"Oh no," Mac said. "Jamie, no."
"Jamie, yes!" Jamie pushed past him into the apartment. "Good morning! I have organized this move into five phases with color-coded teams and estimated completion times. We will be done by 4 PM."
"It's an eight-minute drive to Rachel's apartment," Tyler said, walking in behind him. "How does that require five phases?"
"It doesn't," Mac said. "Jamie's overcomplicating things again."
"I'm not overcomplicating. I'm optimizing." Jamie spread the spreadsheet on the kitchen counter. "Phase One: Large furniture. Phase Two: Kitchen and bathroom. Phase Three: Books, this is the longest phase because Rachel has hundreds of romance novels. Phase Four: Clothes and personal items. Phase Five: Final walkthrough and cleaning Rachel's old apartment."
Mac looked at the spreadsheet. It had color-coding. Time estimates. Team assignments. Little checkboxes.
"This is excessive," Mac said.
"This is HELPFUL," Jamie corrected.
"No, this is Jamie having too much free time," Mac said, grabbing the spreadsheet. "Here's the actual plan: we load boxes, we move boxes, we unload boxes. Done."
"But the efficiency—"
"Will happen naturally without seventeen color codes." Mac handed the spreadsheet back. "But I appreciate the enthusiasm."
Luke bounced in carrying boxes Mac had left in the hallway. "I'm so excited! Moving day! Relationship milestone! This is huge!"
"It's carrying heavy things," Tyler said flatly.
"It's carrying heavy things for LOVE!" Luke dumped the boxes dramatically.
"Mac’s a love expert now?" Cole said, walking in with Ellie.
"How are you feeling?" Mac asked Ellie, pulling her into a quick hug.
"Better. Last night helped." Ellie squeezed him back. "And now I get to help you start your life with Rachel while my professional life is in limbo. Very therapeutic."
"We're grateful for the help," Rachel said, appearing from the bedroom in old jeans and a t-shirt, her hair in a messy bun.
Mac inhaled sharply. She looked beautiful.
His home. Their home now.
"You okay?" Rachel asked, noticing his stare.
"Yeah. Just realizing you're moving in today. Like, really moving in."
"Having second thoughts?" Rachel teased.
"Having fifth and sixth thoughts. All of them good." Mac crossed to her, kissing her quickly. "Ready to do this?"
"Ready to watch you and Cole try to move furniture while arguing about the best technique? Absolutely."
"We don't argue about technique—"
"You argued for twenty minutes last month about the right way to carry a couch," Rachel pointed out.
"That's because Cole was doing it wrong."
"I was doing it correctly," Cole said. "You were being stubborn."
"See?" Rachel grinned. "This is going to be entertaining."
