I smack his chest lightly, but I’m smiling. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Probably.” He brushes some loose curls from my face. “But I’m your ridiculous. You’re stuck with me.”
“I know.” I take a shaky breath. “Okay. Fine. You can buy the furniture.”
“Was there ever any doubt?”
“I like to pretend I have some say in things.”
He grins, and it transforms his whole face. Still grumpy, still scarred, but lighter somehow. Happier than I’ve ever seen him.
“You have say in everything,” he tells me. “Except when it comes to me taking care of you. That’s non-negotiable.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m too happy to really argue. “What about the lease? I can’t just abandon the apartment.”
“Ronan will handle it. There’s a clause for fated mates. The clan has agreements with most landlords in town.”
“Of course there is.” I shake my head. “Shifters think of everything.”
“We’ve had a long time to figure out the logistics.” He stands, pulling me with him. “Now come on. Let’s finish packing so we can get out of here.”
It doesn’t take long. My whole life fits into four boxes and two suitcases. Clothes, books, a few kitchen items I want to keep. Everything else I leave behind. The sagging couch. The folding table. The memories of lonely nights and empty walls.
I don’t need any of it anymore.
When we carry the last box down to the truck, I pause at the bottom of the stairs and look back up at the building one more time.
“Any regrets?” Tolin asks.
“No.” I mean it. “That place was never home. Just a stop along the way.”
“Where’s home now?”
I turn to face him, this grumpy, impossible, wonderful man who turned my life upside down in the best possible way.
“Wherever you are,” I tell him. “That’s home.”
He kisses me right there in the parking lot, soft and sweet.
“Let’s go,” he says when he pulls back. “Tomorrow we’re going furniture shopping. And you’re getting that damn green chair if I have to buy the whole store.”
I laugh, climb into the truck, and don’t look back.
24
TOLIN
The morning sun is bright against the snow as we drive into town, and Imani is practically bouncing in her seat beside me. The warmth of her excitement seeps into me, and I feel myself relax.
She’s happy. My mate is happy, and I’m the one who gets to make her happier.
We pass Stanley’s Diner on the way, and I notice the hiring sign that’s been in the window for months is finally gone.
“Looks like they finally found someone,” I say, nodding toward the diner.
Imani glances over. “Finally. That sign’s been up since I moved here.”
“Place is a fated mate magnet.” I shake my head. “Three couples in the last two years alone. Something in the coffee, maybe.”
