Page 79 of Final Goodbye
“Declan wants to know if we need anything, he’s on his way home soon.” Sophie looked down at her wine and back up to me.
“I am a bit tipsy—actually more like drunk from all of this wine. Any chance he can give me a ride home?” she asked skeptically.
“You want to just crash here in the guest room? I can ask Declan to give you a ride if not,” I offered.
“As much as I want to hear you two bumping and grinding all night to the sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye, I think I’d rathersleep off the hangover coming my way in my own bed,” she said jokingly.
“You’re not wrong. I’ll probably jump his bones the second he walks through that door.” I laughed and looked back down at my phone to shoot a quick text back to him.
Me: Any way you can give Soph a ride home? All the wine you left out got put to good use.
Declan: Of course baby, I’ll make sure she gets home safe. See you soon.
“Looks like Declan can give you a ride home. He’s on his way back now.” I put my phone down and began cleaning up our mess the best I could before he got here. I didn’t want him to think moving me in here was a mistake because I was a messy person or something. The least I could do was move everything back into the kitchen from the living room and deal with it all in the morning.
We were in the kitchen putting away the leftover food when the front door opened. Declan walked in, but he wasn’t alone. Myles stood by his side. “Hi, baby girl, how was your girl’s night?” he asked as Sophie and I looked back and forth at each other and then to Myles who stood in the doorway.
“Uh, it was great! Wine. So much wine,” I blabbed drunkenly. Declan walked toward me in the kitchen as I stumbled around with the Tupperware.
He pulled me in close and murmured in my ear. “You seem a bit drunk. It’s cute.” He kissed me just below the ear.
“What’s Myles doing here?” I whispered.
“You said Sophie needed a ride home. I cashed in a favor and Myles is going to get her home safe.” Sophie overheard what he said as she pulled out her phone.
“Oh no, that’s not necessary! I can just get an Uber.” She laughed and avoided eye contact with Myles at all costs.
You could cut the tension with a knife. Maybe it was sexual tension brewing between them? I hoped so.
Myles walked over to Sophie and took her phone away. “Get your shit together and let’s get out of here. It won’t be the end of the world if you have to be in the car with me for ten minutes,” he growled. Sophie looked up at him, but her eyes didn’t quite reach his gaze. She looked nervous around him which was shocking because Sophie was the most confident person I’d ever met.
She strutted toward me and wrapped her arms around me as she mumbled in my ear so only I could hear, “Mr. Grumpy is demanding he take me home. If he mentions anything about how we matched on the dating app, you owe me one.” The tight hug she had me in ended and she pulled away before I could respond.
Not wanting to make it awkward I called out, “See you at work. Text me when you get home!” And just like that, Myles and Sophie were headed for the front door. His hand laid across her lower back as he guided her out and it made me giggle when she refused his help by shaking off his touch like the independent woman that she was.
The door closed as Declan gave me a quizzical look. “What the fuck was all of that about?”
“Let’s just say, I think there is a lot more to come where they are concerned.” His eyebrow raised in confusion.
“Don’t worry about it. Just take me to bed. I want to cuddle and force you to watch another chick flick with me,” I slurred.
“I could get used to you asking me to take you to bed every night, baby girl. But where the movie is concerned, we will be watchingHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Daysand I won’t take no foran answer.” My feet left the ground when he picked me up and whisked me away to the bedroom.
“Perfect, one of my favorites.”
“Are you sure about this,man? It’s only been six months.” Myles turned toward me, expressing his concerns.
“I’ve never been so fucking sure about anything in my life.” I looked down at the black velvet box, rolling it between my fingers. “I love Paige. More than anything. It doesn’t matter if I propose now or another year from now. My feelings aren’t going to change so I don’t see why I should waste any more time.”
Myles slapped me on the back and gripped my shoulder, causing me to turn around to look him in the eyes. “I just want to see you happy, man. And I’ve never seen you happier than when you’re with Paige. She’s already a part of the family, so why not make it official? It’s about time you take her off the market, bro.” He shook my shoulders in excitement with a giant smile across his face, genuinely thrilled for me. His smile was so infectious, I almost forgot what it was like when Myles was going through the worst of it.
Everything had slowly fallen into place.
Paige moved in months ago right after I asked her to. We’ve had endless mornings watching the sunrise from bed and manylate nights making love. I was preparing to ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. Not just to live together, but with a diamond ring on her finger and taking the Cooper name.
She would be mine,forever.
How I always wanted it.
