As the song's lyrics sank in, Violet reflected on how much she loved Noah's face. Over the years, it had become as familiar as her own. She knew the exact location of his chickenpox scar on his left eyelid and the spot on his chin where he'd frequently gotten zits as a teenager.

But it wasn't until they started dating that she truly studied his face, searching for something. She noticed the fondness in his dark eyes whenever he looked at her—something she hadn't previously noticed—and the fact that his lips were soft and full.

Even now, swept up in the music's magic, Violet found herself lost in those eyes. The line "I'll be the greatest fan of your life" played, and she almost broke away to hug him.

Noah had been the greatest fan of her life since childhood, and she had been his. They had supported each other through everything, both significant and insignificant. Nothing could break their bond, she was sure.

How had she ever thought their relationship was sibling-like? None of her siblings had ever supported her the way Noah had. None had ever been as patient, kind, or adoring. He had always cherished her, and she had foolishly dismissed it as teasing for so long.

Her love for him was overwhelming; she felt she might burst. But they had to endure the rest of the wedding.

At the end of the dance, the music changed to something upbeat, and Violet threw her arms around her boyfriend, unable to contain herself any longer. She buried her face in his chest. He hugged her back immediately but seemed concerned.

"Vi? You okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just wanted to hug you."

There was a definite smile in his voice when he replied, "Oh, alright. You know my arms are always open to you."

She did know that. They always had been, though she rarely took advantage of it before they started dating. It was her loss. Noah's arms were a wonderful place to be.

Violet remained distracted throughout the rest of the party, but they couldn't leave because there were so few guests. Being there with her feelings bottled up was agonizing. She picked at her cake, even though it was from one of New York's best bakeries.

Her mother noticed, frowning. "Are you feeling alright, sweetie?"

This was the perfect opportunity to leave. She silently thanked her mother before saying, "Not really. I think I should go home and lie down."

Turning to the happy couple, who were too engrossed in each other to notice, she offered her sincerest congratulations. "You make a beautiful bride, Aunt Mandy. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

They both beamed. Coming from Michael Gray, it was a little disconcerting; nevertheless, she smiled back. Noah also offered his congratulations as they left.

Once outside the conference room, he raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were okay earlier."

"I was eager to get outside," Violet said lamely.

He led her by the hand to an atrium to the left of the main lobby. It was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. Everyone must have been at dinner. They sat on a stone bench behind a fountain.

"This isn't exactly outside, but there are enough plants for fresh air," Noah reasoned. "What made you so eager? Is it because you don't like your uncle?"

She shook her head. That wasn't it at all. They weren't home yet, but this was better than the middle of a wedding reception. Nothing was holding her back now.

Violet gently rested a hand on his face and smiled sweetly. "It was because I was thinking about how much I love your face…and the rest of you. You're the only one for me, Noah. I love you, and my feelings overwhelmed me earlier. It took everything I had not to hug you before that first dance ended."

He blinked, then laughed with pure joy. "So that's it, huh? I can't tell you how long I've waited for you to say that. Now I can do this."

Noah slid off the bench and onto one knee, producing a ring box. Violet instinctively covered her mouth. He was proposing? Here? Why was he even carrying that at someone else's wedding?!

Noah looked at her as if she were as beautiful as the stars, opening the box. A beautiful, understated ring twinkled inside—exactly her style.

"Marry me, Violet," he said simply. "I've loved you since before I knew what that meant, and I promise to love you until the day I die. I have been, am, and always will be yours."

Tears sprang to her eyes at his simple, truthful words. He had always been hers, even if she hadn't known it. He was hers now, and he would be for the rest of their lives. That promise was all she needed.

She tackled him to the ground before he could get up. "Of course I'll marry you," she sobbed.

Noah held her tightly and kissed her hair repeatedly. When she tilted her head up, he kissed her lips. Violet responded eagerly, forgetting they were in public.

They eventually came to their senses and broke apart, allowing Noah to slip the ring onto her finger. Violet admired it as it sparkled.

"When did you get this? And why did you have it with you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Believe it or not, I bought it on impulse the day you said you'd give me a chance. I've carried it ever since because I never knew when you'd say you loved me, wanting to propose then."

She laughed in disbelief. "Seriously? What if I'd told you I loved you the next day? Would you have dated me for only a day before getting engaged?"

He shrugged. "I didn't see a reason to delay. Dating is for discovering compatibility. I know practically everything about you after a lifetime together. There was no point in waiting."

