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“Yes, definitely let my mother come in, so she can look around in peace. As for Oliver, he can come in early, as long as he doesn’t get on my nerves,” I say. “Keep an eye on him, please.”

“Will do!” With that, Cedric dashes away, happily disappearing through a side exit, probably to pick up Oliver.

“First time you let one of them come,” Lynn muses. “Are you sure you are okay with it?”

“No,” I say honestly. “But he is really putting an effort into respecting my boundaries. I don’t know, maybe it’s an olive branch I am extending to him. Just him for now, though.”

“Knowing him, that probably makes him happy,” Lynn says.

“If you say it like that, it might make me change my mind.”

Lynn elbows me and grins. “Instead of your brother, better worry about your boyfriend.”

She isn’t wrong. Noel looks more nervous than usual. He has had a couple of busy weeks, both with work and an extra class his boss sent him to. Then, we were also busy with renovating our lake house. It’s all been a bit much, and I have promised to steal him away for a couple of days once the holidays approach.

“How come you look so confident when you are behind the bar, but now look like you are about to sneak away?” I tease.

“I am fine,” he mutters. “This is just not my usual playing field. This is more your territory.”

“Don’t worry too much,” I reassure him. “You look perfect, and you are still here as a guest. You don’t need to be anything but yourself.”

“You keep saying that,” he sighs. “And I am trying to believe you, but it’s not easy.” He pauses. “We are going to spend the weekend in the house by the lake, aren’t we?”

“Definitely. I want to have some peaceful, quality time with you,” I say.

“When you say that, it sounds dirty.”

“As if I’d ever think something dirty.”

Noel furrows his brows. “Right. You are such an innocent soul.”

I chuckle and take his hand. “Come, let’s say hello to my mom.”

His eyes instantly light up. Over the last couple of months, he has befriended my mother. It seems like she is giving him a bit of security and motherly love, something he missed from his own mom. The latter has tried to harass him once more, but this time, I made sure my lawyer was prepared. Here and there, she reaches out to him, and there is nothing we can do to stop her from doing it.

And every time she does, Noel hurts. Fortunately, he has his own place of retreat, now, that I can reach. If he genuinely needs to run, he goes to our house at the lake. We keep an extra phone there and a charger, in case his phone dies and he can’t contact me any other way. I have noticed, though, that his anxiety doesn’t kick in regularly anymore. Before, it was every time he talked to his mom or when she contacted him, but now he has better tools to deal with his panic attacks.

“So, I am only accompanying you. I don’t need to talk to the media?”

“Don’t worry,” I reassure him for the nth time. “If anyone bothers you, just leave or give Lynn, Cedric, or me a sign.”

“And I really don’t have to do anything tonight?” he asks.

“Well, later tonight you can do—”

“Oh, my God, don’t finish that sentence!” Noel elbows me before grabbing my arm. He is grinning now. “If only the media knew how dirty you can be.”

I nudge him softly. “Good thing you are the only one who knows.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” He leans forward a little. “Actually, I love that side of you.”

“My secret one?”

“The one that will make you drag me out of the car tonight and fuck me against the wall.”

“So, that’s what you want to do later,” I muse. “I think I can oblige.”

When Noel smiles and leans into my embrace, I feel my heart and chest swell with warmth and love. It’s been so long since I felt so complete. To be honest, it might even be the first time in my life that I feel so whole and complete. Even with the smaller bumps in the road, even knowing that we still have issues ahead of us we’ll need to tackle, I am confident we are going to be alright. Noel is willing to work on his anxiety, and I am willing to work on the baggage I still carry around.

Knowing that I have someone I love at my side, someone who loves me the same way I love them, is truly humbling. I was lucky to have met Noel, and lucky that Lynn was the friend she is, pushing me to step out of my comfort zone.

Now that I have found this luck, I will never let go of it again.