Page 40 of Devoted (Love and Burlesque #2)
CHAPTER FORTY
KNIGHT
Why did I invite these people into our house?
T wo Weeks Later
“What do you mean a raccoon lives here now?” Ezekiel asks, a look of bewilderment etched across his face as he peels his eyes away from Nosferatu.
The little fucker is currently snacking on some fruit from my garden.
Well, I guess it’s his garden now, too. As will be the conservatory being built from a smaller sunroom on the south end of the estate.
Sipping at my bourbon, I shrug nonchalantly in reply. “He and Vivian were a package deal,” I comment, purposely not explaining the situation to rile him up.
“You must realize how absurd it is to keep a wild raccoon as a pet,” Ezekiel chastises, turning away from the window once Nosferatu scampers off.
“Well, he’s pleasant when you get to know him, and his previous home is being replaced by new apartments, so he lives here.” Ezekiel and I turn to the closed door of my study, having been distracted by a clattering coming from the kitchen.
Once we don’t hear someone screaming in pain or asking for help, we turn back to each other to continue our conversation. We’ve grown accustomed to staying out of the Delgados’ business when they’re all together. Some shouting and a punch here and there are simply expected.
“Raccoon aside, how is Vivian settling in?” he asks, leaning against the windowsill as he sips his cocktail.
“Like she belongs here.” She does belong here.
Vivian isn’t fully moved in yet, not for another week or so, but her presence fills the whole house with a new glow. I never cared much about being home until I had her to come home to.
Ezekiel nods, taking in my words. “Who could have predicted this as an outcome? Not only that, but we found true love at second—well, third chance for you,” he teases with a sly chuckle. “But to have our loves be a pair of unhinged siblings.”
“I, for one, am done questioning fate. Not when it brought me to Vivian.”
Alek yells around the house, letting us know dinner is ready and to get our asses to the table.
“Technically, it was your stalking that brought you to her.”
Rhett pulls Harriett’s chair out at the head of the table as she sets her cane to the side and lowers herself slowly.
She’s recovering well, having graduated from a walker to a cane just a few days ago.
While she’s been staying at my house for the last two weeks, I can tell she is ready to go back home and back to work.
Her office is a long commute, though, so she’ll be residing at my company office, which is only a few minutes from her.
I’ve claimed the administration office at The Garden of Eden as mine, so I won’t miss my old workspace much. Not when I have Vivian down the hall from me at any given time.
She nestles beside me, resting her head on my shoulder as we all settle in for a family dinner. These gatherings are still foreign to me. While Harriett, Ezekiel, and I always shared our meals, it was never this much of an affair every weekend.
But I love it. So much that I even invited Dom and Benny tonight.
The pair had plans, but I intend on having them over eventually.
In their own weird ways, the two of them helped push Vivian and me closer together, and I’m forever grateful for them.
Dom’s residence at The Garden of Eden has expired, yet we still find any excuse to grab a coffee and sit and talk.
Other than Ezekiel and Alek, I can say he’s been the first friend I’ve had in ages.
“We have an empty room we were looking to rent out since money’s a little tight right now,” Thomas speaks to Emma, interrupting my thoughts.
The pair sits directly across from Vivian and me.
I would be a little offended that she considers their offer, but I know circumstances are different.
They’ve all been friends for a while, and she is adamant about paying for her living, and I refused to take any money from her.
“Can I come by and talk it over with y’all tomorrow?” she asks him, her face lighting up with an excited smile. From what I understand, Emma was having trouble finding a place of her own and was about to move back to her mother’s house, even though she didn’t love the idea of it.
“Sure thing, roomie,” Rhett replies, sitting down on the other side of Emma and taking a roll from the basket at the center of the table. Everything looks delicious, as always. I’ve somehow wedged myself into a family with two chefs and a baker, so amazing food is a guarantee at these gatherings.
“Wait a goddamn second.” Alek reaches across the table to smack Rhett’s hand. Alek’s discipline causes Emma to laugh and Rhett to rub at his reddening hand.
Rolling my eyes at the interaction, I whisper to Vivian, “Are they always like this?” My eyes stay trained on how Emma sneakily reaches into the basket of rolls she baked and takes one out.
Keeping it hidden in her hand, she slides the roll over to Rhett, grabbing his attention by elbowing him in the arm.
The man’s beaming smile is usually unmatched, but this one shows a particular kind of happiness. Fondness.
I know the sight because it’s what I feel whenever I look at Vivian, even if my permanent scowl doesn’t always display it.
“Get used to it, babe,” Vivian says, lifting her head from my shoulder to look around the table at our food for tonight. Once Alek and Rhett explain the cuisine, we all begin to dive in and pass dishes to each other.
Sitting in front of the fire, I relax and watch the others enjoy the hot tub in the chilly January weather.
I’d like to join them, and perhaps I will one day, but I am not ready to explain my tattoos and scars to anyone.
Talking about them to Vivian nearly had me passing out from the intensity of the revelation.
With every passing day and every new therapy session I have, they feel like something that happens to be on my body, but they no longer rule my life. This must be what healing feels like.
“Scoot over,” Alek demands as he approaches the outdoor couch I’m on, toweling off his hair from when Thomas dunked him in the water just a few minutes ago.
Apparently, I don’t move over fast enough, and Alek plants himself half on the seat and half on my thigh.
“You fucking oaf.” I push him off me, managing to sweep my leg from underneath him and move over to the other end of the small couch.
My upper arm stings with the rough contact, the freshly tattooed skin still sensitive to the touch.
“Why’d you think we would both fit on this tiny thing? ” I ask, exasperated.
“Maybe I wanted to cuddle up. It’s cold as fuck out here.” He tries throwing his damp legs on my lap, but I slap them away. How does Ezekiel put up with this overgrown puppy?
“It happens to be cold in January every year, you know?” Twisting my body to get a better look at his face, I lift an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah, yeah. At least give me a dry towel,” he says, pointing to the pile of towels on one of the side tables. I comply, grabbing one and tossing it to his face. He wraps it around himself, humming contentedly and cuddling into the couch.
“I think you guys are great for each other, you know?” He begins, not looking at me specifically, just drifting off somewhere in my general direction.
“It was kinda weird at first,” he continues, his eyes meeting mine.
“But the more I thought about it, and about how you’ve been acting lately, the more it makes sense. ”
I listen closely, only nodding as he gets his thoughts out.
“All of us have always been unconventional in our own ways. I think Vivian’s specific brand of weird meshes perfectly with your grumpy ass.” Against my will, he draws a laugh from me. “You look happy, Knight.”
“I am, and in so many ways, it’s because of your sister,” I admit. I would like to think I’d make these betterments myself, but deep down, I know I needed Vivian in my life as a catalyst to heal.
“You’ll do right by her?” he asks, putting on an authoritative tone. He might as well puff out his chest and pound on it. “That girl,” he pauses, pointing over to where Vivian is braiding Emma’s hair in the hot tub. “She deserves the world.”
I couldn’t agree more. My world deserves the world, and I’ll devote the rest of my days providing it for her.