62. Vivienne
Vivienne
The sun warms the car as we drive back to the city.
Cass reaches for me and threads our fingers together.
We’ve just had a blissful twenty-four hours at Belgrave.
Most of them were spent in bed, but we did find time to visit Mateo.
He was ecstatic at our news and gave me a wink when Cass wasn’t looking.
My parents won’t be quite so excited, but I’m no longer worried about them. They’ll never stop trying to control my life. It’s up to me to stop letting them.
Cass and I haven’t had the difficult conversations about the future yet, but I’m not worried. I don’t need much to be happy, not if I have him. Besides, I still have my trust fund, unless my father actually decides to disown me, but if that happens we’ll figure it out.
We did discuss moving in together, because Cass claims he can’t bear to be apart, but I’m not quite ready to give up my freedom yet. Besides, we can spend the weekend at Belgrave as often as we want.
“You sure you don’t want to stay longer?” I smile at him. “You did say it’s your favorite place in the world.”
He lifts our joined hands to his lips. “You’re my favorite place.”
Joy like I’ve never experienced fills my veins until I’m positive they’ll burst.
“A place I’d very much like to visit again,” he says, waggling his brows.
Heat climbs into my cheeks. “I’m sore in places I didn’t even know existed. I’m going to need some time to recover.”
He shrugs. “The drive will take an hour. That should be plenty of time.”
I yank on his hand, and a slow grin spreads across his face. “I’m about to walk into my brother’s house,” I say. “If you want to survive the rest of the evening, I suggest you behave.”
His smile doesn’t waver. “I’m not worried about Bash.”
“You’re not? Did you already forget the black eye he gave you?”
He shrugs. “We talked.”
Blinking, I wait for the rest of his explanation. When it doesn’t come, I say, “You talked.”
“Yep.”
“You talked about what?”
“Us.”
“You talked to Bash about us?”
“Yeah.”
“Cassian Cordero, if you don’t give me more than one-word answers, I’m going to scream.”
“I do love your screams.” He presses another kiss to the back of my hand, hiding his smile.
I try to tug away from him, but he holds me tight. I’m fighting my own grin. “Seriously. What did Bash say?”
“Something about trying not to vomit around us.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s it?”
“He threatened to kill me if I hurt you.”
“His theatrics truly know no bounds.”
Cass rubs his thumb over my skin, and I turn to meet his eyes. “He loves you,” he says. “He just wants to protect you.”
“I know. But he doesn’t need to worry about that with you.”
“Trust me that much, do you?”
I rest my head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him. “Yes. The only damage you’ll do to me is in places Bash will never hear about.”
Cass chuckles wickedly. “That’s for damn sure.”
When we walk through the door of Cass and Bash’s townhouse, everyone is lounging in the living room. There’s a soccer game on TV and the remains of a pizza on the coffee table. Four sets of eyes swing toward us. Bash isn’t in the room, and I’m surprised to see Briar here.
She squeals when she sees us and flies over to hug us both. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” I murmur, unable to stop the grin splitting my face in half.
Shep takes one look at Cass’s and my joined hands and lets out a low whistle. “Holy shit,” he says as his lips stretch into a broad smile.
“It’s about dang time,” Sutton adds. “We thought you’d decided to rot in that house for the rest of your lives.”
Cass tosses a paper bag into her lap. “Watch it.”
She opens it and moans when she spots what’s inside. “I’m just kidding. You know I love you guys.”
“She’s only saying that because you brought her croissants.” Marlowe moves around the sofa to give both Cass and me a joint hug. “I’m genuinely so happy for you.”
“Thanks, Mar,” I say. “For everything.”
“Does this mean Landon is back on the market?” she asks.
“Sure.” I shrug. “If you can overlook his very small penis.”
Cass growls and tightens his grip on my hand.
Marlowe’s face scrunches up in distaste. “In that case—”
“Oh, hell no.” Bash stops in the middle of the room, carrying a bowl of cereal. Briar moves back to the sofa without looking at him.
Cass stiffens as he locks eyes with his best friend. Marlowe smirks and sinks back into the chair she vacated when we walked in.
“You said you were good with this,” Cass says quietly.
“That was before I overheard my sister talking about your small penis.”
I snort and cover my mouth, and Marlowe howls with laughter.
Cass does not look amused. “She wasn’t talking about me.”
“I don’t care who she was talking about,” Bash says. “I don’t ever want to hear that word leave her mouth.”
“Fuck off, man. She can say whatever she wants.”
“Hello?” I wave my hand between them. “I’m right here. I can speak for myself.”
Cass gives me a confused look. “That’s what I just said.”
“If you two do anything—and I mean anything—while I’m around, you’ll be looking for a new place to live.” Bash points his finger at Cass.
“So no sex on the couch?” Cass asks with raised brows.
Gagging, Bash presses his fist to his mouth. “No sex anywhere. Ever.”
Sutton hurls a cushion at Cass. “I’m currently sitting on said couch, you sicko.”
“You wouldn’t be if you knew how many times Bash has defiled that particular piece of furniture,” he says.
Bash flips him off as Sutton jumps up like the sofa is on fire. “This place is practically a frat house,” she mutters, plopping onto the floor.
“At least it smells better,” Shep says with a shrug, eyes on the TV.
Bash’s gaze drops to Cass’s and my entwined fingers. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He sets his bowl down on the kitchen counter.
Cass slaps him on the back as he leads me to the empty sofa. “Don’t forget to clean up after yourself. The housekeeper doesn’t come until next week.”
We all spend the evening together like we have been for years. The only difference is that instead of staring at Cassian from across the room, I can curl up against him anytime I want. He finds every excuse he can to put his hands on me, much to my delight and Bash’s disgust.
Then there’s the tension between Briar and Bash. They do their best to avoid each other, but when he’s not watching me and Cass, his eyes are on her. She acts as if he isn’t even in the room, but I know all too well what it’s like to hide your true feelings.
When Sutton brings out Risk, Shep, Briar, and I agree to play. Marlowe is still buried in a magazine, although she’s been staring at the same spread for the past ten minutes, so I’m not sure she’s actually seeing anything on the page.
I sit on the floor between Cass’s legs as we set up the board on the coffee table. He moves my hair to the side and begins massaging the tension out of my shoulders.
“You’re really tight,” he says.
Sutton makes a retching sound, and Bash points the remote at Cass. “Absolutely the fuck not.”
I can feel Cass rolling his eyes behind me. “That’s what happens when you plan a wedding,” I say, ignoring them all.
“All the more reason to just go to the courthouse,” Cass murmurs in my ear, too quietly for anyone to overhear.
We keep playing, and thirty minutes into the game, my phone pings with a text. Cass is sprawled on the couch behind me watching TV. Marlowe and Bash are arguing about which designer brands are the best. I open the message.
Cass: I’m starving.
Me: Wanna order Chinese?
Cass: I’m not hungry for Chinese.
Me: Italian?
Cass: No.
Me: Well, what are you hungry for?
Cass: Your *cat emoji*
Me: CASSIAN CORDERO