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“Mom and Dad are meeting us at that new burger place.”
“What time?” I wince, unable to keep the worry from my voice. I was hoping we would have more time together after the market. Given Rachel is feeling better, I can show her the surprise I’ve been planning since I last spoke with Oliver.
Rachel purses her lips, giving me a look like she knows I have a secret. “Around eight, why?”
That gives us an hour. I don’t know if that will be enough time, but I don’t want this to wait until tomorrow. I waggle my eyebrows at her and lace my fingers with hers. “It’s a secret,” I say while tugging her to the car.
“A secret? What secret?”
I give her smile and open the door for her, watching as she slides next to Alex.
Rachel’s frown deepens when I shut the door and move to the front. “Lucas! What secret?”
“You’ll see,” I say in a sing-song tone. “Hunter, you remember where I told you to go, right?”
Hunter dead-pans and turns the key, starting the ignition while he says, “Yeah.” His face is serious and he doesn’t look the least bit excited. Maybe he’s thinking about all the gas he’s going to spend, or he’s hungry. Knowing Hunter, it’s most likely both, but I’m too excited to give him an apology about what we’re about to do.
Hunter drives slowly down the hill and onto the road, passing by houses and apartments while the sun continues to set. The sky is completely cast in reds, appearing like fire. Seth and Alex grumble in the back. Through the mirror, Rachel bites her bottom lip, kneading it, looking worried. But there’s no need to be worried. I know everyone is going to love this little surprise I have waiting.
The drive is ten minutes in total and I guide Hunter to pull onto a gravel road leading deeper into the woods. A two-story baby-blue house awaits us at the end. The yard has been neatly mowed. It’s smaller than the house we visited in April, but it’s big enough for the five of us. I made sure of it when I toured two weeks before. There’s even a small garden in the back, a place I imagine Rachel painting in, surrounded by flowers. She could even be gardening, planting herbs, picking strawberries.
Hunter parks the car and I bound out of it, opening the door for Rachel. She places her hand in mine tentatively. The last time I did something like this, it didn’t quite work out. This time it’s different. This time, I know the money I earned is for a good thing.
“Okay,” Seth says while pacing in front of the house, massaging his chin with his fingers. “What are we doing here?”
“Please, don’t tell me you published that story,” Alex groans, his shoulders slumping forward. “I thought we already discussed this.”
Hunter doesn’t say anything, but his eyes narrow on me, his jaw clenching. He looks like he’s about to grab me by the collar and shake me. Or punch me.
“Lucas,” Rachel says, her voice unusually soft. “Did you publish that story? The one on your parents?”
It’s getting hard to see everyone. The sun is nearly down and the trees cast darker shadows on everyone as they surround me, their confused looks looking eerie. I take out the keys from the back of my pocket and swing them around my index finger. “I did get published,” I say, hearing Seth’s loud groan.
“Fuck, really, Lucas?” Alex shouts.
“It’s not what you think,” I rush out. “It’s a different story, a different publisher. How about we talk about this inside, hmm?”
Without waiting for a reply, I lead the way to the front door, unlocking it quickly and holding the door open for everyone. Seth stalks inside, followed by Alex and Hunter. Rachel hovers near me, her brows pinch together in confusion.
“You have keys?” she whispers.
I smile in answer, my hand meeting her lower back. Gently, I push her into the foyer, where the bros wait, their arms crossed, their eyes demanding for answers. I switch on the light, their eyes wincing against the brightness. To the right of the foyer, a couch sits in an empty room, supposedly the living room. There’s a staircase leading up to the bedrooms—five in total with one bathroom. The left, is a small kitchen and another bathroom.
“So, what’s the deal, Lucas?” Seth asks, placing his hand on his hips. “Is this place ours now? Did you publish one of your other stories and make thousands of dollars and spend the money for us to move in together?”
I nod. “Yep, that’s exactly what happened.”
Seth’s mouth gapes while Alex and Hunter share a look.
“Which story?” Rachel asks.
I grab both her hands and hold them close to my heart, watching her eyes widen as I say, “The one about us.”
Rachel gasps and throws her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I knew you could do it.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Seth says, irritated. “You published a book about us?”
I’m barely listening to Seth. Rachel fills my view, my mind, my everything. I stroke the hair from her cheek, my thumb brushing the bottom of her lip tenderly.
