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“Ellie and Tori, my other sister, always tease me about my house. Don’t tell me you agree,” he said as he watched me take it all in.
I found myself actually smiling and holding up my hands. “I didn’t say anything. I just—” I trailed off as I tried to find the words. “It just kind of looks like you already have a woman’s touch here. It’s kind of nice. I am impressed, honestly.”
“I’ll take it. I’d like to take all the credit, but they added a few pieces of decor. And I’ve always liked clean, bright spaces. Growing up, we were pretty well off, and we always had to be perfect. Everything about us. This house was exactly what I wished our house was. It’s cozy. It’s not too perfect, you know?”
He disappeared into the bedroom to gather his things before walking off to the other and doing it all over again. I took the time to browse through the photos.
You can always tell a lot about a person from the photos on their walls. These weren’t just formal aesthetic photos.
They were candid shots.
Micah had gathered happy moments and put them on display. There was one of him and his niece, Micah lifting the baby into the air, mid-spin. The photo was a little blurry, but I kind of loved it.
There were some of the guys working on a house, leaning over a pile of boards and smiling at the camera.
Then there was him with a redhead and a blonde. Their features matched, and I recognized Ellie from the show, so I knew the two were his sisters.
People in his life were important to him, and it suddenly made sense why he was all in on this journey.
Lake was important enough that he wanted to be there for him. They all did. Maybe there was something to having a pack.
Even if I hated to admit it to myself, I craved that kind of attention again. I needed to feel seen.
Someone like Micah deserved the best. He deserved for someone to care about him as much as he cared about everyone in his life. I wanted to be worthy of that kind of appreciation. I wanted to open myself up again. I wanted to live.
Everett told me that he wanted me to move on, and I wanted to give it a shot. It was tiring being conflicted all the time, balancing guilt with hope.
Micah’s hand went to my lower back, and I jumped, relaxing again as his laughter filled the air. Just being around him made me want to soak in his brand of sunshine.
“That’s one of my favorite photos,” he said, tapping the one in my hand. I hadn’t even realized I was still holding it.
“We were having what we call family barbecues, something that my sister Ellie and her group of friends started. It’s always at Serenity’s parents’ house because they’ve got thisamazingbackyard. We were having a hot dog eating contest. As you can see, I lost gloriously. Shockingly enough, Serenity won.”
“She looks so tiny,” I said, taking in the girl doing the victory fist pump.
“One of my sister’s mates, Ezra, is her cousin, and they grew up together. He lost, and you can just see it in his face, can’t you?”
His laughter turned to a soft chuckle, and he shook his head, tapping to show me who was who.
“Of course, her mom had made this balloon hot dog crown to commemorate the win. They’re a crazy bunch, just wait until you meet them.”
He expected to keep me around long enough for family barbecues. I wasn’t sure how to handle that.
I didn’t know what to say, so I put the photo back on the table where I got it from. Micah snagged the two duffel bags he’d dropped on the floor and flashed me his perfect smile.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I agreed.
He tucked one of the bags under his arm so he could have a free hand. He offered his hand to me and I couldn’t find it in me to say no.
Not when he looked so hopeful.
I was quickly learning Micah was touchy and I didn’t hate it.
The fact he was so vastly different from Everett was the biggest factor. There was no way to compare. Usually, I was looking for him in everyone who came into my life.
This time, I couldn’t. None of them were the same. Drew was funny and calming, Riven was harsh and honest, Micah sweet and goofy, and Lake was Lake. He was my constant but I saw the same shadows in him that lived in me now.
