14. Caius
CAIUS
Ryan stands on the church steps, arms crossed over his chest, the crisp lines of his groomsman suit somehow making him look even more intimidating.
Behind him, a small crowd has gathered, wedding guests peering out with varying degrees of scandalized curiosity and barely concealed delight.
Small towns live for this kind of drama.
I keep Hallie's hand locked in mine. If he wants to take another swing at me, fine. I've earned it. But I'm not letting her go.
"Ryan," I start, but he holds up a hand.
"Caius. Shut up." His jaw works like he's chewing gravel. "Hallie. Get your ass over here."
She stiffens beside me, and I feel her fingers tighten around mine. "Ryan, I?—"
"Now, Hal."
I expect her to bolt. To slip back into that people-pleasing mode where she apologizes for taking up space. Instead, she straightens her spine and lifts her chin. The same stubborn tilt I've seen her use when arguing about overdue library fines.
"No."
Ryan blinks. "What?"
"I said no." Her voice gains strength with each word. "I'm not twelve anymore, Ryan. You don't get to order me around. And you especially don't get to act like Caius did something wrong when the only thing he's guilty of is loving me."
My heart stops. Restarts like it's trying to break free.
"Loving you?" Ryan's gaze swings to me, sharp as a blade. "Is that true?"
I swallow hard. This is it. The moment I either lose my best friend or gain everything I've ever wanted. No more hiding. No more pretending I don't feel what I feel.
"Yeah." My voice comes out rough. "It's true. I love her. I've loved her for years, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I'm not sorry it happened."
The silence stretches thin enough to snap. A few guests whisper behind their hands. Someone's phone camera flashes.
Then Ryan's shoulders drop. He scrubs a hand over his face, and when he looks up again, the anger has drained out of him, replaced by something that looks suspiciously like resignation.
"You absolute idiots." He shakes his head. "You know how long Mom has been placing bets on when you two would finally get your heads out of your asses?"
Hallie gasps. "What?"
"Three years. She started a pool three years ago." He walks down the steps, stopping a few feet away. "The whole fake dating thing? We all knew it was bullshit. We were just waiting to see how long it would take you to figure out it was real."
"Wait." I'm still processing. "You knew?"
"Caius, you've been in love with my sister since high school.
You think I didn't notice? You fixed her car for free every week.
You showed up at her book club to 'borrow a novel' when you haven't read anything but auto manuals in a decade.
" He crosses his arms again, but there's no heat in it now.
"And Hallie, you've had heart-eyes for this grease monkey since you were old enough to know what heart-eyes were. "
Hallie makes a strangled, indignant sound that's somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. Her face flushes an even deeper shade of crimson, and I can feel her grip tighten on my hand. "I did not have heart-eyes! That's completely, Ryan, you're exaggerating!"
"You kept a framed photo of him on your desk all through college," Ryan says, his voice maddeningly calm and matter-of-fact. He's enjoying this way too much, the bastard. "Right next to your lamp. I saw it every time I visited your dorm."
"That was a group photo!" Hallie protests, her voice pitching higher with embarrassment. She releases my hand to gesture emphatically. "There were like seven people in it! It was from that Fourth of July barbecue, and everyone was there, you, Mom, Dad, the Hendersons from next door..."
"That you cropped everyone else out of." Ryan's mouth twitches toward a smile. "Look, I'm pissed you lied. I'm pissed Kyle got to be the one to blow up your cover. But I'm not pissed about this." He gestures between us. "You two belong together. Anyone with eyes can see it."
The knot in my body loosens. "So we're good?"
"Ask me again after I get a beer in me." He claps me on the shoulder, hard enough to sting. "But yeah. We're good. Just stop making my sister cry, or I will actually punch you again."
"Deal."
"Now get back in there." He jerks his thumb at the church. "You made Mom miss half the ceremony freaking out about where you went. She's going to hug you both to death, and I want to watch."
Hallie laughs, bright and watery, and wipes at her eyes. "We'll be right there. Just give us a minute?"
Ryan studies us, then nods. "One minute. Then I'm sending the bridesmaids out here to drag you back." He heads toward the church, pausing at the door. "Oh, and Caius? Welcome to the family, I guess. Try not to knock her up before the reception's over."
"Ryan!" Hallie shrieks, but he's already disappeared inside, his laughter echoing back.
