let’s make a toast for our future sister-in-law.” Chris winks at me.

“The wedding is next week, right?”

“Yes, in seven days—on Saturday. And everything’s ready,” Thalia answers with enthusiasm.

She’s an event planner, and I trust her to organize the most spectacular event for us. We want something intimate, with only our families and closest friends, and I know she’ll make it perfect.

“You’re the one in charge of organizing their wedding?”Ethan asks, surprised.

“Yeah… I’m an event planner.” She rolls her eyes at him. But I can see the way she blushes every time his attention is directed at her.