Luke swallowed an affectionate chuckle, torn between wanting to witness this tender moment between two of the people he loved most in the world and wanting to fade into the wall so they could share this moment alone. He settled for being as quiet and still as possible.

“There’s a line in one of those rom-coms that you love so much: ‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.’” Jay dropped to one knee, reaching for Penelope’s hand. “Pen, I’ve known for a long time. For me, it’s always been you. But I waited. I waited because I didn’t want to be selfish. I wanted to give you space to live your life, a chance to meet other people—time to figure out what you wanted.”

“I know exactly what I want.” Penelope slipped off the couch to kneel across from Jay. “So stop waiting and trying to give me what you think I need and just marry me already.”

“Yeah?” Jay asked.

“Yeah,” Pen said.

And then his sister and best friend were kissing and Luke wished he could perform a disappearing act for real. He glanced down, realizing he was still wearing the ridiculous cape. Maybe he could toss it over his head and they’d forget he was in the room. Wait—that might not be the best idea. Luke cleared his throat awkwardly.

Penelope laughed and let Jay help her to her feet. Together, they turned to face Luke.

“Congratulations,” he said, truly meaning it. “I’m sorry I acted like such a jackass. To be honest, if you asked me, I couldn’t imagine anyone ever being good enough for Penelope.”

His sister made a noise of protest and Luke hurried to add, “Jay, you’ll never do better than Penelope.” He turned to his sister and grinned. “But Pen, you could do a lot worse than Jay.”

“Thanks, man,” Jay said drily. “I’m going to head to the bar and grab us some champagne to celebrate.” He gave Pen a quick kiss before shooting a warning glance at both of them. “Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

Luke chuckled, the moment of familiarity easing some of the remaining tension in him.

Penelope laughed too, then paused. “I just realized something,” she said. “I’ve become a romantic-comedy trope.” She beamed, love shining in her gray eyes as she watched Jay leave the room. “I’m the girl who falls for her brother’s best friend.”

“Guess I should have seen that coming, huh?” Luke teased, a shade tartly. The sting from all they’d hidden from him had dulled considerably, but the wound was still there. He’d get over it though. His sister was happy, and that’s all that mattered.

“Now then,” Penelope said, grin turning sly. “It’s your turn.”