Things feel the same between us, and yet everything has changed.
“Do you need to go to the lawyer now?” he asks between kisses.
“I should.”
“Want me to come with you?”
“You’ll be bored.” His lips go to my neck, and I start to melt against him. “Hell, I’ll be bored. But it would be nice to have you with me.”
Logan pulls me into a tight embrace, and I rest my head against his chest and listen to his heart beating. My eyes fall shut, and for the first time since we left Hawaii, I don’t feel like I’m spiraling out of control.
Things are still messy. Things are still going to hurt for a while. But that’s life, isn’t it? It’s not about going through it and having everything fall perfectly into place. It’s about the people you have on the ride with you.
The ones who hold your hand.
Who help you up when you fall.
Who love you.Chapter 32Logan“I think that’s the last of it.” I set a box down in the foyer and run my hand over my forehead, wiping away beads of sweat. We picked the hottest day yet this summer to move in together.
Smiling, Danielle looks around the farmhouse. “Now the fun begins, and we get to organize everything.”
“That does not sound like fun.”
She laughs and grabs my hand, pulling me into the kitchen for something to drink before we go back to figuring out what to do with everything. For now, we’ve been sleeping in Danielle’s bed in the room she’s always stayed in. Eventually, we plan on taking over the master bedroom, but Danielle isn’t ready for that yet.
It’s been pretty much untouched since her grandpa passed only a month ago, and I’m in no rush to have her go through his things before we totally redecorate it. Moving in together only a few weeks after we made things official might seem too soon to some people, but it made sense to us. We’ve been friends for so long. We know each other.
We love each other, and we don’t want to wait any longer.
Dexter runs up the stairs, chasing one of the cats. He’s been at it all day and has gotten his nose scratched more than once already. You’d think he’d learn…
Danielle fills two glasses with ice water and grabs a folder from the kitchen table, looking at applications. We’re hiring new help at the bar and need to start the interview process this week. And then next week we’re expanding our hours again.
“No work,” I tell her and close the folder. “It’s our day off.”
Danielle has been in charge of the expansion and is having way more fun with it than she should.
“Fine. You’re all sweaty and need to shower. I should probably go up and help you.”
“You should. Make sure I’ve washed all the hard-to-reach places.” I take a big drink of water and then take Danielle in my arms. She pushes me away laughing, telling me I stink and am getting sweat on her. Of course I just hold her tighter. She slips out of my arms and tries to run away.
I dodge around the counter and pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. She laughs and protests, and I carry her into the living room and playfully toss her on the couch and move on top of her.
“Shower, now!” she laughs, grabbing the hem of my shirt and pulling it up over my head. “We have to leave soon to be at your parents on time anyway.”
“Right.” I kiss her neck and get up, pulling her to her feet. We’re having dinner with my family tonight, and I have something important to ask Danielle before we leave. Dexter tears through the house again, and Tabby Cat jumps up onto the couch to try and get away from him. Dex launches himself at the cat, knocking over a lamp in the process.
“They have claws, buddy,” I tell him, pulling him off the couch. “I really hope this is just a phase.”
“Let’s hope so. Dex hasn’t been around the cats that much.”
Before officially moving in, I started bringing Dexter over to try and ease him into moving, but he’s such a doofus most the time nothing seems to faze him. I pet him for a minute before Danielle and I go upstairs to shower.
I pull a small box out of my drawer while she’s drying her hair and put it in my back pocket. It’s too big and is obvious. Wearing a jacket would be even more obvious since it’s hot as hell outside tonight. I wrap my fingers over the box and go downstairs, impatiently watching TV until Danielle is ready to go.
We go into the barn before leaving, checking to make sure the animals have enough water on this hot ass day. Danielle stops next to the pasture gate, taking a few seconds to look around.