Chapter 34 – Cain
Four Months Later…
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“Boobies,” Eden says.
I raise a brow at my girlfriend’s sister who’s grinning at me from across our newly refurbished dining room table.
The chips have been sanded smooth thanks to Gabriel’s handiwork and Eden’s relentless eye for detail, but the table still wobbles if you lean both elbows on it, creaking whenever a cold draft sneaks through the windows.
The mismatched green and brown velvet chairs surrounding it add a kind of imperfect charm to the dining room.
It’s nothing like my old penthouse in Manhattan: all sleek lines, stainless steel, and silence. It’s better.
This place has warmth, noise, and the faint smell of Rhiannon’s casserole clinging to the air. The chill outside seeps in just enough to make the whole house feel lived-in. The way that a home should.
“Is ‘boobies’ even a word, or is that slang?”
“Slang counts in Scrabble,” Rosie interjects.
“Who let the lawyer join us this round?”
My sister smiles, stretching her legs out before leaning back in her chair. “I’m only here for another hour, then I need to get back across the lake to work on my home. There’s so much to do to make that place livable.”
“I thought it was only supposed to be a weekend place?”
She waves a hand dismissively, but ever since Rosie bought her place in Brookhaven, she’s been spending more time here than in the city and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it.
She seems more relaxed during her weekends spent in Brookhaven. And she’s bonded with Rhiannon, Eden and Natasha too, which I know she’s been craving for years. It’s given her friendship I’m not sure she even realized she needed.
It’s not easy to make, let alone keep, real friends in our line of work. And with Dad riding her harder since I started cutting back on cases to spend more time with Rhiannon, I know the pressure’s been on her to make partner.
But out here, I can see the difference in her, the way her shoulders finally drop, her laugh comes easier, she dresses less formally, even her smile doesn’t look so rehearsed away from the city lights.
“Gabriel said he can help you with any renovations,” Eden adds with a smile, tucking a lock of auburn hair behind her ear.
“I’ll also need a project next semester for one of my design classes—if you have something simple that you think I can handle.
My boyfriend Dexter’s an architect so he can help too. ”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Rosie says eagerly. “Let me see what room would make the most sense. I’d rather not bother Gabriel; I know he’s swamped.”
Lately, Gabriel’s been putting in longer hours with his construction crew in the city, chasing a promotion he’s been after for months. I know that Rhiannon worries about the commute and the toll that the work takes on his body, but he seems to be managing fine.
The downside is that the more time he spends on-site, the less he has for the family’s thrift store, which means Rhiannon, Eden, and Natasha have been putting in extra hours keeping the place afloat.
And though I know I could easily step in, offer up some equity to get them ahead, Rhiannon’s been adamant that this is something they want to handle on their own and their parents wouldn’t want any outside help.
Rosie lays down the word crabs on her turn.
“Crabs? Is this my girlfriend’s sex education version of Scrabble?”
“I think every game she owns is tied into sex somehow,” Eden adds with a laugh.
I shake my head and smile, staring at the useless tiles propped up in front of me. Nothing good. I already know one of them is going to win.
“Cat,” I sigh, placing the tiles on the board.
Eden snorts. “That could work.”
Rosie giggles, and before I can respond, the front door to our home opens and Rhiannon’s sweet voice calls out to me.
It doesn’t matter how many times I hear her come through our door it’ll never get old knowing that this is our home.
That we live together. That I get to come home to her.
That we get to spend slow weekend mornings in bed, cuddled under the covers and only leave for food or to spend time with our families.
I never thought this would become the important work for me, but damn, I’m glad it has.
“Hey, babe. We’re in here!” I call back.
A few seconds later, her soft arms wrap tightly around my neck from behind, pulling me in for a hug.
“Hi, baby,” I murmur.
She smells good, like the spring dew that’s currently covering Brookhaven and those air fresheners she keeps at her family’s thrift store down the street where she was just working on inventory.
Rhiannon plants a kiss on the side of my head, but when she moves to step away, I grab her wrist and pull her into my lap, kissing her harder the second time.
“I wasn’t done with you.”
“Gross,” Eden groans.
“You’re an adult; you can handle it,” I shoot back, still holding her sister tightly against my chest on my lap.
Eden laughs. “I’m just relieved you weren’t a solar panel salesman. If you had been, I don’t think Rhiannon would’ve agreed to date you despite how obsessed she is with you.”
“You’re obsessed with me?” I tease my girl, brushing a strand of her dark brown hair from her cheek. Her hazel eyes roll but she doesn’t deny it. The truth is we’ve been obsessed with each other since buying this house and moving in together. And neither of us would want it any other way.
She pushes off my lap and moves to the kitchen. “I made crockpot chicken and rice for dinner tonight. Are you staying, Eden?”
“My alternative is whatever Gabriel threw together next door? Um, obviously I’m staying.”
“Hey, I heard that,” Gabriel says as he strolls into the house with Leo, his trademark grin in place. “I picked Leo up on the way out of the city.”
Gabriel’s still in his construction gear, which tells me he came straight from work, something he’s been doing a lot lately since his sister and I moved next door.
“Oh my god, Leo!” Rhiannon screeches, running to her best friend whose blue eyes are shining. They hug, and when she pulls back, she wraps her brother in a hug next. “You came for dinner too?”
