“Nah, I’ve got nine brothers for that,” Sterling reminds him.
“Wait. I thought there were only nine of you?” Dad asks.
“My cousin Ramsey who you know is like a sister to me, and I count her husband. Just because he’s a fancy lawyer doesn’t mean he gets out of the hard work,” Sterling jokes.
“When is this happening?” Mom asks.
“We’re going to have dinner at my parents’, and I’ll line up my brothers. Sooner rather than later,” Sterling answers.
“We’re good, Mom,” I tell her. “How about we get settled, merge our lives, and you can come for dinner?”
“Perfect. We’re here if you need us. And we can go shopping for anything you need once you’re settled.”
“Let the young folk handle it, Nance.” My dad grins. “Call us when you’re settled, baby girl, and we’ll be there.”
“Thanks, Dad. I love you both. Mom, you’re on for shopping.”
“We love you both,” Mom says.
Sterling’s hold on me tightens at her words. I know they mean as much to him as they do to me. He’s like a son to them and has been a constant in all our lives since I was five years old.
“Talk soon.” I wave at the camera and blow them a kiss. Mom does the same before we end the call.
“So, we have about two hours before we have to be at my parents’ place,” Sterling tells me.
“You’re insatiable,” I tease him.
“True.” He grins. “But I thought we should go to your place and get what you need for the week. Clothes for work, your bathroom stuff, and whatever else we can pack in two hours and get loaded into my truck.”
“Today?”
“Today.”
I look into the eyes of the man I love. My best friend. “Let’s do it.” His grin wraps its way around my heart, and I can’t ever remember a time when I’ve been this happy.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Sterling
We’re on the way to my parents’ place for Sunday dinner. We spent the last two hours packing up as much of her stuff as we could put into my truck. We managed to grab all her clothes and clear out the entire en suite bathroom. She grabbed her lunchbox she uses to take her lunch to work, and the travel mugs that she uses for her coffee.
I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh. “Nervous?”
She turns to look at me. “No. Should I be?”
“Not a bit. They’re going to be thrilled for us.”
“I’m thrilled for us.” She chuckles. “It’s a big deal moving in together, and we’ve been dating less than twenty-four hours, but we’re rolling with it.”
“Is this too fast for you?” I glance at her out of the corner of my eye and see her shaking her head.
“No. It’s not too fast. I feel like it’s been a long time coming. You’re not just some guy I just met. You’re Tank. My best friend. The man who knows me better than I know myself. I think this is exactly right for us. It’s our timeline, our life, right?” she asks.
“Exactly. You’re happy?”
“Deliriously so. Are you happy?”
“I’m fucking bursting with it, baby.” We talk about which of her belongings she wants to donate and what of mine we will replace with hers for the rest of the drive. It feels damn fucking good to be combining our lives. Our hearts have been tangled together for years.