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I drew in a deep breath, getting ready to bare my soul to him. “Caiden, if we do this, I won’t survive the pain of you walking away,” I warned him.
“I’m not walking away from you, Ally. I promise. I went through hell and back overseas.” He shot me that perfect, cocky, Caiden smile that made my heart flutter in my chest. “You’re a walk in the park, baby.” He grabbed my hand from my lap and brought it up to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. “I can handle any shit you throw at me.”
Whatever I was going to say to him completely left my mind as he pulled into a driveway. A small, quaint, brick house sat in front of me. There was a good-sized yard, nothing too big or small—just perfect. Trees surrounded the property, giving it a secluded feel.
“Christian doesn’t know yet, and he’ll kick my ass when I tell him.” He shrugged. “But I bought this house a couple of days after what happened at Christian’s. I knew you wouldn’t ever be able to handle living in that house again. I tried to find something that you would love, something that suited you. It’s got top-of-the-line security, and I’ve set it up so that there’s an emergency button in every single room and hallway that will silently notify police as soon as you hit it that you need help.” Tears slid down my cheeks at his thoughtfulness. “I want you and my brother to live here with me, Ally. I bought this house for you—because of you.” He drew in a deep breath. “Please say yes, baby.”
“Oh, my God,” I choked out. I threw my arms around his neck, my body shaking as I cried. Caiden could be a real asshole, but it was times like this that I knew the man loved and cared deeply. “I can’t believe you did this,” I blubbered.
“I love you, Ally,” he rasped, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I jerked back to stare at him, my eyes wide in shock and disbelief. He really said that. “I think I fell for you the very first moment I laid my eyes on you,” he confessed. “I want you to feel safe and taken care of, and this is my first step to doing that. Please say you’ll stay here, baby. And if you completely hate it, I’ll figure out how to sell it and find something else.”
I sobbed as I reached up to cup his face in my hands. I couldn’t believe this man—this perfect man. “It’s beautiful. I’ll stay here.” I smiled at him, the first real smile I’d had in days, and he grinned at the sight. “But you have to tell Christian.”
He laughed. “Baby, as long as you keep smiling at me like this, I’ll go through absolute hell and high water with a fucking grin on my face.” He brushed his lips lightly with mine. “Besides, my brother will be a walk in the park.”
Christian dropped his fork to his plate, a look of disbelief passing over his features as he stared at his brother on the other side of me. “You did what?” he incredulously asked.
Julian snickered before he stuffed a bite of chicken into his mouth, ignoring the glare Christian shot his way for finding the situation amusing.
“I said I bought a house,” Caiden repeated. I swallowed nervously. Axel shook his head at me, his silent way of telling me that this wasn’t my fault and to let them hash this out.
“I thought we fucking talked about this, Caiden. We decided to go half and half, not for you to just up and buy a fucking house!” Christian exploded, making me jump in my chair. “What the absolute fuck, bro? Why can’t you just let me be a fucking adult for once and help with this kind of shit?!”
Caiden sighed and closed his eyes, placing his fork on his plate. He opened them again, staring over my head at Christian. “Because Christian, you’re my little brother. You’re still in school, still trying to build your career. I don’t want you dipping into your savings for this shit. I’ve got so much fucking money set aside that I don’t know what the hell to do with it. So, I bought a house with plenty of land for the three of us.”
“I can fucking help, Caiden!” Christian shouted at him. He jerked back from the table. “You always do this shit.” He glared at his brother as he stood up. “I get that you feel guilty for the shit that happened with our parents, for the shit that I went through, but I’m grown now. Stop treating me like a kid, and go to fucking therapy for all the shit you’re feeling.”
