"Hey, Brick, right?" I huffed in annoyance before he tightened his grip on my shoulder.
"I'm just kidding," Simon laughed. Although I could tell it was the fake kind he used during forced small talk.
"Brian." My boyfriend acknowledged, holding his hand out for him to shake.
"I wanted to thank you for letting me borrow your clothes and apologize for being a dick that night."
I smiled, squeezing Simon's hand in approval at his apology. My man had come a long way.
Brian held his hands up. "No apology necessary, man. I'm just glad you got home safe."
"Yeah, well, Sof made sure I waswelltaken care of." His voice hid an undertone of thick innuendo that was hard to miss. I rolled my eyes at his flex.
Well, I couldn't expect him to change overnight completely.
Brian took another gulp of his beer, his lips twitching. "Listen, I'm gonna say hi to Ryan. Maybe I'll catch you later?"
Before I could respond, Simon chimed in. "Sounds good, Brian. We would love to catch up properly. Sof and I will do the rounds and then meet up for a drink?"
His tone was light but laced with warning. It was a bit heavy-handed, considering I already went over with Simon the nature of my arrangement with Brian—multiple times.
After Brian took leave, I jabbed Simon in the ribs. "It would've been less obvious if you'd just peed on me."
His warm breath tickled my ear as he laughed and held me closer. "Baby, if you're into water sports, you shoulda said. I'm game. But let me switch to water so I don't soak you in - oof!"
He bent over in laughter as my elbow dug harder into his stomach.
As the year flew by, Thanksgiving arrived, swiftly followed by Christmas. I brought mom with me to Simon's parent's house since the following Christmas; I planned on spending the holiday in Trenton once mom was settled.
Simon suggested doing Thanksgiving with his parents and Christmas with mom, alternating yearly. The fact that he was planning so far ahead made me giddy with excitement.
My trip with Gail to The Met was a roaring success. Simon even crashed the trip on our last day in New York, confessing that he missed me too much to wait.
Sadly, Francine's husband passed away in April. Ray helped execute his will and assisted Francine in settling their estate. He was an absolute godsend and pivotal in easing Francine's load, so she could concentrate on grieving.
Surprisingly, her son stepped up and urged his mom to sell the house and move in with him and his family. She wasn't ready yet to leave but was thrilled she had options for the future.
Meanwhile, Simon and I were more than happy to keep Francine company. We had dinner with her a few nights a week, and she even taught me how to make her delicious Snickerdoodle cookies.
Mom finally put our childhood house on the market and just as quickly had a cash offer. I was secretly hoping for a long process, not quite ready to let go, so I was pretty shocked and upset at how fast it happened. Luckily, Simon knew just how to comfort me.
"We could move to Trenton?" Simon suggested as we cuddled on his couch.
I jerked in surprise, lifting my gaze to his to gauge how serious he was. He stared back at me, unflinching, his eyes filled with love that I wondered how I didn't guess his feelings sooner.
"You're serious, aren't you?"
He bent to place a quick, chaste kiss on my upturned mouth. "Of course. I love you, baby. My home is wherever you want to be."
Tears filled my eyes at his words, and my response caught in my throat as a wave of love washed over me.
"I love your mom," he continued, "so it's no hardship. I have contacts who can put feelers out for a job. I get headhunted all the time," he confessed with the kind of cool arrogance I was used to.
I grabbed the hand he had around my shoulder and planted a grateful kiss on his knuckles. "Thank you," I murmured, smiling brightly up at him. "But I'm happy here. With you. I love my job. I love New Haven and Helensville. Mom's right; it's time to start my own life. Trenton's right for her but not for me."
"Phew!" He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. "Because I can't stand the Jersey accent," he joked.
SIMON
