Chapter 32
Days later, Brooklyn texted that the apartment was finally ready for me to move into. During the deep clean, they’d found a leaky sink pipe, and it needed fixing, so there had been a delay. With the help of Cozy, Roman, and Virgil, I moved into the apartment above the bakery. Not that Savage and I had a lot of belongings, but Roman and Virgil refused to let me lift anything.
“They’re just clothes,” I protested as the two of them unloaded the back of my SUV that had gotten a new battery, courtesy of a club prospect.
“Doesn’t matter,” Virgil said. “We’re gentlemen.”
“Yeah, even if you had a couch, Virgil and I would take care of it.”
“We need to have a party for you,” Virgil said.
“A housewarming party?”
“That and we need to celebrate you getting your license,” Roman said.
“I don’t need a party,” I insisted.
“You’re getting a party. Roman, Homer, Jazz, Brielle, and I all got a party when we passed,” Virgil explained.
“Yeah, but I’m not part of your family.”
“Yes, you are,” Roman said. “Cozy, get the door, will ya?”
“Sure,” she said.
I stopped walking and stared after the three of them.
“What?” Virgil asked. “Are you okay?”
I promptly burst into tears.
“Oh man,” Virgil muttered. “Not again.”
“Come on, you little hormone stew,” Cozy said, marching over and wrapping an arm around me. “Let’s get you settled.”
Two hours later, my fridge was stocked, the clothes were put away, and the four of us were chowing down on pizza.
Jazz and Brielle came up to see the apartment on their breaks.
“Brooklyn asked me to give you a rundown of the security system,” Jazz said, grabbing a second slice of pizza. “So I’ll come up after work. Sound good?”
I nodded.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay the night with you?” Cozy asked. “First night in a new place, you know?”
She looked at me, her face wreathed with concern. I knew her offer wasn’t completely altruistic—she wanted to stay with me, so she didn’t cave and invite Roman to spend the night with her. Cozy still hadn’t told Roman about her past and how she wanted to shape her future.
But I wasn’t going to be her scapegoat.
“No, I think it’ll be good to be here by myself.” I looked around. “Bond with the place, you know?”
“Your sourdough starters are liking their new home,” Brielle said. “They’ve doubled in the last hour.”
“Fantastic,” I said. “I’ll come down and tend to them. The dough should rise overnight.”
“I worship at your sourdough alter,” Brielle said. “I’m hopeless when it comes to making bread. I’m not allowed. Every loaf comes out like a doorstop.”
“You have other talents,” Jazz teased.
“I do, indeed,” Brielle quipped with a waggle of her brows.
“Brothers, standing right here,” Roman drawled.
“Oh yes, hello.” Jazz waved. “Okay, one more piece for the road and then I really do need to get downstairs. Kendall is handling the register all alone.”
“Let’s go,” Brielle said. The two of them tromped toward the door. “I’m glad you’ll be close by, Evie.”
“Yeah, we can always come up here on breaks and hang out for a bit,” Jazz added around a mouthful.
“Sounds fun,” I said.
“It does sound fun.” Virgil frowned.
“You’re invited too,” I said with a smile. “Whenever you want.”
“Not whenever,” Roman said. “What happens when Savage gets back in town? They’re gonna be playing house and shit.”
I cleared my throat and raised my brows.
With a sigh, Roman pulled out his wallet from his jeans pocket and grabbed a dollar bill. “This is the last of my change.” He handed it to me.
“Then stop by an ATM,” I warned.
“The swear jar is really working, isn’t it?” Virgil asked. “I don’t say fuck half as much as I used to.”
I held my hand out toward him.
“What?” he demanded. “I wasn’t swearing, I was using the word to demonstrate a point.”
“Yeah, what’s up with the swear jar?” Cozy asked.
“Evie doesn’t like a dirty mouth,” Virgil explained. “Well, maybe Savage’s, but you know.”
