Chapter 90
ONE YEAR LATER
Sterling presses himself to my back, brushing my hair back and planting wet kisses at the top of my spine.
God, I love mornings like this. Getting out of bed is impossible, but, oh, is it worth it.
Lucky drags his lips along my neck. “Did she hear anything yet?”
“No.”
His answering groan makes me smile. Lucky’s the only person more invested in Alice’s dating life than I am.
“Give me his number. I’ll sort him out.”
“It’s not your business, Lachlan. Stay out of it.”
He kisses along my shoulder, nipping at the juncture of my neck.
“She’s already got another date for Friday,” I say, petting Lucky’s hair. “He’s in construction.”
“Good with his hands then.” His own continue to lazily explore. “Tell her, if she has any trouble, call me, yeah?”
“She knows.”
Of course, he’ll tell her again himself when we video-chat later because he can never stop himself from saying hello, even when he’s in the middle of his own work.
The morning floats in and out of focus, soaked in warm skin and the fuzzy edge of sleep.
We don’t often get to indulge like this—Sterling is always in the middle of one project or another, and Lucky is lost to a composition or a comment section somewhere, and me?
I snuggle under a blanket with my third coffee and bask in how happy I am.
I never have to guess what Lachlan is feeling; he wears everything on his sleeve and doubles it all down with words. It’s lovely how freely he expresses his love and the flush that spreads along Sterling’s neck when Lucky whispers sweet things in his ear.
And Sterling … his feelings may be hard-won, but they’re just as deep as Lucky’s are, even if they need to be coaxed out on occasion. But if you know him, you see it plain as day. It’s in his watchful eye, his loyalty, his deep-seated need to see you thrive and improve.
Deny it all he likes, but he likes to see the best in people too. He might not believe it exists in everyone—he’s seen too much of the world—but when he does see it, he treats it like a precious resource. There’s a gentleness in him that most people will never know or could ever believe.
But it’s there, and it’s all for me and Lucky.
THE END
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