Page 243 of Romeo

I was taking a chance; there was no misunderstanding what those words meant.

Me: I’ll leave the porch light on.

Ma Belle: Good

I stared at the heart until the screen dimmed.

Fiona was still in Virginia.

I was still in Nebraska.

Nothing about that had changed tonight, but the distance between us felt different than it had months ago. Less like a wall and more like a road Fiona might eventually decide to travel.

Not because I expected her to abandon everyone she loved because I wanted her near me, and not because I planned to tell her where she belonged. Diamond Creek was my home because of the club, my brothers, and the life I’d built here. If Fiona ever made it hers too, I wanted that choice to belong completely to her.

Maybe checking Nebraska weather was nothing.

Maybe asking about my favorite places was nothing.

Maybe imagining a Christmas tree in some ridiculous house with two porches and too many books was still safely hypothetical.

I was getting less convinced by the day.

My phone buzzed again.

Ma Belle: Goodnight, Jasper.

Me: Goodnight, Ma Belle.

I was about to set it down when another message appeared.

Ma Belle: Don’t forget the real tree

I laughed.

Me: Never gonna hear the end of this, am I?

Ma Belle: Nope

Me: Fine. Real tree.

Ma Belle: Knew you’d see reason

I shook my head and finished my beer.

A giant kitchen. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Two porches. A light left burning for whoever was coming home. A real Christmas tree covered in mismatched ornaments collected over years.

None of it existed.

We hadn’t promised each other anything.

But for two people doing their damnedest not to call it planning, we were getting awfully fucking specific.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

King

Church had been in session for almost an hour, and we had accomplished exactly two things.