60. True
“Noah, it’s so early,” I groaned, pulling my fleece robe tighter before I opened the screen door to let him in.
He gave me a deadpan look. “True, it’s ten a.m. And since Greyson kicked me out of the resort for the rest of the week, you stuck with me. Also, I missed Duchess.”
“We were still sleeping.” I yawned, covering my mouth.
Noah kissed my nose and pulled a box from behind his back.
“How was the Christmas tree farm? I think I was sleep before y’all got back.” Duchess was such a good cuddle buddy all night. I wrote a chapter, ate leftovers and fell asleep on the couch in front of the fire before I moved us to the bedroom with my space heater. It was a good ass night. But now I wanted to see the tree they picked.
Noah wasn’t interested in answering my question. His focus was on the box between us, and I finally pulled my attention to it, my brow raising in curiosity. “What’s this?”
Excitement shined in his eyes.
“Today is December 2nd. Me and Grey got you a gift to open for the next thirty days until your thirtieth birthday. I don’t know how it’s gonna work when you leave for Christmas, though. I guess we’ll send the gifts with you and watch you open them on FaceTime. Or you can open them before you leave.” He shook his head, cutting himself off mid-ramble. “It doesn’t matter. Here’s your first gift.”
Smiling, I caressed his face and accepted it. “That’s so cute. What is it?”
“Open it.”
The gift was wrapped in brown kraft paper with a red ribbon tied around it. I walked back to the living room, yanking the ribbon off before I tore into the paper.
The rectangular box inside gave nothing away, making me look up at Noah with a quizzical smile.
Finally, I pulled the top open and paused when all I saw was three stacks of cash.
Three, five-thousand - dollar stacks of cash, to be exact.
“Noah, did you just gift wrap fifteen thousand dollars?”
He ducked his head with a shy smile. “Aight. Hear me out. I know it’s tacky to give people cash as a gift, but I can explain.”
“I’m not complaining,” I mumbled, testing the weight of each stack. The orange paper banding each one held my attention until Noah tipped up my chin.
“It’s for your next audiobook. You told me how expensive they are to produce on your own. And before you say anything, I know you can pay for it. I just want to. So, whenever your next book is done, that’s one less thing for you to worry about.”
“Noah, what? Oh my god.” I slapped a hand over my mouth when tears welled in my eyes. “That’s so sweet, thank you.”
“You deserve it, Red. I know the past year has been some shit. And I meant it when I said I was proud of you. All I wanna do is see you happy and getting everything you deserve.”
I let out a mix between a laugh and a sob, falling into his arms.
I didn’t know what to say, so I wrapped my arms around him and cried softly into his chest. Outside of my parents, nobody had ever supported my dreams this hard. And he did it without thinking. He just listened and delivered, like he’d been doing it our whole lives.
This was exactly why I’d fallen so hard for him. He saw me and showed up for me without me having to ask. It was the type of love I wrote about, but never thought I would experience.
It was soft. And safe. And warm. Everything I ever wanted and it happened so fast.
I pulled away from him, wiping my eyes and choked out, “I fucking love you, Noah.”
“You said what?” A smile was trying to creep on his face, but he looked like he was fighting it, trying to make sure he heard me correctly.
“I said I love you. I’m in love with you. I don’t know how you do it, but you make my day every day. You’re my best friend and you make me so fucking happy by just being yourself. I never wanna know what it’s like to not have you in my life.” I wiped my tears, trying to focus on his face but he blurred again as another wave of tears hit me.
“True.” His voice was muffled when he wrapped me in his embrace again, rubbing my back. “I love you too, Red. And I already told you, I’m not going anywhere. You stuck with me.”
That was how December went.
Every day, I wrote with Duchess by my side in the new canopy bed Noah installed for her in front of the window facing my desk.
Every night, one of them came to get me when they were done at the resort, and they gave me another gift before we ate dinner.
Suddenly, my cabin was becoming a home.
Noah had gifted me a bookcase and installed floating shelves in my living room so I could put my sister’s record collection somewhere other than the milk crate where they’d been collecting dust.
Greyson’s gifts were just as thoughtful. The first week he gave me an antique typewriter he found at a shop in Charlotte. A week after that, he draped a gold bracelet on my wrist that looked like the less chunky version of the one he wore on his wrist.
That same week, Greyson upgraded his bed to an Alaskan king because we all slept in his room every night and he wanted us to have more space.
I couldn’t tell if Noah’s sleep had gotten better because of the tea or because he’d cut ties with his parents, but he was sleeping through the night, usually sandwiched between me and Greyson.
Peaceful was the only word I could think of to describe what life felt like with them and when I finally cracked and told my parents, my mother had given me a succinct “I knew it” before asking me if they wanted to come to Christmas Eve dinner.
I felt settled. Happy .
So, when Greyson found me before dinner one Saturday and gave me a red, square box, I peered at him, thinking it was another piece of jewelry.
Instead, I pulled out a fifth of the whiskey I’d seen him drink more than once and quirked a brow. “You gave me your favorite whiskey?”
Greyson smirked, his hand already curled around my neck. “That’s the safe word you chose, Red. I told myself I’d give it to you when we were finally ready for the scene you’ve been asking for.”
His words lit an instant fire in the pit of my stomach that heated me more than his touch.
Greyson speared me with a look, his attention fanning the flames trying to consume me.
“We talked about your limits. You told me what you want.” He leaned down to kiss me, sucking on my bottom lip before he rose to his full height again. “I listened. So, when you’re ready to run, just say the word, Red.”
The pulse thrumming at my center made me shift on my feet. Just the thought of him chasing me already had me wound so tight, I wanted to combust.
“Tomorrow,” I whispered, not tearing my eyes away from him.
Tomorrow was Sunday. He never worked on Sunday, so I would have his full attention for as long as I wanted it.
Greyson nodded, his dimple teasing me when he bit down on his lip. “Tomorrow it is, Red.”