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Everybody needed a bit of foolishness and absurdity in their life. And this month was full of just that. But it was also full of laughter and a genuine connection between two people.

A constant smile lit his face as he recounted the story, even at parts where Beatrice infuriated him.

“And then she refused my proposal to marry her, can you imagine?” he finished on an infuriating note.

“Umm… I can,” Isabel said with a grimace.

“How can you understand such a thing when the next item on her list was to trap me? She is completely, absolutely, and irrevocably out of her mind!”

Isabel and Sam exchanged knowing glances.

“What?” Adam spread his arms.

“She is in love with you.”

Adam scoffed. He knew that wasn’t true. That item on the list wasn’t crossed off. And why would anyone refuse marriage if they were truly in love with the offering party?

“Don’t look at me,” Alan said with a shrug. “I have no idea what they are talking about.”

“See?” Adam waved his hand toward his brother. “Thank you.”

“However, it is quite clear that you are in love with her,” he continued, and Adam dropped his arms.

“Well, that wasn’t even in question,” Isabel said with a snort.

“It’s written all over your face,” Sam confirmed airily.

Adam wrinkled his nose. “I am not in love with her. One would have to be crazy to fall in love with her.”

Sam bit her lip. “Then perhaps, you’re indeed crazy.”

“You are the ones talking crazy!” Adam stood and started pacing the room. “Did I enjoy spending time with her? Yes. She is the funniest person I’ve been around. She is clever and witty and when she smiles, she has this adorable…” He paused, looking at the bemused expressions on his siblings’ faces. “Damn. I’m in love with her.”

“Yes!” all three of them cried in unison.

“But she tricked me.” He paced back and plopped into his seat. “Deliberately.”

“So, she made a mistake!” Sam said.

“And she refused your proposal, trying to rectify that mistake,” Alan agreed.

“And you can scold her all you want when you get her, but you can’t let her marry that Lansdowne leech,” Isabel said. “Because if you do… that will be the mistake you make. And it will affect the rest of your life.”

He paused. He wasn’t intending to let her get away. He was mad at her, yes. But even at his lowest point, the thought of leaving her had never entered his mind. He had needed to cool off, and this place, around the people he loved most, was the perfect place to do so.

And he was right, too. Because in one short hour, everything had fallen into place.

He’d been so blind, chasing the dream he thought he wanted that he didn’t notice that his dream was in his arms all along. He knew what he had to do now.

“I need to go to her. I need to tell her I love her.” Adam shot up.

“Finally!” Sam clapped her hands.

“I need to go to her townhouse, demand an audience with her father, and ask to marry her.”

“Who are you going to ask to marry you?” Of course, right at that moment, Gage walked into the room.

“Beatrice!” Isabel and Sam cried in unison.