Chapter 26
Mikey is just finishing up my van at the shop, and I’m in her apartment boxing up all of her books. I spent yesterday sitting on her couch with my laptop, doing administrative tasks for the business. Mikey said I couldn’t sit at the shop all day because I distract her.
I get it. She distracts me, too, even when she’s not here.
We’ve been sleeping on her mattress on the floor—barely big enough to fit both of us—and I can’t wait to have her back home in our bed.
I can’t wait to start our new life together.
I need to buy a ring.
Mikey probably can’t wear rings on the job, but she still deserves something pretty to wear when I take her out and show her off.
I want to spoil her and treat her like the queen she is.
She deserves to be taken care of after everything she’s been through, and I’m more than happy to be the one to do it.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I set the box of books down and pull it out to answer.
“Hey, Rubes, what’s up?”
“You’re coming back tonight, right?”
“Yeah, Mikey’s finishing up the van right now. Why?”
“No reason.” Her voice takes on the pitch it gets when she’s lying. “I have a doctor’s appointment in Salem on Friday, so I wanted to make sure you were going to be able to handle the café.”
“Yeah, should be fine. Everything okay?”
“Yep!” she says, almost too cheerfully. “Just a routine yearly checkup. Boring stuff.”
I could have sworn she went to Salem for her yearly check up in October, but I could be wrong. It’s not like we share notes about our doctor visits and tell each other everything about them.
“Let me know if you need someone to go with you, I guess. But I’ll handle the shop.”
“I’ll be fine. See you and Mikey when you two get here! I have a whole dinner planned. Stella is coming, too.”
“What about Slater?”
“He’s not invited.”
“Ruby, he’s my best friend. He’s the whole reason Mikey’s even moving to Cupid’s Cove. You can’t let whatever weird beef is between you two stop him from coming to dinner.”
“Fine. I’ll invite him.”
“What’s going on with you two, anyway? It feels like you’ve been snappier with him lately.”
Ruby’s silent for so long I check to make sure the call is still connected. I hear a frustrated sigh before she says, “Nothing’s going on. He’s just been getting on my nerves more than usual. I don’t know. I’ve been extra tired and stressed. I think I need a vacation.”
Guilt swirls in my gut. Has she been overstressed with work? Have I left her to run the shop alone too much? Have I not been pulling my weight because I’ve been trying to spend more time with Mikey?
“As soon as I’m back, you can take a week off, and I’ll cover everything so you can rest. Deal?”
“No, I'm fine. I’ll just—”
“No arguing. I’m your big brother. I make the rules.”
Ruby scoffs. “Whatever you say. Text me when you leave Salem so I can get everything timed right.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
“Bye.”
After she hangs up, I resume packing Mikey’s books, trying to think of ways I can lessen the load on Ruby’s shoulders.
I’ve just taped the last box shut—not that there are many, Mikey doesn’t have much stuff—when Mikey opens the door. Her eyes are a little red, like she’s been crying.
Wordlessly, I open my arms, and she wraps herself around me in a hug. I feel her shoulders sag and the tension bleed from her body, and I have to stop myself from pumping my fist in the air because I love helping to ease her worry.
“Sorry I’m all greasy,” she mumbles against my chest.
“I don’t care. Clothes can be washed. Are you okay?”
“Merv’s like a… well, not a dad, but he’s been an important part of my life for the past three years.
He took me aside today when the van was done, gave me a brand new Craftsman tool set, and told me I better come visit him.
He said he’s proud of me and I found a good one.
He expects an invite to the wedding.” She chokes out a laugh.
Her teal eyes look up at me through her lashes, shimmering with tears.
She blinks, and one slips down her cheek.
I wipe it away, cradling her face in my palm.
“Are you regretting this?”
“No. It’s a big change, but I don’t regret it. Just don’t break my heart.” The last sentence comes out as a whisper.
“I promise.”
After Mikey showered and changed, we finished packing the rest of her clothes and loaded them into the van with her dresser in the back of the truck. We loaded the coffee table and sofa in with the dresser, and we’ll decide what to do with them when we get home.
Home.
Cupid’s Cove has always been home to me.
The house with the hot pink door has always been the place I felt the safest, most loved.
Now, I’m bringing the girl of my dreams there, where we’ll integrate our lives, and she’ll make it her home.
Maybe we’ll have kids, and we’ll outgrow the house as it is, but I know wherever we end up, as long as I’m with Mikey, it’ll be home.
We had to drive here separately—even though I didn't want to—and as soon as we pull into the driveway and park, I’m out and opening her door. She laughs as I grab her by the waist and press kisses to her mouth.
“Stop making out in the driveway and get in here to eat!” Ruby calls from the porch. Mikey and I break apart, and she giggles, tugging me behind her into the house.
As soon as the door shuts, Stella squeals and rushes over, wrapping Mikey in a hug. “I’m so excited you’re here! Ruby and I planned a charcuterie and wine night for Saturday so we can get to know you better.”
