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Chapter Eighteen

TAYLOR

“Thanks again for coming,” I said, squeezing Nicole’s hand with mine.

“Of course,” she smiled at me, squeezing my hand back.

Today, I was introducing her to one of my favorite people ever.

Beck’s grandmother. Susie’s namesake.

As we strolled through the cemetery in Laguna Hills, our voices lowered. Nicole’s demeanor immediately shifted to reverent and respectful. I tried to hide a smirk at the thought that, had Susan still been alive, she’d hate that.

She’d want Nicole to act like herself.

To have fun .

“I’m excited to meet more of your friends,” Nicole murmured, studying all the gravestones we passed on the way to Susan’s.

At first, I felt worried that I was introducing Nicole to too many people.

Here I was, showing off this massive support system of friends I considered family, whereas Nicole’s support system was much smaller.

The friends she claimed as her own, I already knew.

It felt one-sided.

But Nicole reassured me that she was fine, even if it was a bit overwhelming for her at the beginning.

“Me too,” I grinned down at her, “Beck is one of my favorite people. Adam is great, too. Once he opens up.”

Nicole hummed as we strolled hand in hand, before Beck and Adam came into view. They had already set up a picnic blanket in front of Susan’s grave, snacks were distributed, and when Adam nudged Beck to inform her of our arrival, she beamed and waved dramatically at us.

“Beck is hard of hearing,” I informed Nicole, “Even though she’s wearing hearing aids, it’s best to let her get a view of your face when you speak to her. That way, she can read your lips, too.”

“Got it,” Nicole nodded.

Adam and Beck started signing to each other, it felt like a private discussion from the way Beck blushed, and Adam grinned at her.

“Hey,” I guided Nicole to plop down next to me as we settled in on the picnic blanket, “I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Nicole Young.”

“I’m so excited to finally meet you,” Beck bounced happily in her seat after shaking Nicole’s hand. “I’m Beck. This is Adam.”

“Hi,” Nicole said. Adam shook her hand next.

“Thanks for hanging out with us,” Beck said.

“Gram was a big part of my life, which is how she became a big part of everyone else’s lives, too.

We try to visit her at least once a month.

” Beck stared at the tombstone lovingly.

A picture of Susan was propped up against it, so she grabbed the frame and handed it to Nicole to admire.

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Nicole sighed. The picture was a recent one of Susan Scott.

Her white hair was tied in a knot haphazardly on her head.

Her round glasses took up two-thirds of her face, and she smiled widely for the picture.

A shawl she knitted herself was draped over her shoulders, and she was sitting in one of the hideous accent chairs that still resided in Courtney and Josh’s place.

“She is,” Beck agreed. Nicole handed the picture back to her, and Beck turned to face Nicole more directly.

“Tell us about yourself! We haven’t gotten to meet a lot of Taylor’s partners in the past, so this is pretty exciting.

Right?” She glanced up at Adam, sitting next to her, who nodded and gave Nicole a polite smile.

Nicole looked at me once before resting her hand on my thigh and asking, “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” Beck replied, “How did you two meet?”

“Mutual friends,” we answered in unison.

Nicole giggled before clarifying, “I work with their teammates, and also a former client of theirs.”

“Wow,” Beck’s hazel eyes widened, “Small world, huh?”

“Thank god,” I replied, leaning back on my hands to stretch, “Otherwise who knew how long I would have continued fucking around.”

Nicole gave me a chastising look, “There’s nothing wrong with fucking around, Taylor.”

“You’re not wrong,” I replied, leaning in close, “But now that I have you, it makes me want to throw up knowing that I could have gone my whole life without you in it.”

Nicole raised a dark eyebrow at me, “You wouldn’t have known better. It would have been the same as before you met me.”

“Nicole,” I shook my head at her, and leaned in close to her face, so that our foreheads were almost touching, “Logically, you’re right. Emotionally, I don’t like thinking about that. You’re in my life now, and I’m keeping you.”

Her dark eyes sparkled at my words, “Keeping me?”

“Yeah,” I pecked her nose once and said, “For as long as you’ll have me.”

Her cheeks darkened with a blush as she started blinking rapidly. Her eyes shifted, acting as if she forgot about the company we shared.

“Oh, sorry—”

“Don’t apologize,” Beck raised her hands at us, “I get it. I totally get it.”

Adam shifted closer to her, kissing the crown of her head as he studied the scenery around us.

“Oh, that reminds me—” I turned to face Beck head-on, “I’m sorry in advance.”

Beck cocked her head to the side, “For what?”

“Because I’m probably going to marry Nicole.” At my words, Nicole gasped and sat straighter, her head whipping toward me as I continued, “So you and Adam will be the only ones living in sin after that.”

Nicole’s eyes widened at me. “Did you just say, ‘living in sin?’”

Beck threw her head back and cackled, then composed herself enough to say, “You don’t have to apologize for that, T. Good god. Living in sin.” Beck was still laughing, wiping a stray tear from her eye as she leaned into her boyfriend.

“Are you all religious?” Nicole asked the group.

“No.” Beck shook her head, taking a deep breath, “Much to my parents’ chagrin.”

Nicole’s mouth shaped into an oh , before she nodded in understanding.

“Married, huh?” Adam asked with a raised brow.

“Hell yeah,” I glanced down at Nicole, who was blushing again, “Don’t worry, I’m not proposing right now.”

Nicole’s brows raised, “So, when will you?”

I rolled my eyes at her, “I can’t tell you that.”

“What if I want to propose?”

I shrugged and said, “Then I’ll say yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Nicole scoffed, her cheeks holding their delicious blush, as she asked Beck and Adam how they met, and the conversation shifted.

I lay back on the picnic blanket, appreciating the peace of the cemetery.

There were a few clouds left in the sky this morning that I gazed at as I listened to their conversation.

Nicole would laugh at something Beck said every now and then, reminding me of that day at rugby that changed things for us all those weeks ago.

How quickly I went from “I’m probably never settling down” to “I can’t wait until she wears my ring on her finger” within weeks.

I still didn’t care for weddings that much.

But I knew Nicole did. It was a nugget of information I kept safe in my mental Nicole jar.

Something I made sure to dig out when the time was right.

Something I really, really wanted to do for her.

There wasn’t going to be anyone else in my life.

No one ever had a hold on my heart like Nicole did.

Might as well throw a kickass party and make it legal.

The human experience never ceases to amaze me.

“Babe?” Nicole asked, leaning over me to get my attention. Her short black hair fell around her face, so I reached up to tuck some of it behind her ear.

“Yeah?”

“Nothing.” Nicole smiled, before leaning down to press a kiss to my lips, “Just seeing if you’re okay.”

“I’m wonderful,” I sighed, “I’m at peace.”

Nicole bit her lip with a grin before pulling away and continuing her conversation with my friends.

I loved her.

Everything else seemed to be trivial compared to that knowledge.

Love was a powerful thing.

The elation of it was astounding. Knowing that there was one person in your corner, no matter what. Someone who fit me in all the ways I didn’t realize I wanted. Someone I wanted to show off. Someone I wanted to settle in with every night.

Two people who could find comfort in each other.

My name is Taylor Desmond, and even though it was unexpected, I had exactly what I wanted.

THE END