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Alden grabs my chin and presses his lips to mine in a fierce kiss. “I can’t wait to fuck you in this room. To make up for all those nights I was dying to and couldn’t.”
“I want you tonight. Let’s talk to them about the house then get out of here.”
He stands up, takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. When we step out into the hall, I let go of him. “I have to pee. I’ll be down in a second.”
He drops a kiss on my temple and bounds down the stairs. I hear Mom exclaim. “You all still come down those stairs like a herd of wildebeests.”
Will I say that to our kids someday? A little version of Alden stomping down the stairs is a beautiful thing to picture.
My mind hums while I use the bathroom and wash my hands. It’s been an eventful week. I’m engaged, and now we may end up buying my childhood home. It strikes me how well things are going. I have my own business that’s thriving, and so does Alden. I have friends and a sense of security. The man I’ve loved most of my life is going to be my husband. He’s also hot as hell and is going to fuck my brains out when we get home.
Life is good.
The hallway is dim, and I almost run into Oliver before I see him standing outside the door. “You scared me!” I breathe, and he chuckles.
He puts his arm around me in a hug. The smell of whiskey is thick around him. The sway of his body when he holds onto me—a bit too long now—gives away how drunk he is.
“Congratulations Ella. Alden is a lucky fucker.”
“Thank you.”
He lets go when I pull back, but stays standing in my path, staring at me. “I always thought we’d have a chance eventually. Once you saw Alden was trouble. Especially once that chick got pregnant.”
I take a big step back, putting space between us. “He didn’t get her pregnant. It wasn’t his. And we’ve only ever been friends.”
He nods, leaning against the wall on one palm. “We could’ve been more. I would’ve been good to you.”
“Oliver, you’re drunk, and emotions are high tonight. You don’t mean any of this. Breanna is right downstairs.”
“She isn’t you. Not nearly as good as you.” He leans over and whiskey scented breath hits my face with his words. “I love you too, you know.”
With that, he turns and walks into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
I’m stunned and need a minute to process what he said, but I don’t want to be here when he comes out. Instead, I retreat downstairs to find Alden.
“Took you long enough,” he says, smacking my ass playfully. “You want to ask them?”
Yes. Yes, more than anything, I want to focus on the future we’re building. Oliver shocked me. He hasn’t hit on me or done anything to show he was still interested since he asked me out in high school, and I turned him down. I thought all of that was long past, brushed off as a teenage crush.
He loves me? That’s drunk talk, right?
Oliver is a sweet, quiet guy, but there’s never been anything between us. The only love I have for him is as a friend, and as Alden’s family. There’s no point in telling Alden about it. The last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between him and his brother.
I’m going to write it off as a drunk mistake and I’m sure he’ll regret saying anything, if he even remembers.
Mom and Dad are thrilled with our suggestion, and the asking price they had given the realtor is within our budget. They promise to get her on the phone tomorrow, to keep the house from being listed publicly.
In a few months, it should be ours. Everything is happening so fast it makes my head spin, but I couldn’t be happier about the way things are falling together.
Alden and I are going to be married and raise our kids in the same place where we fell in love.
It’s perfect.
* * *
Moving day gifts us with warm, sunny weather. A gentle breeze brushes me through the window, and I yawn while I unpack then start sorting our kitchen stuff. Oliver, Milo and Smith were at our place at dawn to help us with the furniture. It’s been a long day, but there’s still so much to do.
Alden sticks his head in the door. “Take a break, El. The food is here.”
