Page 149 of A Little Jaded
I smile against him. “I love you, too.”
Bending back a bit, he tucks my hair behind my ear and pins me with his icy blues. “Now, about our living arrangements. You might be onto something with the commute.”
A quiet laugh escapes me.
“What if… What if we move in with Finley in the new place?” he offers. “We can take the top floor, and she can have the room by the kitchen. That way, Griff will have more space, Dylan can still stay with Reeves, and Fin won’t be alone.”
I smile. “You sure you want to move in with your little sister?”
“No, but my hero complex is kind of a stubborn bastard.” He boops my nose. “You know this.”
“And the idea of your sister sleeping under the same roof as us isn’t more than you can stomach?” I challenge.
His nose wrinkles. “Call it the lesser of two evils until a house on the same street is put up for sale.”
I snort. “Ever the protector.”
“You know me too well.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “So, what do you say?”
I look around the place that’s been ours, and even though I’ll miss these four walls more than he’ll ever understand, his suggestion feels right.
“I’m in,” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Good. Me, too.”
Then, he leans in to kiss me, and I lift my chin to meet him.
Damn, I love this boy.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
RAINE
So, splitting holidays is no joke. And I mean, no. Joke.
Thankfully, my family was pretty great about letting us slip away after Christmas brunch. Now, we’re on our way to meet up with our friends before heading up to the cabin with Finley and the rest of Everett’s family.
Drake’s sentencing should be pretty straightforward. My lawyer thinks Drake might be able to swing probation and a nasty fine since he willingly confessed to everything. But we won’t know the full details for a while. For now, he made bail, and I haven’t seen him since. The justice system can drag its feet sometimes, apparently, including my case against Drake Haitt. The only shining light at the end of the tunnel is that the Springfield Titans are a couple thousand miles away, so even if he doesn’t spend any major time behind bars, I won’t have to deal with him ever again.
The renovations should wrap up in the next week or two, but we won’t move in until after winter break. Finley ordered noise-canceling headphones as soon as Everett suggested we move into one of the rooms on the top floor, but I think she’s secretly excited to havesomeone to live with. Besides, with all the travel the boys are doing, we’ll have plenty of time for girls’ nights, and I can’t wait.
As we pull up to the duplex, I notice Finley through the window. She’s standing on the couch with her back pressed to the glass.
I lean closer to the windshield as if it’ll give me a better view or explanation of what’s happening.
“What’s Fin doing?” I ask.
Everett hesitates before turning the car off. “Maybe she lost her last marble.”
I laugh. “Once a softie, always a softie. Right, Ev?” I playfully shove his shoulder. “Way to be empathetic.”
“Whatever got her there is her own doing,” he argues with a laugh of his own. “But I am curious. Come on.”
We head inside in time to catch a scream of horror.