“That sounds amazing, Stell. I can’t wait.”
“You’re already stealing my girl from me?” I wrap my arms around her waist when she steps out of Stella’s embrace.
“Duh. She’s our girl, now. You have to learn to share.”
“Count me in on that!” Slater calls from the counter.
“Ugh. Pig,” Ruby grumbles. “Sit down before the food gets cold.”
We gather around the counter and take turns dishing up our food. Ruby made chicken parmesan with a side salad and homemade garlic bread. It all smells amazing.
Ruby barely eats any of it, and now I’m extra worried about her.
Something seems off, and I want to pry but not in front of everyone else.
After dinner, I make Ruby, Mikey, and Stella sit while I force Slater to help me clean up.
He grumbles but does it anyway before making an excuse to leave, telling Mikey he’ll come over tomorrow to talk logistics about her job.
Odd. Usually I have to force Slater to leave at a decent hour. Something seems off with him, too.
While the girls chat, I bring in Mikey’s essentials, leaving the rest for tomorrow. Ruby breaks off from the conversation to refill her water, and I take the opportunity to corner her in the kitchen.
“What’s going on with you, Ruby? You barely touched your dinner.”
“Nothing. I’m just not feeling great. I think I might have food poisoning or something, I don’t know.” Ruby refuses to make eye contact when she lies, so I know she’s not telling me the truth.
Does she not trust me with whatever’s going on? Again, I wonder if I’ve missed something because I’ve been so distracted with Mikey, but now that she’s here, I can focus more on the café and make sure Ruby is getting the rest she needs.
“Go home and rest, Ruby. Take tomorrow or the rest of the week off. Whatever you need. You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“I know,” her voice cracks. “Thank you. I’ll come in if I’m feeling better.”
She says goodbye to Mikey, and since Stella rode with her, Stella heads out, too. Mikey and I get ready for bed in comfortable silence, and when we get under the covers, the rightness of having her here once again seeps into my bones.
“I’m worried about Ruby,” I whisper as Mikey lays her head on my chest. My fingers trace a light pattern up and down her spine.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. She barely ate tonight, and she lied saying she has food poisoning. I gave her the rest of the week off because I don’t know what else to do.”
“I think… I think Ruby’s going through something right now. I promised I wouldn’t say anything, and I won’t break her trust, but she confided in me and Stella on Valentine’s Day. Just give her some time.”
Every part of me wants to pry. To demand Mikey tell me what she knows, but I don’t. Ruby will come to me when she’s ready, or Mikey will tell me if she can. I appreciate Mikey not abusing Ruby’s trust in her.
Ruby’s an adult, and she knows she can come to me if she needs something. Pushing my worry for my sister aside, I focus on the here and now. I focus on Mikey, my dream girl, in her rightful place in my bed.
“You know, the garage out there is only used for storage. It’s pretty empty, and I was thinking… it would be the perfect place for you if you wanted to start building custom cars like you talked about.”
Mikey’s face lights up. “Really?”
“Really, sweetheart. This place is your home now, and I want to make sure you love it here. I want to give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Speaking of… I have another question since we didn’t get to finish our game.”
“Okay…”
“Three questions, actually, and you can ask me three. One, how do you feel about marriage? Two, if you’re for marriage, how soon is too soon to get engaged? Three, do you want kids?”
“I am for marriage. I… I’m scared, Saint.
Watching my dad lose my mom was heart-wrenching.
To love someone that much and then lose them to something entirely out of my control…
I don’t know if I can do it. I never wanted to give someone my heart because what if they died and took it with them? I’d never recover.”
“Oh, Mikey, I… I’m so sorry. I never thought about it that way.
I want to say I promise nothing will happen, but you and I both know it’s not something I can guarantee.
I can promise you while I’m here, for as long as I live, your heart will be safe with me.
Worrying about what could happen will only cage our love and not let it bloom. ”
“I know.” She hiccups as tears stream down her cheeks. “It’s still scary, but I trust you. Kelly even told me—oh my god, Kelly! I haven’t even told her about the move or this weekend. She’s probably worried sick!”
“We’ll call her in the morning, okay?”
This seems to placate her. “Okay. Yeah, okay. So… your second question… I think the timeline for us looks a little different. I think waiting a year is ample time for an engagement.”
“A year? Mikey, come on, that’s so long.”
“As for kids,” she bulldozes right past my complaints. “I think I’d want two. What about you?”
“I also think two is good.”
“Good.”
“Should we practice making them? You know, so we can make sure we’re experts at it?”
Mikey’s shoulders shake with laughter. “Yeah, Daddy, let’s practice.”
And we do. We practice nice and slow, then fast and hard. We practice until our bodies are spent, and we fall asleep wrapped in each other.
It’s the perfect beginning to our life together.