“You can bring him,” Evan called. “Barrett free-flies and recall trains him. He won’t go anywhere without coming back when he’s called.”
A part of me was worried that she was setting a trap of sorts, but I pulled the sliding glass door open to step on the back patio, finding Luce standing facing the woods behind the house.
He’d never outgrown his love of hoodies, and even as he stood there, he was in a black one with the hood pulled up over his head.
“Done avoiding me?” he asked without turning back.
“Figured I had to stop being so chickenshit eventually,” I agreed. “And Evan is worried you’re fucking up the steaks,” I added.
“I probably am,” he agreed, waving at the grill. “So, you and Lu,” he said, exhaling hard, like he was dreading this talk to.
“Me and Lu. As it was always supposed to be.”
“Until you fucked it all up,” he said, finally turning to pin me with those intense eyes of his.
“Yeah, until then,” I agreed. “I know this is the part where I’m supposed to apologize, Luce. And I have. To Lulu. But I’m not going to do it again. Because I think that leaving had been the right decision, but that I should have said something first.”
“It was too much,” Luce said, frowning at the steaks as I flipped them. “Remember telling Ev that when you snuck in every single night since the day you started dating.”
“You knew?”
“You thought I didn’t?” he asked, smirking.
“And I wasn’t melting in a tub of lye in the basement because…”
“Because I was an upstanding contract employee with the NBPD at the time,” he said. “At least during normal working hours, that is. Besides, the boyfriend of your kid can’t go missing. You’ll always be one of the first suspects. But, yeah, I agree that you two breaking up was probably for the best. But I didn’t like seeing her like that. Broken like that. I spent my entire fucking life making sure nothing touched that girl, nothing hurt her. Until you came. And shattered her.”
“I know I did,” I agreed, my gut sinking a bit at the reminder of the girl I loved being so hurt because of me. Even if it was a long time ago. Even if we had put it behind us. “I plan to spend the rest of my life making it up to her,” I assured him. “And not just because I know you will come out of retirement to make me disappear,” I added, getting a smirk from him. “I love her, Luce. Always did. Always will.”
With that, I pulled the little box out of my pocket.
“It’s only been a few months,” he said when he looked at the ring I’d had not only Vi, but Layna, Gracie, Hope, and Willa weigh in on.
“It’s been a lifetime,” I corrected. “And I want to get a jump on that happily ever after part. Now that the house is… livable.”
I’d maybe exaggerated when I told Lulu it would only be a couple of weeks. The house was a never-ending project. But, I reminded myself on days when I was tired from the club, and didn’t want to work on it, it was where we were going to sleep every night, where we were going to raise babies, and that hedgehog that Andi had decided was perfect for us.
“You’ve been busting your ass over there,” he said, nodding.
“It’s been a labor of love. But I’m glad it’s almost over. I just have to finish the far corner of the basement.” The part that Louana didn’t know about since she’d encountered a “dog-sized spider” and decided she didn’t need to use the basement in her own home. Not even if the washer and dryer were down there.
“Louana didn’t mention that. You keeping shit from my daughter?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding. “But for a good reason. Her birthday is up next. I’m building her a movie room. With a projector and daybeds. And a system that can store all her DVDs and even some of her VHS tapes. Oh, and a popcorn machine. And a cotton candy one.”
“You’re building her a movie room,” Luce repeated.
“I figure it will be a nice place for you guys to hang. And, eventually, when we have kids, for you guys to instill that love of movie into the next generation.”
One look at him then said I had it.
His approval.
And so I did.
He’d even given me his permission to marry his girl before I headed out with her later that night.
Marry her I would.