Violet supposed she saw his point. They had acted like they were dating for years before they actually were, due to their close relationship. There was no reason to wait.

Now that she loved him, she didn't want to delay starting their life together either. She would marry him tomorrow if she didn't know her brothers would never forgive her. That meant waiting until after baseball season, so Oliver could come home from Boston.

"Let's get married in November," Violet said. "Everyone will be home for Thanksgiving, and it will give us enough time to send invitations to those farther away."

"Works for me. But we should probably wait to tell our families until tomorrow. It's bad form to get engaged at someone else's wedding," Noah replied with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. They had already left the wedding before getting engaged, but waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt, so she conceded.

Without warning, he scooped her into his arms and walked toward the underground parking garage. Her face heated as people stared, but Noah didn't care. He practically floated to the elevator, looking happier than she'd ever seen him.

The second the elevator doors closed, he kissed her, continuing all the way down to the basement level. Violet was pretty sure she knew where this was going, but she didn't care. She loved him—really, truly loved him. Anything was fine as long as she got to be with Noah forever.

Neither set of parents was surprised by their announcement or their desire to marry quickly. This had been a long time coming, and everyone knew it.

Keeley and Jennica immediately began helping with wedding preparations. First, they focused on engagement photos and announcements. Then came booking a venue, band, cake, and so on.

A ridiculously large number of female family friends helped Violet choose her wedding dress. She was fairly certain every woman in the Quinn, Clark, and Griffith families came along, as well as her mother and Jennica.

Everyone oohed and ahhed over the potential choices until she settled on an off-shoulder lace princess-style gown. Elsa Quinn, Lila Clark, and her fellow ballerina Abigail would be her bridesmaids, and they chose ballet-slipper pink dresses.

Violet thought she would lose her mind over the tiny details, like flowers and centerpieces. It was returning to work that saved her sanity.

She showed up mid-rehearsal for the final show of the year before The Nutcracker, so she was given an ensemble part, but she was too excited to care. Any part was better than none!

Every moment outside of rehearsals was spent planning the wedding. She hardly saw Noah unless he was helping with minor decisions. It felt wildly out of control, but she reminded herself it was only one more month. Then she would never have to worry about getting married again.

One night, she and her mother stayed up so late working on venue decorations that they fell asleep on the couch. Aaron moved them to beds during the night, so Violet was in her old room when she was awakened by a earsplitting shriek.

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Disheveled but suddenly awake, she ran downstairs and saw her mother sobbing and kneeling on the floor, clutching her phone.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Violet demanded, just as her father joined them, his shirt half-buttoned, a panicked look on his face.

Keeley grinned through her tears. She held out her phone. A press release filled the screen: "The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2040 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Keeley M. Hale for her discovery of a viable form of gene therapy to treat genetic diseases."

"You won," Violet said faintly, letting it sink in.

Her mother had devoted decades to her research, and now she had received one of the world's most prestigious awards. Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine had been awarded to fewer than 300 people. And now Keeley was one of them.

Aaron snapped out of his shock first, lifting his wife and spinning her around. "You did it! I knew you could!"

She laughed and cried, wiping away tears. "I can't believe it. The announcement came out a while ago because Sweden is six hours ahead, but I didn't see it until now. You'd think they'd give me a little warning!"

Keeley checked her email; she'd already received tickets and instructions for the December award ceremony. Violet's face fell. December. One of the ballet's busiest times. There was no way she could get time off to see her mother receive the award in person.

Unless… She frantically checked her phone calendar. December 10th was a Monday. The Nutcracker always ran Thursday-Sunday. If she could get the director to give her the matinee and evening shows off that Sunday, she could fly to Stockholm the day before and see her mother's moment of glory.

Violet asked him the moment she arrived at rehearsal, breathlessly. He looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Violet, your mother just won a Nobel Prize. Of course that's more important than a couple of performances. I haven't even assigned parts yet, but I'll make sure someone can cover you that day."

That was much easier than expected. Kaleb could come easily, as it was during his off-season. Oliver would miss a couple of days of class before finals, but his professors agreed not to penalize him given the circumstances. The same went for Nathan. All the Hales were cleared to go.

As for Noah, who would be Keeley's son-in-law, the dojo owner agreed to let him have time off too. Everything seemed to be falling into place, though things got crazier for Violet's mother after the announcement.

