Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Grady
It’s later tonight than I meant to leave, but there are some things in my job that can’t wait, especially for a fresh case, where time is key. Quinn glances up when I stand and grab my jacket from the back of my chair, shrugging it on.
“Leaving?”
“Yeah.” I’m too tired to respond sarcastically to the obvious question. It shouldn’t be this hard to sleep just because Lake isn’t here. I spent years sleeping without him, and yet it’s been evading me like the plague.
“We’re all going out for dinner tomorrow night”—by we, I assume he means him and his four boyfriends—“and you and Riley should join us.”
My first instinct is to say no. Social outings are never on my to-do list unless they have to be. But it’d be good for the kid and kill a few hours at the same time.
“Sure. Text me the details.”
I don’t put music on for the ride home. The silence and stars in the dark sky are soothing, which is exactly what I need right now. Even the traffic doesn’t threaten to give me a headache the way it usually would.
The porch light is on, which is the first time I remember it being on since—my heart skips a beat. No, it can’t be that. He would have told me if he were coming home. Riley must have remembered. For a teenage boy, he does a good job of doing shit before being asked.
Hades greets me at the door as usual, tail wagging.
There’s noise coming from the living room where Riley must be, so I bypass it to the kitchen.
There’s leftover pasta casserole from last night, so I shove it in the oven to reheat and set an alarm on my phone.
Drop my keys on the counter and drape my jacket over the back of a stool.
“Riley, did you do your home—” I stop short at the sight that greets me.
Lake.
Lake is here.
Lake is curled up on our couch with a throw blanket over his knees and a remote in his hand.
Lake is home.
I can’t move. Or think.
He smiles at me, soft and inviting. He looks like he needs a shower and twenty-four hours of sleep. He’s the best thing that I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Hey,” he says quietly. “I’m home.”
He’s home.
He meets me halfway across the room, barrelling into my arms and holding me as tightly as I hold him. My hand slides into his hair, and I probably squeeze him too hard, but I can’t make myself let go. He smells so fucking good. He’s here.
I don’t know how I’ll handle it when he goes on a real deployment, but that’s a problem for the future. Right now he’s home, and I don’t want to ever let him go.
I barely hear the receding footsteps of Riley leaving the room. All I can focus on is the feel of Lake surrounding me.
He lifts his head, and my mouth is on his in an instant. He opens for me, and my insides melt at the first touch of his tongue against mine.
“I missed you,” Lake breathes out, eyes closed and swaying into me.
“God, I missed you.” So fucking much. More than I thought I would. I’ve never had an issue being away from past partners. None of them were Lake, none of them were this.
He cradles my hand, eyes darting over my face like he’s trying to remember it or memorise it. “I wanted to surprise you,” he whispers. “Surprise?”
I’m not generally a fan of surprises, but I’ll make an exception for this. He can surprise me like this any day he’d like to.
I kiss him again because I have to, because it’s been too long since I could do this any time that I want to. He moans and presses hard against me. And then he buries his head in my shoulder, twining his arms around my neck and lifting up on his toes to get closer.
Fisting the back of his shirt helps to calm my rapidly beating heart.
He’s home.
I don’t know how long we stand like that. Forever. Time is irrelevant.
The timer goes off, phone vibrating in my pocket, and I’m forced to let go to turn it off. It’s cold where Lake is no longer touching me.
“What’s that?” Lake asks, peering down.
“Dinner.”
He holds my hand walking into the kitchen, like he’s as reluctant to let go as I am.
Unfortunately, he has to so I can get the casserole out. He doesn’t go far, leaning his hip against the counter. “I was worried I wouldn’t get back in time,” he admits.
So was I. I know it wouldn’t have been intentional and is vastly different than being left at the altar deliberately. We would have simply just postponed it. I was worried all the same.
“There’s a lot to get done for the wedding in just a week,” he says with a lopsided grin. “Good thing I like a challenge.”
“All that’s left is confirming the menu.” We’d picked out the food together before he’d left, but I’d needed to make a few changes due to seasonal shortages, and I didn’t want to confirm without Lake.
“Wait, really?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
His grin turns into a large, genuine smile. “You did wedding stuff for me,” he says as though I just solved world hunger for him.
“It’s not a big deal.” I turn away to get the bowls so he can’t see the flush on my cheeks. I love that it’s made him happy, but he doesn’t need to acknowledge it.
He comes up behind me, placing his hands on my hips. “It is a big deal. Thank you.”
“I didn’t want you to have to worry about it when you got back.” I wanted to make sure that if he came home the day before, that we’d still be able to walk down that aisle.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?” He rests his forehead against the middle of my back.
“Don’t think so.”
“I do. So much. I thought about you every day. What you’d be doing at different times. What you might be thinking. When you’d be asleep. What you’d be dreaming of. If you were thinking about me.”
“Every second,” I say thickly. Every goddamn fucking second. I never want to go through that again.
He lets out a shaky breath. “It’s so nice to be home again.” He laughs. “I need a shower.”
“We can have one later.”
His hold tightens at my words, and then he steps back, giving me room to get the bowls out. He looks at the third bowl. Riley’s bowl.
“How is he doing?”
Using a serving spoon, I scoop equal portions into the bowls. “Better than when he first got here, though I think he’s still waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Lake grabs some forks and piles them next to the steaming bowls. “He said you’d bought him some stuff. And that you even help him with his homework.”
If that’s what he calls “helping.” “Just trying to make him feel comfortable. Tag, you’re it.”
He kisses me on the cheek. “What did you get?”
“Not a lot, just a few changes of clothes, new school uniform, some school supplies, and a new phone. I know you wanted to take him shopping, so I got some essentials, and that’s all.”
“We could go shopping on Saturday?” he says hopefully. “He’ll need a suit for the wedding.”
“We got one for him from the same place I got mine.” It cost a small fortune, but it’s still on Sebastian’s credit card, so I’m happy to keep adding zeros. “Saturday is good, though.” I’ll brave whatever crowds I have to if that’s what he wants.
He smiles, showing teeth. “We’re getting married Sunday!”
“We are.” Christ, we’re getting married. Surreal. The most important thing that I’ve ever done in my life.
Riley knocks on the doorframe, the rest of him hidden out of view. “Is it safe to come in?”
“Yeah, we finished canoodling,” Lake answers.
He peeks around. “Finished what?”
“Just come in, kid,” I say, placing a fork in each bowl.
He helps Lake put place mats on the table, and when we all sit down to eat together, everything seems to click into place, like it’s all complete now.