Page 48

Carter

Late November

“Go on now, master Carter.” Milton pats my shoulder and nods to the open door of the brownstone.

I don’t have the energy to remind him not to call me master this early in the morning, especially not after three very busy months.

Liam took CJ’s idea to Tristan, and our PR genius was outraged that he hadn’t thought of it first—CJ was very smug.

William and Parker flew to Boston the next day to recruit half a dozen more programmers, so they could make the necessary adjustments to the app now that the idea was to have it offer only a simple list to the users.

And they delivered a perfectly finished app by the time we flew to LA to film all the adverts late last month .

My favorite was the one where all the quarterbacks—Adam, Luke, Leaf, and AJ who plays with Derek—have their Super Bowl rings on and MVP trophies in front of them, and are discussing who’s the best when Jules, the living legendary hockey player for Las Vegas, walks up with his arms full of all his hockey trophies, and puts the other men to shame.

The best part is right at the end, though, when Gab enters the frame pulling a cart behind her where she has so many trophies they had to be haphazardly piled on top of each other. She says a cheesy line about being on top of her game, and then the ESoothe logo appears.

That one was Tristan’s idea, but the logo was all Blair.

She’s the head of sales Tristan hired for ESoothe, and she’s an absolute master at marketing. She’s now William, Parker, and Liam’s favorite person, not that I’m complaining, and she’s even given me some great tips for the galleries.

“Cher, no!” I hear Liam’s panicked cry, and that finally brings me out of my melancholy and back to the present.

The present where it’s cold as a polar bear’s behind, and I’m barely able to run to Liam’s rescue on the sidewalk because I have so many layers on.

The weather really never is my friend.

Though October was pretty perfect in my opinion, I can’t wait until April when I can have a few normal days again.

When I finally get to him, my big exhale isn’t only because I can stop moving now, but also because he’s so fucking perfect.

Holding his new puppy close to his chest, he chides her softly .

“You don’t need to drink water from that puddle, because we brought your bowl, Cher. Here, look, I’ll show you.”

He then bends down and fills the tiny container with water from a bottle he had inside his jacket, then gestures to it as if the dog will understand that.

To my surprise, she does, and drinks all of it.

I opposed this walk with as many logical arguments as I could, but seeing little Cher with her bright purple sweater on and her little shoes—which Mike and Theo recommended—I think I’m actually glad we woke up before anyone sane so we could let her play in the park.

Liam puts the bowl in his backpack, then picks Cher up again.

“You love her already, huh?”

He turns, surprised to see me, and though I know the cold helps, the way his cheeks darken so quickly tells me he’s embarrassed.

His sheepish smile is another indicator.

I walk up to them and lean in to kiss him softly.

I smile even while steam leaves his mouth when he releases a breath. It really is too damn cold. Not even winter yet and?—

“I love you,” he whispers, and my attention snaps back so quickly I stumble on my feet.

“You do?” I ask, wonder filling every square inch of my body.

“Like I’ve never loved anyone before,” he confirms, and I can see it in his eyes. That bright blue is especially stark today.

“I love you too,” I confess. “Also like I’ve never loved anyone before.

I know it’s not original, but you’re the one who’s good with words.

I’m just the lucky guy who gets to be by your side.

” Why am I rambling? “Most days I wake up and for a few minutes it feels like a dream that could disappear at any moment, but then I see you, and I can’t believe it’s true until you look at me. ”

“You’re an amazing man, Carter,” he says with his lovely frown. “You care about me like no one else, and you make me feel like I’m perfect.”

“You are,” I insist and press my body to his. Having Cher between us just makes it better. “You’re everything I never thought I needed.”

“Are you sure?” His twisted mouth is his insecurity tell, so I kiss it back to its normal pouty self.

“I’ll never regret walking up that hill to talk to you,” I promise.

“Me either . . . chahita.”

The Urdu term of endearment stops my heart, but the insecurity I see in his wobbling smile springs me into action. I smash my lips to his in the most uncoordinated way, but I don’t care.

“Darling,” I whisper when I pull back. My heart is going crazy inside my chest and my eyes sting, but I can’t look away from his earnest blue eyes.

“Did I say it correctly?” he asks softly. “I researched the pronunciation and?—”

“It was perfect.” I have to swallow hard. “And I love it. It’s what Mum called Dad all my life.”

“It is?” His beautiful smile blooms and brightens everything around us.

“I love you so much.” My voice might be gravelly but I nod a few times, so hopefully he can see how much this means to me. “So much, darling.”

“I like hearing you say that,” he murmurs with a softer smile.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it now that I have.”

“That’s good, because...” He straightens and stares at me with solemn eyes. “I think it’s time we revisit the living arrangements discussion.”

“It wasn’t really a discussion,” I mumble.

“Well, we had opposing opinions, so I think that qualifies.”

I let out a sigh. I’ve been aware I’m never going to win an argument with Liam. Not only because we rarely disagree on important matters or because he’s so smart and knows so damn much about the human brain, but because he’s too cute.

“You still think you should give up your apartment and the best option is for us to live in the brownstone that’s not even mine?” I ask.

“I do, but I have an exciting new idea.”

“All right.” I link an arm with him and steer us to cross the street to the park. “I’m all ears.”

“What if we buy half of the brownstone from CJ?”

“What? Divide it into two separate houses? How would that even work?”

“No, no.” He shakes his head. “I mean just paying him half the value so it stays his but our names are also on the deed. That way he can still come over whenever he wants but it would feel like it’s your house as well.

We can redo the whole second floor into whatever we want, leave the ground floor as a living space, the first floor is for guests, and the fourth floor is CJ’s. ”

I pull on his arm when I stop dead in my tracks .

“And you’d really be fine giving up your apartment? That’s your space, Liam, and I never want you to give up anything for me.”

This time his exhale sounds irritated. I always secretly like it when he’s irritated because it’s just another way he shows me he’s comfortable with me.

“Building a home with you would be much greater than whatever I’d be giving up, and besides, if I feel the need to have my own space, there are five other rooms in the brownstone I can use when and if that happens.”

We resume our walk and Liam puts Cher on the ground.

“In that case,” I say at last. “I love this idea. We’ll ask CJ what he thinks when they come over for Christmas, yeah?”

“That sounds great.” He nods once. “We’re not going to the play until eight, right?

” he checks, though he’s the one who set it up with Michelle.

Turns out she didn’t back out from investing in ESoothe because of anything Dirk did or didn’t do, she just truly believed that she wouldn’t be the right partner for Liam and that he would prosper without her anyway.

“That’s right,” I confirm.

“And what time are your friends flying in?” He changes the subject, this time talking about Nate and Ru who are taking a trip for Thanksgiving like they promised months ago.

“Not until four.”

“Then we have time today to think of what we want to turn the second floor into.”

“I like that plan, but we’ll have to make sure to take lots of breaks,” I tell him with a suggestive wag of my brows.

His blinding smile promises a lifetime of feeling like a hero, and yeah, that sounds self-serving, but I’ve never felt like anyone’s hero before. I never wanted to be anyone’s hero because I didn’t believe I could be.

The idea that I might fall in love with a man never once crossed my mind, or that a new friend could become the most integral part of my world and give me absolutely everything I need.

After years of searching, I’ve finally found my home, and it’s Liam.

I did say I like to be surrounded by beautiful things, and his soul and mind are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.