She did her best to balance work, helping her daughter plan the wedding, and dealing with curious people on the street who had heard the news. When she and Violet went for a dress fitting, they were mobbed by at least twenty avid science fans.

Keeley was as polite as possible at first, trying to answer questions, but when someone accidentally knocked Violet down, she went into total Mama Bear mode.

"Look, I'm here trying to help my daughter prepare for her wedding, and we don't have time for this," she growled, helping Violet up.

Sensing her displeasure, the crowd dispersed immediately. Violet rolled her eyes and smiled indulgently. "It's rough being a celebrity, isn't it?"

Her mother sighed wearily. "You have no idea. I love science, but all I've ever wanted is a peaceful life. First, I was famous because of your father. Now because of my research. Someone as normal as me isn't worth freaking out over, honestly."

She gave her mother a side hug. "Someone as talented as you can't be considered normal, Mom. You better get used to it."

Things settled down a little in the weeks following the announcement. As Violet's wedding drew closer, she spent a lot of time with Kaleb, who had finally come home for the off-season.

When he first saw her, he hugged her and laughed. "I'm gone for a few months, and the whole world turns upside down."

He stayed in contact as best he could, but he hadn't been present for two of the biggest events in his family's history. Everyone told him what happened afterward, but it wasn't the same.

The weekend before the wedding, Noah had a karate tournament to chaperone, so Violet was lounging around her apartment with her freeloading twin. He'd decided to stay with her rather than their parents to spend more time with her until she was, according to him, "gone forever."

"I'm always with Noah anyway," she said irritably. "It isn't like things will be all that different."

Kaleb sighed dramatically and rolled over on the couch. "You say that now, but wait until you have cute little baby Violets and Noahs running around. Then you'll never have time for me anymore."

Violet scoffed. "Please. You're busier than I am for half the year. And the other half will likely be spent loafing around at my place or Mom and Dad's until you find a girlfriend."

His expression soured. "We can't all marry someone tailor-made for us after a lifetime of best friendship, Vi. You have no idea how hard it is to find someone who likes me for me, rather than my fame."

She felt a pang of guilt. It was true; she didn't know what that was like. She had been too flippant. She laid a hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Kal. I didn't mean to bring up something painful. I'm sure you'll find somebody someday; maybe after your baseball career is over."

"People can stay in the majors until they're in their forties! I don't want to be single that long!" he protested. "You're making me feel worse."

"If you want to go the childhood friend route, there's always Lila or Elsa," Violet suggested, causing her twin to throw a pillow at her head.

She deserved that for teasing him. His problems were so outside her experience that she didn't know how to offer valid advice. Her career wasn't nearly as high-profile, and she had always had Noah. Her situation was entirely different.

"Why do I even bother with you," he grumbled.

Violet grinned. "Because you love me."

Kaleb groaned and draped his arm over his eyes. "Whatever. At least I probably won't be the last one in our family to get married. Oliver has no interest in girls; he's married to engineering."

She thought that was an exaggeration. He loved his career as much as their mother loved genetics, and she had a happy marriage. The only catch was that he would need to find someone who supported his career the way their father supported Keeley's.

He was going to be insufferable, going on about his wife winning a Nobel Prize. He was like that every time she made a splash, but this was more like a tidal wave.

Sitting up, Kaleb became more serious. "I am happy for you, though, Vi. Don't mind my bitter grumbling. Noah is probably the best guy I know, and he's always adored you, so you're bound to be spoiled rotten for the rest of your life."

Violet felt pretty spoiled, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of saying so. She mussed his hair, resulting in a minor scuffle. They hadn't mock-fought like this in years, and the nostalgia made her smile.

Yes, she was getting married and starting a family, but her brothers would always be her family too. Despite his bitterness about being single, she was sure Kaleb knew that.

Thanksgiving fell on November 22nd that year, and Violet wanted to ensure their anniversary was never on the holiday. So they chose to marry the Sunday before, since their brothers would be home from college.

The bridal shower (held by her mother) and the bachelorette party (held by Abigail) were done, and all she had to do was show up the following morning, and it would all be over. She and Noah were going on a honeymoon to Jamaica, and then they would finally be left in peace.

The holidays were normally one of the craziest times for ballerinas, considering the popularity of The Nutcracker, but her director had been surprisingly considerate this year. Because of her impending marriage, the fact that she had barely returned to work, and that she would be missing a few performances, Violet had been assigned the simple role of a snowflake in the first act and a flower in the second.

