Theo
I t had been two months since the fire. Two of the best months of my life.
Brynne was officially mine— publicly mine.
Scout and I finally hurdled past whatever emotional barriers we both had, though there were days we still struggled.
Renovations on the lighthouse were going to restart after the winter passed, and I finally hired someone to start working on remodeling the house.
The first remodel, though, was the most important.
Sean was arrested, and was waiting a trail. It meant he was still out on the streets, but I’d hired security from the same company Mason’s bodyguard was from. Even if Brynne told me it was a ridiculous waste of money and a total exaggeration, I felt better knowing my girls were protected and safe.
“What is it?” Scout asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. I kept my palms pressed lightly over her eyes as Brynne shoved the door open. “Can I look?”
“Hold on,” I laughed, watching as Mason and Brynne put the last touches on the room—bathing it in a red light and adjusting the guitar on the wall. Brynne nodded my way, a broad smile spreading across her face. “Ready?”
“Yes!” She tugged on my wrist, and I let it fall away. When she said nothing, I peered around her, finding her eyes massive and a flush on her cheeks. “What is this?”
“Your new studio,” I said, waving at the room.
Gently, I rested my hand on her back, guiding her toward it.
Mason stood against the back wall, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.
Scout still wasn’t used to having him around, but she was getting better about not freaking out every minute she was with him.
“Everything is in here—guitars, keyboards, electric drums, a mixer. Whatever you’re missing, I’ll get.
But you should have everything to make your own music. ”
“ What ?”
She stood in the middle of the room, looking at everything. Her mouth hung open slightly, and she shook her head. “I don’t know how to use any of this.”
“I’ll teach you,” Mason offered quietly. “It’s easy once you get the hang of it. And if you get stuck, Brynne knows how to use most of it, but if she doesn’t, just FaceTime me and I’ll help.”
“FaceTime you,” she repeated absently, and I let out a breathy chuckle. Brynne slid to my side, and rested her head against my shoulder.
“So?” I asked, watching Scout take it all in.
“So…this is insane,” Scout said softly. “Insane.”
“Try it all out,” I told her, waving around the room. For a moment, she just stood there, but then an excited giggle erupted from her, and she ran straight for the guitar. Mason helped take it off the wall for her, then she slung it across her chest and sank into one of the floor pillows.
“This was very cool of you,” Brynne murmured. “She’s going to take Mason’s job pretty soon.”
“If that’s what she wants.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, tugging her into my side. Gently, I pressed my lips to the top of my head. “I have something for you.”
“For me?” She pulled away, shifting her eyes between mine.
“We’ll be right back,” I said, and Scout nodded, already lost in a song.
Brynne followed me into the theater room down the hallway, and I shut the door behind us. She let out a nervous laugh.
“Is this a joke? You say you have a present f or me, then take your dick out?”
My head fell back as I laughed. “No.” I eyed her. “Would that work?”
“I mean, I’d prefer it if you had a little more finesse, but…”
I chuckled again. “The last couple months with you have been amazing,” I said softly, reaching into my pocket. “Scout has loved the necklace you gave her. You know she wears it every day, and I think it’s really helped her anxiety. But—” I pulled out the velvet box. “You’ve been missing one, too.”
Her hand shook as she reached for the box, eyes flicking between me and it. Slowly, she opened it, a gasp tumbling from her lips as she stared at the shiny diamond.
“This is too much, Theo,” she whispered as she nudged the large diamond with her fingertip. “It’s bigger than my last?—”
“And?” I gently took the necklace from the case.
“It’s as close to that one as I could find, but you deserve a bigger diamond.
You deserve a million diamonds, but I thought you’d yell at me for something so outrageously ostentatious again.
” My lips twitched as she rolled her eyes.
“I still can’t believe you have that car. ”
“But I got a new one—an SUV, thank you.”
I rounded her, and she gathered her hair off her neck. “Still ridiculously expensive.”
“You weren’t complaining the other night when we learned how big the backseat was,” I murmured, dragging my lips across her neck.
Goosebumps rippled across her skin, and I grinned as I draped the delicate gold chain around her neck.
I pressed a kiss to the clasp after I closed it, the scent of her shampoo filling my nose as she dropped her hair to press her hand over it. “One more thing.”
“You’re spoiling me,” she muttered, and I flashed her a grin as I moved to her front. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pressed her body to mine.
“You deserve to be spoiled.”
“This is—” She pinched the large diamond between her fingers. “It’s too much. I don’t need anything else.”
The metal was warm against my palm as I wrapped my hand around it in my pocket. I’d had it in my pocket for weeks, waiting for the right time to give it to her. I didn’t know if now was that time, but I was too impatient to wait another moment.
Holding my hand out, I unfurled my fingers. Her brows twitched in confusion, then understanding filled her face.
“Are you serious?” she breathed, grabbing the key from my palm.
“Move in with us,” I whispered. Her chest filled with a breath as she stared at it. “I already talked to Scout, and she’s totally on board with it. She wants you here as badly as I do.”
Her throat bobbed. “Really?”
“Really.” I kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then her lips. She melted into me, her body going weightless as I gathered her against me. “Move in.”
She let out another laugh—this one full of disbelief. I held my breath as she stared at the key, her other hand resting over the diamond at the base of her throat.
Finally, she lifted her eyes to mine. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll move in.”
I hugged her to my chest as I kissed her again—deeper, harder . For a moment, nothing was real. The warmth, the happiness, spreading through my chest was almost foreign. I never thought I’d feel like this—not just happy, but content. At peace.
A year ago, if you would’ve told me this was where I’d be, I would’ve never believed you. I truly always thought I never wanted a family of my own, but now that I had it, I knew I’d keep a white-knuckled grip on it, on them .
My girls made my life perfect—they filled it with things I didn’t know were even missing. Life in the city had been fun, it had been everything I’d wanted at the time.
But now…
Now I couldn’t imagine my life without them.
My girls.
“Dad!” Scout called, and a smile spread across my face. I still wasn’t used to that. “Come here!”
I laughed softly as Brynne kissed my cheek. With my arm around her, we headed into the studio, sank onto floor pillows, and listened to my daughter make something beautiful.