The long dining table is full tonight. Everyone who lives on the estate is here, the usual lively chatter filling the room.
The drugs have been recovered from Gully’s Lock-up exactly where Samuel said they would be. Kit managed to trace nearly every buyer from the information he pulled earlier. Ray will be paying each of them a personal visit over the coming weeks. For now, its handled.
I sit at the head of the table, but my eyes keep drifting to the empty chair on my right.Where the fuck is Kit?Just as the thought crosses my mind, he appears from the kitchen carrying a single plate. My brow furrows as he walks straight toward me and carefully sets it down in front of me.
A perfectly cooked seasoned rump steak rests in the centre, juicy and pink in the middle, surrounded by roasted vegetables glistening with herbs and a trio of small dipping sauces. It looks incredible.
“Thanks?” I say, assuming he’s just helping Lorraine bring everything out.
Kit leans down close, lips brushing my ear as he whispers, “You wanted to see my other skills. Now you know I can cook a good steak.”
My eyebrows shoot up. I look from the plate to him. “You cooked this?”
Kit nods, a small, almost shy smile tugging at his lips. “Just for you. Lorraine did pasta for everyone else.”
Before I can respond, Armen groans loudly from further down the table, staring at my plate with open jealousy. “But Kit, that looks fucking delicious…”
Kit straightens and says without missing a beat, “You get what you’re given, or you starve.”
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. That sharp little tongue of his is getting bolder every day.
Kit finally pulls out his chair and sits down on my right, exactly where he belongs. I cut into the steak and take the first bite. The flavour explodes across my tongue… perfectly seasoned, tender, and cooked exactly how I like it. A low, involuntary moan rumbles out of my chest before I can stop it.
Lorraine and the kitchen staff bring out the pasta for everyone else, plates steaming and fragrant. I barely notice; my attention is locked on Kit.
He’s eating, really eating, more than I’ve seen him manage in weeks. Fork after fork disappears steadily, and with every bite I feel something tight in my chest loosen. He’s putting on weight again. His cheeks aren’t quite as hollow. The colour is slowly returning to his skin. He looks… alive.
I must smile without realising it, because Kit glances up at me mid-bite and tilts his head. “What?”
I clear my throat and look away for half a second. “Nothing.”
The conversation around the table picks up again, the usual mix of banter and business. I nod absently at something Ray says, but I’m not really listening. I’m too busy watching Kit… this boy who keeps surprising me. So many hidden talents. So much quiet strength. He’s finally comfortable here, finally comfortable withme. He curls into my side at night like I’m some oversized teddy bear instead of the man who once terrified him. Yesterday he even invited himself into my shower without warning. I’d frozen like an idiot, water running down my back, staring at him until he started to look unsure. I’d pulled him in so fast he nearly slipped, pressing him against the tiles and showing himexactlyhow much I wanted him there.
He’s mine in every way that matters now. The thought hits me, sudden and unstoppable. My mouth moves before my brain catches up. “Marry me.”
The words fall into the middle of the table like a grenade. Everything stops… utensils clatter and all eyes snap to me. Selina’s mouth is open. Armen looks like he’s been hit in the face. Ray’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Kit slowly turns his head toward me, cheeks already flooding red. His lips part in shock.
I sit here, heart hammering, realising I just said it out loud in front of everyone.Fuck. I didn’t plan this; I didn’t even know I was going to say it. But now that the words are hanging in the air, I don’t want to take them back.
Kit
The entire table has gone dead silent. I can hear my own heartbeat hammering in my ears. My fork is frozen halfway to my mouth. Soren just… saidthat, out loud, in front of everyone.
Oh my god.Oh my god. Is this really happening right now? My brain is screaming so loud I’m surprised no one else can hear it. Part of me wants to bolt out of the room and hide under the nearest piece of furniture. The other part is staring at Soren like he’s the only real thing left in the universe.
We’re locked in some kind of staring contest. His usual cold, controlled mask is completely gone. There’s something raw and open in his eyes, almost vulnerable.It’s the softest, most honest thing I’ve ever seen on his face. My chest feels too tight.
None of it matters. Not the lack of a ring, not the absence of flowers or a beach or candles; none of that stupid stuff. What matters is him,us, and whether I can actually picture a future without him in it. And I can’t…
“Yes.”
The word slips out so quietly I’m not even sure he heard it at first. But I mean it… I love him. It’s bizarre and terrifying and somehow the truest thing I’ve ever felt. I wouldn’t trade his nighttime cuddles, his deep laugh, or even his grumpy possessiveness for anything in the world.
Soren’s eyes widen just a fraction, like he genuinely wasn’t expecting me to answer. My body moves before my brain catches up. I push my chair back, stand up, and climb straight onto his lap, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and burying my burning face against his shoulder.
Soren lets out a relieved, breathless laugh and squeezes me against him like he’s afraid I might disappear. “Fuck,” he mutters into my hair, voice rough with emotion.
