Page 44 of Egg Me On

Cash

Mira was bouncing inher chair as she flipped through the stack of documents, scrawling signatures boldly on each line. “So exciting,” she trilled.

"Initial here... and here," the realtor murmured, her finger tapping each designated line.

After what felt like an eternity of legal jargon and signatures, Mira slapped the massive stack of documents closed with a dramatic flourish.

"That's it, Cash. You're the proud owner of my half of our grandma's house," she announced, her voice carrying the theatrical flair she'd perfected through years of sorority leadership. “And I am free!”

My stomach turned a little bit. Not from regret, but from the sheer magnitude of what we were doing. I'd spent most of my adult life keeping people at arm's length, answering to nobody. Now I was legally tethered to this sunny, chaotic family that had somehow broken through every defense I'd carefully constructed.

I looked toward Aiden, finding his eyes already on me. He grinned that fucking sunshine smile that still made my chest tight, then reached out and squeezed my hand. His palm was warm against mine, slightly rough, the way it always was.

Even after a year, Aiden still gave me butterflies. Not that I'd ever admit that out loud, even if I could get the words out more and more these days.

"I'll file these with the county today," the realtor said, gathering up the papers. "Congratulations to all of you."

Mira beamed at both of us. "Aiden, if I'd known all I needed for financial freedom was to get you a boyfriend, I would have started working on it sooner."

Aiden snorted, shaking his head. The dimples in his cheeks deepened, just visible beneath his perpetual stubble. "Working on it? I got a boyfriend all by myself, thank you very much." He elbowed me gently in the ribs. "And apparently a rich one at that."

I cleared my throat, stumbling over my words a little bit as usual. "Not rich," I said, after pausing a moment and taking a breath,the way my therapist had me do.Let the words come in their own time. There’s no rush."Just a small inheritance from my grandmother."

The inheritance had been a final gift from my paternal grandmother who'd never quite fit in with the rest of the Uptons. While my parents ran their chain of Kansas farm supply stores with rigid pragmatism, Grandma Eliza had been the black sheep, divorcing my grandfather to run away, riding motorcycles and traveling the country well into her seventies. She’d been the only person in my family who’d ever really understood me, and even all these years later, I still felt like she was the only person who cared to understand me. Maybe that’s why she’d left her estate to me when she passed. It had included an apartment in Lenexa, which I’d sold, a vintage Indian chopper, which I’d kept, and five hundred thousand dollars.

Spending time with Aiden and Mira, and with all the people at FRMC had given me a new perspective on what family should be, and I smiled, knowing Grandma Eliza would have approved of my sweet boyfriend, even if no one else in the family had come around. Family wasn’t just about blood, and I knew Grandma Eliza would have been happy with the way I was spending my inheritance money.

These days, Mira felt more like family than my own brother, and she needed the money for grad school tuition. She also didn’t want to be tethered to her grandmother’s house in Denver, so it worked out perfectly.

Mira whooped, throwing her hands up victoriously. "I have my law school tuition covered now, and then some." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Legally Blonde, here I come."

Aiden cleared his throat, one eyebrow raising. "Except, not Harvard. University of Colorado, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mira grinned, rolling her eyes at her brother. "I couldn’t get into Harvard, anyway. Not that I’m not smart enough, I just partied a little too hard in undergrad, if you know what I mean.” She winked. “Anyway, I'm going to apply to CU Boulder and Colorado State. Maybe a few others, but nothing too far away. Can't leave you two idiots completely unsupervised. Either Cash will stop talking or Aiden will stop taking days off."

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “So. You’re taking credit for our personal growth.”

“Naturally. You’d be nowhere without my sage advice.”

A year ago, I would have bristled at her words. Now, I leaned back in my chair, smiling despite myself. My heart felt full in a way that was still unfamiliar, and still occasionally terrifying.

"Congratulations again," the realtor said, standing and extending her hand. "You all already have keys, so you're all set."

As we walked out of the office into the bright Denver sunshine, I watched Aiden stroll ahead, talking animatedly with the realtor about the farmers market happening that weekend. I'd spent years watching my bikes, my parts, my tools—never people.

"You're looking awfully serious for someone who just got a house," Mira said, falling into step beside me.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, fingers brushing against the velvet box. "Just processing."

"Bullshit," she said cheerfully. "I know that look. You’re panicking about the ring.”

“Am not.”

“I have a secret, and it’s just too good to keep. Especially considering how freaked out you look.” She clapped gleefully, glanced at her brother, then leaned in. “Aiden bought you a ring, too.”

I glanced at her, surprised. Mira and I had developed an unexpected friendship over the past year. At first, I'd found her exhausting. I’d taken her to be the stereotypical sorority girl: too polished, too concerned with appearances, and too different from her brother. But beneath the carefully curated exterior was someone fiercely intelligent and unexpectedly kind.

“He can’t!” I protested.

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