C’s face lights up. “You deadass?”
“Fair is fair,” I say, handing it over like I’m presenting the crown jewels. “You called it. Said some woman was gonna snatch my ass off the streets and turn me into a househusband with a grocery list. Consider me officially locked down.”
“Shiiit.” He holds the comic with reverence. “This is beautiful. But what happened? I thought Lot left this morning.”
“She did. But I went after her. Got there before she boarded her flight.”
His brows shoot up to his fro. “Hold up. What?”
“I felt it, bro. Couldn’t let her go like that. So I drove my ass to O’Hare and jumped through hurdles to find her. I caught her at the gate, just in time.”
“Damn.” C leans back on the counter, watching me. “That’s movie type shit. What did you say?”
“I told her I loved her. That I wanted to be with her. Not just smash-and-dash. Not just ride it out while she was in town. I told her I wanted to go the distance.”
“And I’m taking it that Lot said yes.”
“She did.” I can’t help the grin stretching across my face. “Took a minute, though. You know Lot, she made me work for it. But I needed that. Needed to show her—and myself—that this wasn’t some spur-of-the-moment thing. That I meant every word.”
C chuckles, low and proud. “Look at you. A whole damn taken man.”
“You told me if I was willing to be honest, to do the work, and to protect her heart, we had a shot. And I took it. Got thatI love youback and a promise to give this our all.”
“You really put yourself out there.”
“Yeah, well… that wasn’t even the scariest part.” I take a long pull from the bottle. “Went to Docks this afternoon. Told Maurice.”
C nearly chokes on his beer.
“I had to do it right. Face the man who thinks I’m the worst possible choice for his daughter.”
He coughs, clearing his throat. “Major respect, bro. What’d he say?”
“Hit me with all the classics—my past, my mother, the stolen money, the body count…” I shrug. “But I stood on ten. I wasn’t there to ask permission. I was there to show him my heart. To give him a promise that I’ll do right by Lot.”
C watches me, like he’s seeing me differently. “So… did Maurice come around?”
“I’m still breathing. That’s a win.” I smirk. “But no, he’s not on board. He said he’d be watching. I can live with that.”
C tips his bottle toward mine again. “You’re really off the market.”
“Yep. None of those women can hold a candle to Lot. She’s not easy. She’ll keep me on my toes. Challenge me at every turn. But she’ll love me hard.”
“Yeah, she will.” He smiles. “You’re good for each other. Lex and I saw it the night you two were here. You move in sync, even when you were pretending not to. When I made that bet, I was half joking. But the minute Lot came back to town, I knew you were gone. Taking care of a cat, learning to cook… man, I had this grail locked.”
“I knew it too. Just had to catch up to it.”
C claps my shoulder. “Welcome to the domesticated club.”
“Thanks.” I laugh.
“So what’s next?” he asks.
“We figure out the long-distance. I’ll go to New York soon as I can, and we keep building.”
He nods. “Sounds good.” He pauses briefly, then hesitantly adds, “Hate to dip the mood, but I heard from Stiles.”
I tense up. “What did he find?”
