Out of the corner of my mouth, I said, “He thinks his rules are generous.”
“The point is you two will stop putting yourselves in danger,” Kieran declared like he was some sort of lawmaker.
Hazard went quiet, so maybe he was.
“What’s life rule number one?” I asked.
Kieran and Ghost made a rude sound as if it were obvious. “Touch him and die,” they both deadpanned.
Haz and I exchanged a look.
“So you two can get in trouble, but we can’t?” Haz asked.
“My guy,” Hiro said, putting his hand on the back of Kieran’s seat to turn around and look at us. “You can’t beintrouble if youarethe trouble.”
“Like I said, this is our life now,” Haz repeated.
“It’s better than anything I could have imagined,” I said, still staring at Hiro.
He winked.
EPILOGUE
Ghost
Three weeks after I handed over a fat check for our new place, we were finally able to move in. Sure, we could have moved in sooner, but I wanted to make sure the place was up to standard.
I expected it to be easier than it was, but the longer I was with Pip, the higher my standards got. I wanted him to have everything. Absolutely all of it.
“Are you sure the kids are happy with their new space? Harlod Jr. needs indirect sunlight. Too much will fry his delicate vines,” Rett asked nervously as we rode up in the elevator.
“He loves it. Told me himself.” I confirmed.
He squinted all suspicious-like. “What about Hercules and Spike?”
I wondered if there would ever come a time when I didn’t think he was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. “You can see for yourself in about five minutes.”
“It’s about time,” Rett murmured.
I laughed under my breath.Definitely not.
“It’s not funny, Hiro,” Rett lamented. “You’ve kept me out of that room since you bought the place. I’ve never even seen it!”
He loved the suspense, and he loved pretending he didn’t. Mm-hmm, I got his number.
“You like the rest of the place, though, don’t you? Been all over it.”
“Don’t tell Kieran this, but I think our place is even nicer than his.” He confirmed. “Plus, I’m not afraid to touch anything.”
I laughed. After Pip healed up from his head wound, I took him out shopping so we could decorate the place together. He was shy at first, walking around like a kid in a candy store but not saying a word. I’d point at something I’d see him staring at, and he’d shrug and say, “If you like it.”
Blasphemy.
The stuff he stared at most? Bookshelves.
I mean, I knew he was a little pipgeek, but in the last month we’d been living together, he’d read more books than I had in my entire life. No wonder he needed glasses. Those peepers be worn out.
I saw him scrolling some app with a bunch of webcomics on it and asked him which one he was reading. Apparently, he’d started like a hundred but only read so far because, after a certain chapter, you have to pay.