“Of course. Wouldn’t miss it.”
She arches a brow. “It’s just chicken and rice. Hardly anything special. It isn’t even organic chicken,” she shoots a wink to Eden, who rolls her eyes again. “Are you all unable to fend for yourself since I moved out?”
“We’re struggling,” Eden jokes.
Leo puts his hand up in surrender. “I just came to bring you an early birthday gift.” He holds out a bag that Rhiannon opens immediately.
Inside are tickets to see a live band playing in the city next month plus a framed photo of them from one year ago when they were together in Bryant Park the night that we first met.
She hugs him tighter. “This is amazing. Thank you.”
“I think I gave her a better souvenir that night.”
Leo chuckles. “Your dick doesn’t count.”
“He’s right, the lucky boxers were the best souvenir,” Rhiannon says with a wink to me while Gabriel groans.
“Guys, please stop.”
I chuckle. “Well, I’m planning on topping everyone’s gifts this year.”
Standing, I join Rhiannon in the living room of our new-to-us home. It’s still being furnished, with items mostly from the thrift store that have been refurbished by Gabriel and Eden, but it felt like home to me the moment that we got the keys. The first one that I’ve ever lived in.
Moving to Brookhaven and leaving my penthouse in Manhattan behind was never a sacrifice. It was an easy choice. For her, I’d give up everything without a second thought and I have in so many ways.
I’ve cut back on my billable hours, passed on new cases that would only pad the firm’s bottom line, and finally started focusing on what actually matters to me. Rhiannon and our friends and family.
What started as a crush and the kind of early love that keeps you up at night has shifted into something deeper. It’s quickly become about devotion, commitment, a future I don’t want to wait for.
And okay, maybe it really sank in the day she tried to give back my so-called lucky boxers. I told her to keep them. Because they were never about luck or winning cases. They were about the night I met her. That was the real luck.
My dad’s noticed my shift in focus these last few months too, but he hasn’t said a word since meeting Rhiannon over dinner in December. Even he—cold, ruthless, unbending—saw the way she lit up my life and changed my focus for the better, and the way I light up around her.
I’m still damn good at my job, even half-distracted. But now, it’s time to show her just how much she means to me. How much better she’s made my life.
“What’s going on?” she asks, confusion flickering across her face.
I take a deep breath, stepping closer until I’m holding her hand.
“I’ve loved you since that chance moment I met you in Bryant Park.
And every moment since then has only deepened those feelings for you.
I adore your sass, the way you care for everyone around you, how you call me on my shit, and, most of all, how unapologetically you are you.
You’ve always said that I make you feel safe.
That I’ve helped you to forgive yourself for the things that you weren’t able to control, to gain new perspective, but you’ve done all that and more for me too.
You gave me a new vantage point, a reason to leave the office on time, and a home to come back to.
You’ve given me family and purpose. You’ve made me better, Rhiannon, in every way.
Now I don’t just want you in my life—I need you. Forever.”
Her lips twist into a smile.
“So, Rhiannon Lynn Carpenter, I’m crazy about you.
When you left your best friend’s apartment after our first night together, I was gutted.
I didn’t know how to say it then, but I wanted so much more than just one night.
I wanted breakfasts with you, dinners with your family, conversations about ridiculous music videos where you mop a Chevy truck with your long brown hair that gets all over my clothing, and wraps around my nut sack when you wash my boxers with your things. ..”
She laughs. “You love that I do your laundry for you now.”
I nod. “I do. And the surprise of a hair tourniquet around my dick is a nice way to wake up, too.”
She snorts, and I take a deep breath before looking at Rosie, Leo, Gabriel and Eden, their smiles are wide as they all nod, giving their silent approvals.
“Despite having an elaborate engagement originally planned, I scrapped it all when I thought about what you’d want.
And what you’d want is family to be included.
For a long time, family didn’t mean that much to me.
Rosie was my sister who I’d do anything for, but we were separated for most of our life by my father pitting us against each other, and an age gap I could never cross.
Meeting you has helped me become closer with her too, and I’m grateful for that.
But loving you has given me so much more.
Your siblings now feel like mine and you’ve shown me that it’s possible to have a place that feels like home.
To have traditions, memories, love, and safety.
So…” I take another deep breath. “Will you marry me? Because I love you and I don’t want another day to go by without you being my wife. ”
She nods, a smile filling her pretty face. “Yes. Yes, I will! I love you too.” She yanks me to my feet, and we kiss.
“Aye!” Eden shouts as the pop of a champagne cork echoes through the house.
I kiss Rhiannon, trying to pour all my love and promises into that single moment so that she can see, I meant every word I said, and I always will.
“To new beginnings!” Rosie shouts.
“Where you two live next doors to us forever!” Eden adds in.
I laugh, shaking my head as Gabriel hugs us both.
I used to measure success in billable hours and how much I made my dad’s firm. I thought once I made partner, I’d be satisfied. But that didn’t work so I spent more time in the office.
If I hadn’t left that night for food, if I hadn’t run into Rhiannon, I may still be searching for something to make me feel whole.
A year ago, I never imagined living next to my in-laws or finding this kind of happiness. I didn’t know it was possible. But this? This is exactly where I’m meant to be.
And I’ve never been happier.