He told her not to get complacent; as soon as they returned to work on their next show in January, he confided that she would be one of the leads again. "Nobody dances quite like you, Violet. We've missed your talent while you were recovering from your injury," the director confided.

It made her smile. He could be harsh, but he appreciated his dancers' hard work.

Violet sighed as she stroked the cat in her lap. Her mother had her stay overnight at her old home to make it easier to get ready in the morning. It was strange to think this would probably be the last time she ever slept there.

Kaleb had orchestrated a day of sibling bonding, mostly playing board and card games. They rounded it off by watching home movies from when they were kids. Weddings tended to make people nostalgic.

He and Nathan had fallen asleep, so only she and Oliver were left watching. The scene on the screen was from when Violet was ten. She was playing the violin while Nathan, still a toddler, spun in circles until he got dizzy and fell onto a sleeping cat. That hadn't ended well.

Oliver laughed. "Our poor cats have been through so much."

She glanced down at Sassy. She had been the victim of that particular episode. Poor thing. It was good she had found peace in her old age. Since she and Noah didn't plan to have children for a few years so she could continue dancing, the cat probably wouldn't live long enough to be tortured by toddlers again.

"Yeah, they have," Violet agreed.

The next video was from Oliver's sixth birthday party. Aaron had rented out an entire fun center. All their family friends were there, on top of most of his kindergarten class.

This clip was of bumper cars. There weren't enough for each child, so most cars seated two. Some zoomed around; others kept hitting the wall.

Oliver, paired with Liam, was determined to get revenge on Kaleb and Logan, who kept bumping their car. Those four were the focus, but in the background, you could see Violet and Noah's car spinning wildly until they hit a wall.

"That's it; I'm driving," she insisted breathlessly.

She took over, even from the strange angle, and expertly maneuvered the car so they bumped some of Oliver's school friends and caused a five-car pileup. Everyone shouted at her, but she looked smug.

This made Oliver laugh even harder. "You really were something, sis."

Violet shrugged, smiling slightly. "If you say so."

He grew serious. "It's crazy how many of these videos Noah is in. We've been watching for nearly an hour, and he's in about half."

To be fair, most videos were from special occasions. The Singletons, close friends of the Hales, were present for most. But Noah was in more than his brother because he had always been glued to Violet's side.

He was in most of her childhood pictures, too. From the time Noah could crawl, they were usually together. The ones with him also usually included Kaleb. They had been the three musketeers for a good portion of their lives, even though her brother claimed he always felt like a third wheel later on.

Once he started doing his own thing, they hung out alone more frequently. But those occasions were casual, so there wasn't a reason to take pictures, so most of their pictures remained group shots.

Oliver's words reminded Violet of how he had teased her about being married to Noah. "Did you know Noah had feelings for me, too?" she asked curiously.

He looked at her indulgently. "Pretty sure you were the only one who didn't. Nobody spends all their free time with one person if they aren't in love with them. I had him pegged in middle school."

She should have known. Noah had been a constant in her life for longer than she could remember. Since she preferred one close friend over many casual ones, she had thought he was the same, and that's why they clicked.

As it turned out, Noah was more social than she was, but he preferred her company above all others, and that's why he always made time for her. That was actually pretty sweet.

"He's basically part of our family, so if you had to marry anyone, I'm glad it's him," Oliver continued. "I don't have to give him the third degree like with your other boyfriends because it's completely obvious he would never do anything to hurt you."

Funny how every male member of her family had said something like that since she and Noah started dating. She supposed that was a benefit of marrying someone who had been around your entire life.

"Yeah, he wouldn't," she agreed before changing the subject. "So…do you have your eye on anyone these days?"

Her brother snorted. "Please. I'm in general ed, so all my classes are high-level engineering ones. Do you have any idea how many females major in mechanical engineering? There are maybe ten in the whole major, and they all have boyfriends."

That sounded like an excuse. He practically lived in the engineering building, but school wasn't the only place to meet girls.

Violet raised an eyebrow, and he caved. "Alright, alright. One of my neighbors is pretty cute. We usually do laundry at the same time in the basement of our building, and she always smiles at me. Happy?"

"Tell me more," she requested.

Tomorrow would be about her and Noah. Right now, she wanted to hear more about the brother she saw least often. Since Kaleb was typically home for months during the off-season, she had seen him more than Oliver in recent years.

They ended up talking about everything from his crush to how he landed a coveted internship at NASA in the spring, and eventually, both joined their brothers by falling asleep on the giant couch.