The End of Us (Love in Isolation 3)

“He came here asking for her, but Tatum told me who he was, so I knew not to say anything. However, I think he figured out I was lying. It’s very suspicious how the fire started, and I feel like he was sending a clear message.”

Piper covers her mouth with fear in her eyes. Some of this sounds a bit too familiar.

“They’ll investigate it,” I reassure him. “It’ll be easy for them to figure out if it was arson or not.”

“Yeah, but hopefully, they don’t think I’m the one who did it.” He blows out a frustrated breath. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I ask.

“That I need to use the house. I know Piper’s been working on the remodel for the past six months, and you guys are supposed to come here in a couple of weeks for your anniversary.”

“Easton,” Piper speaks up. “If you need the beach house, then please use it. We have a million other places we can go. Seriously. I’d rather you be safe and have a roof over your heads and focus on your business. Let me know if there’s any way we can help because you know I’ll send a whole team of contractors to fix it up in a jiffy.”

I give her a sweet smile. “Yeah, man. Don’t worry about it. If you need an extra set of hands, just call me.”

“I appreciate that, guys. I just feel bad about ruining your plans.”

“We’re more concerned about you than a vacation,” Piper states.

“Thank you. Summer is the busiest season, and this is going to hurt us big time,” he explains.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I offer. “Let the fire chief do his job and then file an insurance claim if you can.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“Keep us updated, okay?” I tell Easton, and he promises he will.

“Stay safe,” Piper tells him, then the call ends.

PIPER

Tristan sucks in a breath, and I can see how upset he is over this. After running his fingers through his hair, he looks at me. “Wow. That sucks so bad and I hate that I’m not there to be with him.”

“I know. I feel so bad for him,” I say, feeling awful that he’s in this situation. “That’s the equivalent of someone deleting my channel and me having to rebuild it. Can’t imagine how stressed I’d be.”

“Me neither.”

“But he did say he was with a woman, and they were going to the beach house together,” I offer. “Maybe this is his lucky day in disguise.”

Tristan bursts into laughter. “Are you suggesting they’re going to fall madly in love just because we did?”

“Yes, it could happen! The house is magical.”

He shakes his head as he smiles. “My brother has mentioned her a few times. She’s eight years older than him and has only been working there a few months.”

“Psshh, like age really matters,” I remind him.

He shrugs. “Who knows. They were neighbors and co-workers who probably saw a lot of each other.”

“And now they’ll be isolated together. Sounds romantic to me,” I sing-song.

“When all of this is over, I’m totally going to tell Easton you were shipping him and Tatum.”

I clap my hands. “Oh my God, you used it in the right context. Maybe you can teach a millennial new tricks after all.”

“Ha! You’re gonna pay for that one.” Tristan closes the gap between us and tickles under my arms. I scream out our safe word, but he doesn’t stop since he knows I’m not in any real pain. I manage to get away from him, but he ends up chasing me to the couch and lands right on top of me. The moment grows still and heated as he crashes his lips against mine.

When we pull away, I meet his eyes and tilt my head. “I have something to tell you.”

He nuzzles into my neck, then moves to the shell of my ear. “You want to fuck all day? Because I’d be down for that.”

I laugh and shake my head. He pulls away. “Hmm, okay, tell me.”

“I’m pregnant,” I whisper.

He searches my face. “You are?”

I nod, biting my bottom lip, and he kisses me again.

“You just made me the happiest man in the world. This is surreal.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that because I already went to my first ultrasound, and it’s twins.”

“You’re joking.”

“No,” I say with laughter. “I swear, I’m being serious.”

His eyes widen, then he laughs with me. “Well, you did warn me.”

I shrug. “Guess the universe overheard.”

“Fine with me. I hope they look just like you.”

“They’re going to be the perfect mix of both of us,” I confirm, so damn excited to go through this journey with him.

I grab his face and kiss him until our lips go numb.

“We’re going to be parents.”

“We are,” I confirm.

“When did you find out?” he asks.

“I realized I was late a few weeks ago and took a pregnancy test. Then another. Then I went to my doctor to be one-thousand-percent sure before I told you,” I explain. “I’m so happy, Tristan. I really can’t believe this.”