Chapter 6 Lake
Chapter six
Lake
“Oh my god, it’s so good to see you!” Sadie’s familiar voice greets me at the same time I find myself with an armful of her.
She’s still wearing the same floral perfume she used to.
I remember liking when we cuddled because the smell soothed me.
It’s nice, and nostalgic, but I don’t want to cuddle with her anymore.
Extricating myself is hard. If I squeeze Grady’s hand two times, will he understand the secret message and carry me away like a princess?
He doesn’t respond when I squeeze. So much for telepathy. We lined up in the wrong place when receiving fun superpowers.
“You too,” I say, huffing to get some of her hair out of my mouth. She can let go now. Is this too long for a friend hug? I’m not sure. Zach and Felix have to deal with it, however long I decide I want to hug for. Being on the other end is mildly uncomfortable.
Two more squeezes of Grady’s hand. Maybe that’s not what two means?
I try three times this time and even turn my head to look at him, for maximum effect.
He looks frozen to the spot, like he’s trying to decipher the situation.
It’s not that hard. I’d like her to let go now, and he’s supposed to be my knight in shining armour.
Or shining… suit. The point is, he’s strong enough to tug me back and into his arms.
She finally pulls back, and I have an urge to bury my face in Grady’s chest and inhale his scent so the floral-y one is gone. He has nice cologne. Musky, sexy, Grady.
She beams at me. “What are the odds of running into each other, huh?”
Not likely, considering she lives in a whole other state. Or… she used to? I haven’t kept track of her. Maybe she doesn’t live in Perth anymore. “Are you here on holiday?” I ask.
“I moved back here a few weeks ago! I was gonna call you next week, see if you wanted to get dinner…” She falters, looking to where I’m still holding onto Grady’s hand.
Not that it’s helped me. We’ll have to discuss our secret messages when we get home.
Get a notebook and write them down. We can practise them until they’re second nature, like muscle memory.
“I’m so sorry, how rude of me.” She holds out her hand to Grady. “I’m Sadie!”
He returns the gesture with a tight smile. “Grady.”
“Hey, that rhymes.” I laugh, grinning up at Grady. “The Grady and Sadie Show.”
Grady gives me an unamused look. “Cute.”
“Are you—” Sadie hesitates, glancing back down at our joined hands. “Uh…” She tilts her head. “That ring is on your—”
“We’re getting married!” I burst out happily.
I’ll never tire of saying it. I should tattoo it on my forehead.
No, that won’t age well. Waiting until we’re married and putting husband there seems like it’d be a better idea for longevity.
We’ll be husbands longer than fiancés. In three months, I’ll get to say this is my husband. “We should buy a notebook.”
Grady’s brows draw in. “What?”
“And a pen.” I’ll need a lot of pages to perfect my new signature. “A few different colours. Multiple colours. And not just the regular colours.” I gasp, mouth opening. “Gel pens.”
“Alright…” he says slowly. “Avery probably has those at his store?”
He would. An excellent idea.
“Did you say you’re getting married?” Sadie asks, looking between us as if she’s waiting for the punch line. “The two of you?”
I nod enthusiastically.
“I didn’t know you were gay.”
“I’m not. It’s just Grady.” Grady-sexual.
Maybe that should be the tattoo? I can write the ideas down in my new notebook.
Oh, shit. Our appointment. “We have to go see the florist; they’ll be waiting for us.
” I tug Grady’s hand, and he stumbles into me, one hand falling to my hip to steady himself.
“Maybe we could—another time?” I’d love to catch up with her, when I don’t have a prior, very important engagement.
Are peonies good wedding flowers? What even is a peony?
Lilacs. Orchids. I don’t know anything about flowers. That’s what the florist is for.
Sadie’s mouth opens and closes. “I still don’t—”
Grady’s phone rings loudly in his pocket, interrupting her. He tries to take it out, but I refuse to let go of his hand—how will I attempt secret signals if we’re not touching?—so he awkwardly reaches over with his other hand to grab it.
“Detective Sergeant Donehue… What? Yeah, okay, hold on.” He presses the screen to his chest. “Q and I have been called to a scene, so I have to go. Any chance we can foist the kid on you for the afternoon? The station isn’t on the way, and we’d have to backtrack.”
“You mean Mini-Riley?” I can’t believe they actually call someone that.
Is he tiny? Sometimes it takes a few years for the height to really kick in.
Sometimes people stay fun sized. Or is it just in comparison to Grady’s boss, Riley?
He’s pretty tall, so it wouldn’t be super difficult not to be shorter, especially for a teenager.
“Yeah.”
I shrug. “Sure.” The more the merrier. Well, it’s more of a replacement, so the same amount, isn’t it? Still. “Does he like flowers?” We’re gonna be spending at least an hour staring at flowers. It’s an important prerequisite.