“Go away,” I groaned, my cheeks heating. “Swearing is a hard habit to break.”
“So?” Cozy asked.
“So my husband used to swear. And I don’t want to be reminded of him.”
The room fell silent.
“Makes sense,” Virgil said finally. “Besides, we don’t want to be swearing up a storm by the time the babies arrive on the scene. We gotta set good examples.”
“Then they shouldn’t be around you at all,” Roman said with a laugh, shoving his brother.
“I’m gonna be the fun uncle,” Virgil said.
Somehow, in the short time I’d been in Waco, I’d found myself a patchwork family.
And no matter what, I wouldn’t let go of it for anything.
I was on the couch, reading about some of the less than stellar pregnancy consequences, when the buzzer sounded.
Frowning in confusion, I got up and went to answer it. I pressed the intercom button.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s Willa. I brought you a pie as a housewarming gift. Can I come up?”
“Sure.” I buzzed her in and then unlocked the apartment door.
“I’m coming,” she called from downstairs. “But I’m big and have to take it slow.”
I giggled. A smile was still on my face when she appeared.
“Okay, I kind of lied,” she said as she ambled into the apartment. “The pie is a housewarming gift, but also a peace offering.”
“Oh yeah?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “What kind of pie?”
“Cherry.”
“Rats. That’s my favorite kind.” My gaze narrowed. “You asked Savage, didn’t you?”
“I might have.”
I took the pie and set it on the counter. “Can I get you a glass of milk?”
“Yes.” She shrugged out of her coat and placed it on the couch. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to apologize for what happened at dinner. I didn’t mean to be so blunt with you.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You’re protective of Savage. I understand that.”
She sighed. “Duke told me about his conversation with Savage.”
“Oh?” I opened the fridge.
“I wish you hadn’t overheard the conversation.”
“How did you know I overheard? Did Savage tell you?”
“Yeah, he told me.” She paused. “Sometimes he can talk to me the way he can’t talk to Duke.”
“I’m glad he has you.” I went to the cupboard and opened it to pull out two glasses. “For what it’s worth, I don’t want him at odds with Duke. I never want to get between them. Or between you and Savage.”
“I know that.”
“But . . .”
“But—oh hell, I’m just going to be honest, okay?”
I poured us two glasses of milk and nodded for her to continue.
“Savage has never had a serious relationship.”
“Yeah, I gathered that much.”
“You did?”
“Yes. We were talking about his possessive tendencies, and he explained that he’d never felt that way before. So, I just assumed if he was feeling that way about me, it means he really cares.”
“The reason I bring it up is because going from having no serious relationships at all—ever—to suddenly having an Old Lady . . . It just made Duke—and me—our antennae went up, you know?”
“I get it, Willa, I really do. Considering who Savage is, it would’ve been a hard pill to swallow if I’d been normal and this wasn’t so fast. But I’m pregnant with twins and it’s all so recent. So, not only is he in a relationship with me, but he’s also suddenly deciding to be a father to babies that aren’t even his.”
I set the glasses of milk on the counter and then pulled out two forks and handed her one.
“You’re taking this all too well,” Willa said, removing the foil on top of the pie.
“You, Savage, Duke and Waverly . . . you’re a family. You have your own ecosystem. And now you’re about to add your own baby to the mix. I came along and boom . The entire dynamic has changed.”
“There’s room for you in our family, Evie. You and the babies.”
Tears gathered in my eyes.
“I mean it. Just don’t judge Duke by a conversation you were never supposed to hear.”
“I may never have been supposed to hear it, but it was said all the same. Anyway, I told Savage not to hold it against Duke. It comes from a place of love, that’s all.”
She smiled. “I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“Why he fell in love with you so fast. You understand people. You understand Savage, too, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “I fell in love with him before I knew what was good for me.”
She laughed. “Yeah, he has that effect.”
“The Savage effect.”
She held up her fork and I clinked mine against hers. “To the Savage effect.”