Page 142 of Stepbrothers with Benefits
“Well, I don’t have a whole lot of time to be gentle,” Kayden said with a laugh. “Don’t let her grumpiness get to you; she’s just happy for you, as I am. And if Jace is scowling, ignore him too, that’s just his face.”
“Quit slacking off,” Jace grumbled from across the table.
Kayden chuckled. “But really, I’m glad you two figured it out. Personally, I thought the whole Eli being straight thing was going to be an unavoidable roadblock, but clearly the people in your family do not know how to be straight.”
“We still have Dom and Arlo,” Milo pointed out, squinting at the two of them. “Right?”
Dom rolled his eyes and flipped Milo off, which earned him an eye roll from Marty. Arlo didn’t respond, hell, he hardly even blinked as he continued his conversation with Jace. Either he was ignoring Milo or was just caught up in conversation. Considering how attentive Arlo normally was, I suspected he was simply choosing not to engage.
“Hmm, silence,” Kayden noted.
“Suspicious,” Milo said, making Moira and me roll our eyes.
“Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’m getting a dirty look that’s telling me to hurry up,” Kayden said, laughing. “Breaking in a new partner is always a pain.”
“When they have to deal with you all the time, it’s not their fault,” Jace grumbled, but the twist of his mouth told me that, although he might think his new assignment was better for him, I’d bet good money he dearly missed having Kayden as his partner.
“Love you too,” Kayden called. “Anyway, happy for you. Don’t worry about fixing shit because you’ve got the whole family backing you, and uh…no using supply closets for rendezvous, please. Moira has to deal with that enough…is Micah there?”
“No,” I answered.
“Out of the two horndogs who are trying to make up for the sexual tension they clearly shared as horny teenagers,” Kayden added. “Alright, see whoever is around tomorrow. Love y’all.”
“That…is the love of my life,” Moira said, shaking her head and scowling. Which no one believed for a moment.
Milo looked at me, his eyes watery even as he smiled. “God, and to think we were avoiding this the whole time. We’re so goddamn lucky, you know that?”
I squeezed his hand and smiled. “We are.”
“Someone take Milo and Eli’s drinks away,” Mason announced as he stood. Both of them are getting sappy on us, and I’ve had enough of that for one night.”
“Sure,” Dom said with a smirk. “And I’m sure when it’s just you and Jace, you’re not going to turn into a giant sappy mess and snuggle up real close.”
“Hey,” Moira told him, her voice losing its cool business demeanor. “Don’t knock it. Jace is one hell of a cuddler. Wraps you up tight, you don’t know if you’re going to suffocate, but you’ll die comfortable.”
“Stop talking about my man!”
“I’m not a piece of property,” Jace protested angrily.
“Children, behave,” Dad said tiredly, not putting much heart into it.
“No, when it’s Mason who’s the target, I say let it happen,” Marty said, giving Milo and me a wink before turning around. “Bring your mother another one while you’re up.”
“Right, the same mother throwing me to the wolves,” Mason grumbled.
Marshall chuckled. “It’s a good family you two have here.”
Milo and I looked at one another, and his fingers threaded through mine gently, but I could feel the faint tremor in them. We still had plenty of work ahead of us, and a whole lot of shit to dodge, but we had gotten through the two hardest parts. We had saved ourselves and each other, and now we had our family behind us. In a way, it was stupid how much we had worried about what they would say when they were going to be...well, themselves.
“We got this,” he said, and although there was still fear in his eyes at what was to come, I believed him.
So long as we had each other, we could get through anything.
And as I sat there with his hand in mine, listening to my family bicker, laugh, and pick at one another, I found that I really and truly believed that.
EPILOGUE
Three Years Later
