I give her thewhat do you thinklook and nod. “Hell yes. I know you want to do the first two classes before we come by, but you say the time and I'll be there.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t forget, you’re moving a bed into Goldie’s at noon.”
I slap my forehead. “Fuck. I forgot. Well, if you want me there at noon, Atti can move the bed in.”
Beck’s eyebrows pull together as she smooths her hands over the arch of my chest. “But Goldie doesn’t know Atticus. She wouldn’t want a stranger putting her bed together.”
“Well, I know Atticus and he’s safe. Besides, the man can build a car engine blindfolded. I’m pretty sure he can have the bed assembled in a matter of minutes.” I kiss her soft lips. “Goldie just wants a bed. She doesn’t give a shit who brings it and builds it as long as she isn’t sleeping on the loveseat again.”
She gnaws the inside of her mouth while stroking her nails down my chest. My cock perks up again because we’re greedy when it comes to Beck. I can still taste her cream on my tongue.
“The reason I wanted to see if you could come at noon is because… I thought we could have my parents come to the studio for lunch and celebrate the soft opening, and… tell them we’re living together.” She smiles. “Together.”
“I want to do that,” I say immediately, earning a laugh from Beck. “Atticus can move the bed, build the bed, whatever. Goldie won’t mind. Besides, she’ll have Jetpack. She probably won’t even notice who’s doing it.”
She tips her head sardonically. “She’ll know it’s not you because I’m going to text her tonight and tell her we’re moving in together and telling my parents tomorrow.”
Her nails trace the outline of Brando on my chest. The moment grows dense with emotion, I swear I can feel it popping off around us like firecrackers. When her blue eyes come to mine, they glisten. I put my hand over hers, over Brando.
“What?”
She smiles even though a tear rolls down her cheek. “When we met you were in so much pain.” Her fingers fan across the ink. “I’m so glad you’re getting better.”
“Thank Jett. He made me realize that no matter who contributed to my existence, my father was Graham Burns. Through and through.”
We share another slow, dizzying kiss before Jett stirs. She goes to check on him, and I dive into the clean laundry, folding onesies and rolling socks like no one’s business. Since Beck isn’t in the room, I switch on the hockey game.
Folding laundry, watching the game, and my family in the other room.
I touch the tattoo on my chest and think of my dad. “You’d love them,” I say, feeling a sizzling moment of connection touching the tattoo. “And I miss you.”
With that, I give my attention and focus back to the game while I fold Beck’s pajamas and wait for her to come back to me to snuggle.
I crawled through the darkness—stumbling over plenty of vodka bottles along the way–and have a life like my dad’s, the life I always wanted. I’m so fucking lucky.
* * *
According to Beck,the first two classes went amazing–they were both sold out, and no one tried to go past their two-glass limit. When I showed up with three dozen long-stemmed red roses and a bottle of champagne for our “tell the parents” lunch, she cried.
And as I hugged her, she told me they were happy tears. A few minutes later, her parents came in, saying they stopped by Goldie’s apartment first to check on Jett and to conveniently grab sandwiches from Delilah’s.
Now, as we eat and moan about how good the fresh bread is, it’s time to share our news. Beck has had such a big morning; I want her to bask in it. She deserves every iota. She told them who my father was and what title he passed down to me already, over the phone, on her own. Beck said Nancy felt vindicated, that she’d probably seen my photo in the paper and that she did in fact, despite her years, recognize me.
But now, it’s my turn to deliver some news. I clear my throat.
“Carl, Nancy, I’m serious about Beck. I’m in love with her. I love Jett. I’m going to move in with them, and probably not long after, we’ll get married. And I want more children. And this is the start of all of that. I want my intentions to be known from the start: I’m moving in this weekend but it’s the start of forever.”
Nancy drapes a hand across her chest. “Oh good god, Beau! We’re so excited to have you in the family. I’ll admit, I was hoping for an engagement, but,” she lifts her palms. “I’ll wait.”
Laughing, Beck buries her head in her hands. “Oh my gosh, Mom.”
“It’s coming but because Jett’s part of the equation, there’s more to think about and talk about.” I’m talking about legally adopting him, but we haven’t got there yet and it’s certainly not a topic to discuss for the first time in front of anyone.
Carl squeezes my shoulder. “We trust you, Beau.”
“We never trusted Dustin,” Nancy says, partially under her breath.
“Whose house are ya movin’ into?” Carl questions, his white brows pulling together.