32. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter thirty-two
N ick placed the last box in his SUV, then headed back into the bar. He’d packed up her clothes, bathroom stuff, and bedding. She also had a stack of boxes of her things from her townhouse. All in all, she didn’t own a lot. Her last place had come furnished, so she had no furniture to move. Thank God. His thigh couldn’t take much more of the stairs that led up to the second-story apartment she’d been using above the bar.
It used to be Lyric’s place before Aria moved in after Mason and Lyric bought a house and got married.
Like he and Aria were doing now.
Lyric handed him an order of carnitas street tacos the second he walked into the kitchen. “Try these. Tell me what you think. I might add them to the menu.”
He took a bite of one and groaned. “So good. But more of the cheese stuff.” He only knew the crumbled white stuff was cheese based on the taste, but didn’t know what it was called.
“Okay, but otherwise?”
“It’s simple and yummy. What more do you want?”
She chuckled. “Okay. Thanks.”
He left with his two tacos and found a seat at the bar.
Aria came over immediately and checked out his food. “Where’d you get that?”
He cocked his head toward the kitchen. “Your sister made it for me.”
“Can I have a bite?”
He picked up the taco and held it to her mouth.
She took a big bite, and said around it, “I’m starving.”
“Take a break and eat with me. I’ve got everything packed and in my SUV. I’ll take it home and unload before you get there. Anything you need right away?”
“You.”
He grinned. “You have me. And now you can have me anytime you want.”
She pointed to herself. “Lucky girl.”
“Lucky me,” he shot back and handed the other taco over to her. “Eat that so you’re up for later.” He wasn’t done making things up to her just yet. They had a lot of lost time and ground to cover to make this relationship into what they wanted it to be.
Aria finished off half the taco, then hesitated. “I texted my mom a little while ago to let her know you were in town and that I’m moving in with you.”
Nick stopped chewing and stared at her. “What did she say?”
“About damn time.” Aria smirked.
He laughed, because that sounded like Robin. Though Aria’s parents both liked him, they didn’t like that his and Aria’s relationship had been complicated from the get-go. Or that the relationship appeared to be mostly a lot of two- and three-day sex marathons whenever they could get together. Mostly when she came to see him. The relationship had been heavily weighted on her side. She took the brunt of his inability to get away from his job. He regretted that more than anything.
But while the perception from others was that they were just having a lot of sex, they’d taken the time to have deep, meaningful conversations, too. They talked about their pasts, what they wanted for the future. Maybe they hadn’t made plans because of his demanding job, but they were doing that now.
“Is your dad okay with you moving in with me?” The last thing he needed was an irate father after his ass. Though he and Wade got along great.
“He wants me to be happy. And he likes you. He thinks if you get your priorities straight you might actually make me happy.” She grinned and winked at him.
“I’m working on it. Didn’t I put you first today? Twice. And then I gave you some more.”
“You are very generous.” For that, she pulled him a beer from the tap and set it in front of him. “I’ve got customers. Finish your food.” She blew him a kiss, then headed down the bar, filling drinks and talking to customers. Most of them were asking when we were going to tie the knot. Soon, if he had anything to say about it.
He needed to move her in, buy her a ring, and marry her.
And he could accomplish all that a hell of a lot faster if he didn’t have Lopez out there complicating the whole thing. Nothing he could do about it until IA cleared him from the shooting.
Mason came up beside him and slapped him on the shoulder. Nick winced as it made him pull something where he’d been stabbed.
“I heard you and Aria made up and are moving in together.”
“Yeah. You want to follow me home and help me unload?”
“Wish I could, but I’m taking Lyric home and rubbing her aching feet. She’s not going to be able to stand over a stove for hours at a time for much longer.”
“How is my niece coming along?”
“Getting bigger by the day. Doc says everything looked good on the ultrasound. Now it’s just waiting for her to pop out.”
Nick eyed his brother. “I think it’s a little more involved than her just popping out.”
“I know.” Mason looked a bit worried about the whole birth thing. “We’ve got birthing classes coming up.”
Nick felt a pang of envy for his brother. “I’m happy for you both.”
“Happy for you, too. I called Stacy earlier today. Lyric wanted to check on her. We had a good chat. Stacy seems like she’s hanging in there.”
“I hate that she’s stuck in protective custody with no answer to where she’ll go once it’s over. It’s like her life is on hold.”
“I suppose she’ll go into foster care. Hopefully she’ll get a good family to take care of her.”
Nick wasn’t sure that was good enough for Stacy. She deserved a loving family. One she knew she belonged to after everything that happened to her.
Right now, he hoped she continued to heal, but knew there would be setbacks and dark periods where her past overwhelmed her. She needed people who’d support and love her through it.
The uncertainty of her future weighed on him. He needed to think about it and what could be done to ensure she had a safe and happy future.
Nick glanced over at Mason and sighed. “Did you ever think we’d end up marrying sisters, having kids, any of this?”
Mason shook his head. “Not me. Not until her.”
“Exactly.” Nick raised his beer to Aria as she walked by. “To the Wilde women.”
Mason clinked his glass. “To the Wilde women.” He raised his voice so Lyric would hear and lifted his glass to her.
Aria and Lyric exchanged a look, then shook their heads at them, like they were sweet but nuts.
Nick just grinned and sipped his beer.
“What was that about?” Aria asked.
Nick leaned over the bar and kissed her. “I just love you, that’s all.”
“That’s a lot,” she shot back. “And I love you, too.”
Yeah. It didn’t get better than this.