“It’s a matter of debate,” Grady says dryly. “He was stealing some when we met him. Not for him, however, so that doesn’t answer the question.”
And now he’s doing work experience at the station? Maybe I should be asking Grady what he does all day. It sounds way more interesting than my days. “Eh. Close enough.”
“That’s not—” Grady shakes his head. “I need to finish talking to Quinn.”
I reluctantly slide my hand from his and let him walk a few steps away, a finger pressed to his opposite ear while he listens to his partner. It does give me a nice view, though. His pants hug all of him in a really nice way.
“Lake?”
Oh. Sadie. I smile at her and say, “It’s great to see you. What are you doing these days? New job opportunity?” I can’t imagine anything else that’d be a lure for her to come home.
“I didn’t know that you were gay. Bisexual?”
“Neither,” I answer, shoving my hands in my pockets.
They feel cold now that Grady isn’t holding me anymore.
“It’s him—just him.” Well, I can’t say that with complete certainty since I’ve never looked at another guy to see if there’s something attractive about them, but that’s irrelevant.
Why would I bother checking that when I have what I want?
I have way better things to do with my time.
Like snuggling on the couch eating Skittles and watching terrible—terribly good—reality TV shows with Grady and judging people we’ve never met, who are dealing with situations we never will.
It’s even better because when I get bored, I can climb into Grady’s lap to entertain myself with something new.
“How did you meet?” she asks curiously, glancing over to Grady. “A police detective? Did you get yourself arrested?”
I snort out a laugh. I almost wish that I could say yes. That’d be a pretty hot first meeting. I kinda love the real one, though. “At Zach and Felix’s New Year’s Eve party.”
Grady turns around, still speaking to Quinn, and our eyes meet.
The intensity of his olive-green eyes sends a shiver through me.
Damn, but I’m so in love with him. I want to take him into a dark corner so I can ravish him.
Hell, I’ll do it in plain view, I don’t care.
I’ll keep it PG rated or whatever, but the whole point of marrying a person is so that I can kiss them whenever I want.
Sadie frowns. “As in… the one just gone?”
I rock back on my heels. “He was my midnight kiss.” I can’t help the smile that spreads over my face. A fantastic first kiss even if at the time there wasn’t anything in it. Being in love with the man definitely makes everything better. Brighter. Fucking perfect.
“That’s barely six months ago. Now you’re engaged to him?”
“Yes?” Why does that matter?
“That’s—how can you really know him?” She places a hand on my elbow. “He’s… a big guy, Lake.”
I’m intimately aware of that, in the best way. “When you know, you know, right?” And I know that I want my ring on his finger. He’ll look great with a ring. I sweep my gaze over his considerable form and down to his large hands. A ring. I should get him an engagement ring too. One to match mine.
“I guess? How can you be sure, though, in such a short amount of time?”
It feels like she’s asking herself that question more than me. “You just… do? I don’t know. Why?”
“I’m seeing someone and—”
I grin. “Did he propose?” I nudge her shoulder playfully. “You’re holding out on me. How’d he do it? I got rose petals.”
“Is it a competition?” she asks with a laugh, running a shy hand through her hair.
“Maybe.” I’m not much of a competitive person. “Did you say no?” It sounds like she said no. A lot of relationships can come back from that, though. Marriage isn’t for everyone.
“He hasn’t proposed. But I think he’s going to, and I think I’ll say yes, and that’s terrifying. We’ve been dating longer than you two but not that much longer.”
“Did you move back here for him?” That’s uncharacteristically romantic of her. “You guys should come over for dinner!” Grady’s food is so good the whole world should get to experience it at least once.
Grady returns before she can answer, sliding an arm around my waist. “They’re out front now; are you ready?”
“To meet the flower thief?” Hell yes, I am. Should I keep an eye on him in the florist? If we have to, we can hide in Avery’s shop. My little brother’s scary enough to make anyone chasing us go away. A foolproof plan. “It was great to see you, Sade. Let me know about dinner?”
She nods, watching us thoughtfully. “Uh, do you want my number? It’s changed since…” she trails off awkwardly.
“Oh, good idea!” It doesn’t take more than a minute to get her number plugged into my phone.
It’s been a long time since her name’s been in my contact list. Will I have to change her last name when she gets married?
Maybe not. Not everyone does it. Grady and I already discussed it.
Well, he told me that he doesn’t care if we go either way, or if we stay as we are.
As if I’m gonna pass up the opportunity to have a whole new signature to write everywhere.
Does he know how much paperwork I sign at work?
I’m already calculating how long it’ll take people to realise the new scribble is me.
“Alright. Time to meet the flower thief!” Always ready to make a new friend.
“I wouldn’t call him that to his face; he’s got an attitude.”
“Don’t worry, big guy,” I say, slapping him on the chest. “If I can handle you, I got this.”
I leave him trailing behind me, then hear, “I don’t have an attitude!”