The parking lot empties. The crowd disperses with disappointed murmurs, clearly hoping for more drama. Soon it's just us again, standing in the golden late-afternoon light, her hand still in mine.
She turns to me. "That went better than expected."
"Your brother threatened my ability to have children twice. I'm calling that a win."
"He likes you."
"He tolerates me because I can rebuild an engine blindfolded."
"He loves you." She steps closer, and my breath catches. "Almost as much as I do."
There it is again. Those three words that rewire my entire brain every time she says them.
"Hallie—"
"You didn't fight for me." Her voice drops, tinged with something raw and vulnerable. "When Kyle exposed us, you just walked away. You let Ryan think it was fake."
Guilt twists in my gut. "I was trying to protect you. I didn't want you to?—"
"I don't need protecting, Caius." She presses her palm flat over my racing heart. "I need you. All of you. The messy parts and the scared parts and the parts that think you're not good enough for me even though you're the best man I know."
"I'm not?—"
"Yes, you are." Her eyes blaze with certainty.
"You're kind and loyal and you remember how I take my coffee even though I've never told you.
You show up when people need you, and you never ask for anything in return.
You're everything, Caius. And I'm done pretending I don't need you like I need air. "
My hands find her waist, pulling her closer until there's no area between us. "I've loved you since you were twelve."
"What?"
"You were twelve. I was fifteen. You came to Sunday dinner with Ryan, and you had this book with you, some fantasy thing with a dragon on the cover.
You sat in the corner reading while the rest of us played video games, and when I asked what you were reading, you lit up like Christmas.
Talked for twenty minutes straight about magic systems and world-building and character arcs.
You were so smart and passionate and completely yourself.
" I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "I knew right then I was screwed."
Her breath hitches. "Caius?—"
"I didn't think I was allowed to have you.
" The confession rips out of me, years of buried longing spilling free.
"You were Ryan's little sister. You were too good, too smart, too everything.
I was just the mechanic's kid from the wrong side of town.
Your family took me in, fed me, treated me like I mattered.
How could I betray that by wanting you?"
"You're not betraying anyone." She cups my face, forcing me to meet her eyes. "I'm not a prize you're stealing, Caius. I'm your partner. Your equal. And I choose you. I choose this."
"Hal—"
She kisses me. Hard and desperate and claiming, like she's pouring every unspoken word into it. I kiss her back with everything I've been holding in for years, all the longing and fear and desperate hope.
When we finally break apart, we're both trembling like leaves in a storm, breaths coming in ragged gasps.
"Take me home," she whispers against my lips, voice rough and desperate. "Your home. Right now."
My brain completely short-circuits, every coherent thought scattering like dropped bolts on a garage floor.
"What about the reception?" I manage, trying to grab onto something rational even as my hands stay locked on her waist like I'll die if I let go.
"Your sister, Madison will notice if you disappear.
The toasts, the cake cutting, all that... "
"Can wait." Her fingers curl into my shirt. "I've been waiting half my life for you, Caius O'Connor. I'm done waiting."
I don't need to be told twice.
The drive to my place takes seven minutes. I make it in four.
Hallie's hand stays on my thigh the entire time, fingers tracing absent patterns that make it nearly impossible to focus on the road.
The sunset paints everything gold and amber, light spilling through the windshield and catching in her hair, turning her into something out of a dream I've had a thousand times but never thought I'd actually get to live.
"You're staring," she says without looking at me.
"Can't help it." I take the turn onto my property, tires crunching on gravel. "You're beautiful."
"I'm in a bridesmaid dress covered in your ex-girlfriend's choice of seafoam green tulle."
"Still beautiful."
She laughs, and the sound fills the cab of the truck, warm and genuine and completely Hallie. "You're biased."
"Damn right I am."
The barn comes into view, weathered red paint glowing in the dying light. I park in front of the garage, engine ticking as it cools. For a second we just sit there, what's about to happen settling over us like a blanket.
Then Hallie reaches for the door handle, and I'm moving.
I'm out of the truck and around to her side before she can step down, hands on her waist, lifting her onto the hood. She gasps, fingers gripping my shoulders for balance.
"Caius, what?—"
"I've wanted you here." The words come out low, rough. "On this truck. In this garage. In my space where I can't pretend you're just Ryan's little sister or the girl I'm not allowed to touch."