Page 53 of Cursed Sight
“Where are we going?” Serena asked him for the millionth time.
Ethan grabbed their joined hands and kissed her knuckles.
“Come on, babe. I just want to go home and make myself a cup of tea to cleanse my body of any leftover poison.”
“I promise you will get your cup of tea,” he said as he turned into the cute neighborhood. It was quiet and somewhere he would love to raise a family one day.
Serena yanked her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest. Her clothes were fresh, thanks to Brandy making a special delivery that morning. The doctor had given them the green light to release her, and Ethan was glad they were done breathing in the sterile hospital air.
Turning left, he spotted the familiar cars lined down the street immediately. Serena remained quiet, her frustration evident in not only her posture but in his head. She needed a little normalcy. They all did.
“Where are we?” she asked as he pulled into the driveway of the two-story brick home.
“Let’s go inside and you’ll see,” he told her as she leaned forward, taking in the beautiful home he had yet to visit.
A sense of relief washed over him when she met him at the front of his car. He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “I love you, Serena.”
She stopped and met his gaze. “I love you? Do you mean you love me, or are you saying you love me because whatever is inside this house is something I’m not going to like?”
Ethan laughed. “For starters, I love you because you’re stubborn as hell but you’re also one of the kindest and smartest women I know.”
“Oh… Well, I love you too,” she muttered against his chest.
He laughed. “Wow, that sounds very convincing.”
Before she could argue, he tucked her against him and entered the home. Inside, he could hear his family and friends chatting away. His heart expanded whenever he was surrounded by the people he loved. He was thrilled to not only include Serena but set her in the special place in his heart that had been vacant for so many years.
“Is that Brandy I hear?” Serena asked.
“Let’s go find out,” he said after hanging their jackets.
The voices grew louder as Serena and Ethan entered the living room. Serena gasped when she spotted the large sign across the windows.
“Oh my God, they’re here!” Brandy shouted, and everyone paused mid-sentence.
“Congratulations!”
Serena covered her mouth, but Ethan did not miss the joy pulsing within her or the way her eyes watered. Their family and friends hurried toward them.
“Congratulations, brother,” James told him with a pound to his back. “Welcome to the family, Serena,” James said and kissed her cheek.
“I’m so happy you said yes!” Andrea told Serena as she hugged her. Cupping Ethan’s face, she smiled. “You found a great one.”
Junior grinned at them, with Debbie tucked into his side. “Another one bites the dust.”
Ethan and Serena chuckled as Debbie smacked his stomach.
“Welcome to the family, sweetheart,” Junior said.
Max approached them next with two closed beers. “Congratulations. I figured if you were going to celebrate, you’d want to open the bottle yourself.”
Ethan embraced him before accepting the beers. “Thanks for opening your home to us. Edward couldn’t make it I see?”
“Anytime, brother, and as far as Edward, he said he’d be late,” Max told him.
“This isyourplace, Max?” Serena asked as Ethan opened their beer bottles.
Max looked around his new home and grinned. “Yup! I moved in recently, although with as much time I spend on the cot in my office, I probably should’ve moved in there.”
