Page 102 of You Saw the Best In Me

I am hers, and she is mine.

KARINA

Settling into our new normal has been surprisingly easy. Harper, Maverick, and I get along perfectly, even through her teenage attitudes, and we’ve gotten into a routine.

Harper still sleeps in my old apartment and spends the evenings with us.

It’s not an ideal situation, but it works for us. Soon, the sale of Grams’ house will go through, and once Mav sells the lot to Hunter and Adam, we’ll be free to find our own house.

Even though he hasn’t formally asked me, I know I’ll be going wherever they do.

It’s unspoken, but also lovely to have that sense of romanticism in our relationship.

Maverick is a huge grump; he can’t stand to socialize or make friends, but he’s nothing of the sort with me.

When I filled Reilly in on our super sweet date night, her jaw was permanently stuck to the floor. She couldn’t believe my handsome yet grumpy boyfriend could be romantic.

That was the only actual date I’ve been on, and it was magical. Absolutely phenomenal.

He took me home, and after we checked on Harper and gave her the cake, he whisked me away to our bedroom. We role-played a first date scenario, where I said things like, “I never do this,” and he swore he doesn’t sleep around.

It was silly, light-hearted, and most of all, it was fucking hot.

Maverick and I are electric together in bed, but our priority is and always be, ensuring we’re connected on deeper levels. His emotions are my concern, and if there’s one thing we do well, it’s communicate.

Maverick’s a softy, and I love everything about his tender side. It’s almost as if he’s been hiding it all these years, and our soul connection brought it out of him.

I’m a sucker for long conversations, trauma dumping, and building that bond with the people I care about. That’s the best thing about our relationship, we bring these incredible, vulnerable, and emotionally intelligent qualities out in each other.

We always vow to see the best in one another, and we’re stronger because of that.

Tonight, I’m closing up the salon with Reilly. We’re blasting the music and dancing around, enjoying the monotonous clean-up.

“Alright, bitch, I’m out of here. Need anything else?” Reilly asks, grabbing her stuff from the back room.

“No, thanks for staying. I’ll see you tomorrow, Reills,” I smile, hugging her before she goes.

I’m a few minutes behind her, and I decide to call Maverick while locking up and turning off the lights.

There are a few missed calls and voicemails on my notification screen, but I bypass them all, dying to talk to my man.

“Hi, baby girl. How was your shift?” he answers immediately, and I’m instantly smiling.

“I closed with my girl, so it was fun. I should be home in a half hour or so. I have to make a quick stop,” I say, locking the front door and heading toward my car.

“Okay. I miss you, and I love you. Get home safe,” he tells me, and I say I’ll see him soon.

This is my third closing shift in the last week, signaling that the rumors may be true. Alivia is usually a stickler for her routines, but we’ve barely seen her lately. This salon may be shutting its doors after all.

I glance at fiery sunset, admiring the orange and yellow colors dusted across the sky. Fall is finally upon us, and the leaves are changing colors.

My favorite time of year.

The flannels are coming out, my pumpkin spice coffee creamer is back in stores, and I’m dragging Harper and Mav to a pumpkin patch with a hayride this weekend. It doesn’t get better than the autumn season.

I unlock my car and slide in, tossing my purse and sweatshirt onto the passenger seat.

I start the car, lock my doors, and get the radio set when I hear a noise from my back seat.