Page 69 of By the Book

I put my phone back down and look up at her. “Tripp told Wes.”

“How did that go?” she asks, sipping from her own teacup.

I don’t have time to answer before the French doors from the backyard open and there is Wes. His hand is swollen and bruised, and it doesn’t take long for me to understand what Tripp meant by telling me not to freak out when I see him.

I’m in love with Tripp, I have been for some time. Of this, I’m certain. But what happens if my brother never forgives us? The knot in my stomach tightens at the sight of his hand and what it means.

“What are you doing here?” Wes snaps when he sees me.

“There will be none of that,” our mom scolds, rising from her seat once again and moving to the freezer. She withdraws a bagof frozen peas and hands them to him. “What did you do to your hand?”

“I’m sure Ivy already knows.”

“Wesley.” There is authority in her tone.

He doesn’t say anything, instead he takes the peas and disappears back out to his carriage house.

“I have to go too, Mom. I have a feeling that I’ll find the matching half to Wes’s hand with Tripp.”

She nods and gives me another hug before I leave. With her arms wrapped tight around me, she says, “Pass this one on to Tripp too.”

My mom’s support helps that knot in my stomach to loosen some. If Ruth is on board, then it should be no time at all before everyone else is too, that’s the magic of our mother. And if there’s ever a time I need that magic, it’s now.

The sound of knocking causes me to spring to my feet. Tripp is here. I cross the room and quickly move through the multiple locks he’s installed in my door. Throwing it open, a gasp escapes me at the sight in my doorway.

It’s an early stage, but there’s swelling and the start of some bruising on his face. His achingly handsome face. He sweeps me up in an embrace as he moves into the apartment, balancing a pizza in his other hand.

“He hit you,” I whimper against his chest. “I can’t believe Wes hit you.”

He pulls back and tilts my chin up to see my face. I can feel moisture threatening my eyes as I scan his injuries. “It looks worse than it is,” he assures me with a kiss.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmur as I gently brush my thumb along his cheek.

“I’m not.” A soft smile pulls at his lips, and he holds the pizza box up beside us. “Dinner?”

We take a seat on the sofa, and he opens the box, handing me a slice of my favorite pizza. “The hot honey pizza?” I look at him in surprise.

“You think I don’t know your order by now? Come on, we used to get Oak + Harbor after almost all our lacrosse games in high school. And every break you were home from college, that’s what you’d tell your mom you wanted.” He looks up at me with all the warmth and affection in the world, and my heart flutters in response.

“I remember the time Wes only got a large of the Mediterranean pizza he likes, extra olives, so you picked every single olive off for me.” I sniff at the memory of a sixteen year old Tripp caring about me even then, and take in the bruised features of twenty seven year old Tripp before me now. “But what happens now that…”

“We’ll figure this out.” He reaches over and brushes his thumb along my bottom lip. “No doubts, Sherlock. Not for one second. You’re worth it all and more.”

“No doubts,” I reply softly. “Not now, not ever.” Loving Tripp isn’t something I ever had to think about. I simply know it to be true.

As intoxicating as a date night out with him is, the slow, comfortable evenings are what I’m really starting to treasure. There’s something so vulnerable and real about sharing the quiet hours with someone. Tucked under his arm, I read a book while he scans a fishing report. Every so often, he drops a kiss to my head or brushes his thumb back and forth across my arm. It’s the most at peace I’ve felt in some time.

Tripp

“You look like shit,” Millie remarks, passing me a paper cup from the café.

“You remember I’m your boss, right?”

She snickers, stepping back and crossing her arms. The look on her face tells me that she’s studying me like a crime scene. “So, what’s the story?”

Looking over her shoulder through the department, I spot none other than the culprit stepping into the lobby. I’m not sure what my friend is doing here, but he doesn’t look happy.

Turning my attention back to Millie, I reply, “I think everyone is about to find out. You might want to get some ice for round two.” I motion to my face before nodding towards Wes.

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