Gage keeps a respectable distance. Good man.
The security cameras I had installed alerted Slate to our arrival. He opens the door. We walk inside. Gage follows and goes on and on to his cousin about catching us in the act, his face filled with disgust. I set Ever on her feet, and we walk hand in hand through the house before lunch, and Arie’s brothers appear.
“I wish you weren’t thinking of renting the place out, but since you are, I hope a nice family lives here. We need more of them than all these students renting, you know?”
I do. Carlos was spot on when he told Ever she’s young with an old soul. Ever wants this house to experience the sounds of laughter, the pitter-patter of little feet, and family dinners with the tradition of holiday gatherings. That’s what she told me when we stayed up and cuddled in bed, talking about whatever came to our minds first.
“If you were to live here instead of at the rental with Gage, what would each room look like to you?”
We go from room to room, and she shares her vision with me. The master bedroom and bathroom are last.
“King-size wooden canopy bed. A dog bed at the foot of the bed and another one beneath the big picture window.”
“Wait.” I grasp her chin and tug her to me until her body is flush against mine. “I thought we agreed on one dog and not two.”
“Our golden will need a friend. She’ll be lonely.”
“Oh, so it’s a golden retriever you want, now, yeah? I thought our first dog would be a Rottweiler?” I can’t stand the idea of picking up dog shit or stepping in a pile, but I can’t say no to Ever when she came up with the bet and what the winner gets. Anything that puts a shine in her eyes I’ll readily agree to go along with.
“You said you wouldn’t refuse me.” Ever’s head is down, but her gaze is on me.
Attitude one minute. Shy the next. I like those sides of her. But her uncertainty? I don’t like it one bit.
“You’re right, beautiful. Two goldens it is. If the guys finish the house by mid-October.”
She claps and throws herself at me. Her arms wrap around my neck. I pick her up by the waist. Her legs come up. My little koala is wrapped around me tightly, like I’m a fucking tree branch.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She presses her mouth on mine. “You’re the best.”
Because of her. Ever brings out the best in me, and I aim to continue to be the best man for her, even if it costs me my life.
I now understand the reason Ever fell for Carlos. I now know without a doubt the reason Carlos ate that bullet for me. It wasn’t anything mind-bending, but it did fuck with my mind when the realization hit me.
Carlos capturing Ever’s heart and pushing me out of the way, eating that bullet, came down to one thing.
He was the best man possible.
That was who Carlos was in a nutshell.
He was a good guy through and through.
I’ll be the same for Ever.
I’ll be the best man.
The guy who takes a bullet to save the life of another without thought to his own.
34
BOBBY
“When we talked about you coming to Sunday brunch, I didn’t mean today. I meant in a month or so.”
I glance over at Ever. We’re a third of the way to Montgomery. She’s against the door with her arms crossed and has been like that since we left Dumas.
Slate drove down in his truck with Gage riding shotgun. They weren’t happy about taking separate rides when we’re going in the same direction, but I’ll be damned if I share mine and Ever’s space with another guy, including my best bud.
“Gage catching me with my pants down”—literally—“changed the timeline.” We’re at a stoplight. I reach for her and tug her over until our thighs rub. “Even if he hadn’t, you forked over your happiness for my time, and you gave up control of your life to me when you wanted to dominate me in the bedroom.” Fuck me, did she. I came so hard in her mouth, I couldn’t utter a single fuck or a string of fucks. My woman left me speechless.
