Page 84 of Fate in Motion
Everyone scatters to the living room, and Carter puts the movie on, but before he can get comfortable on the couch, I grab his hand and pull him back toward his room.
He raises an eyebrow. “Babe, I thought we already got all this horniness out of our systems.”
I smirk. “You reminded me of what my present to you is.”
I reach under the bed and hand him the seventh Harry Potter book.
Carter’s eyes widen. “I literally forgot I even begged you to read this.”
“I finished the whole thing,” I say. “It was fucking amazing.”
He looks at me like a kid on Christmas morning, with eyes wide, soft, and shining. “I can’t believe you actually finished. Now we can watch the last two movies together. Should I go turn it on? Please, let me turn it on!”
I shake my head. “Nah. Let them have their fun. We can watch together another time, I promise.”
What he doesn’t realize is that I actually finished the book weeks ago, but I completely forgot to tell him. He’s obsessed with Harry Potter, so I knew he’d love this.
Three hours later, we all start packing up the food, each of us taking one dish, and begin the short half-mile walk to the cafe. We make it to the cafe, squeeze through the front door, and everyone starts looking around, with wide eyes.
One by one, the compliments roll in: “This place is literally amazing,” and “Seriously, this is way better than I expected.”
Debi looks especially enchanted. She glances down and sees the glowing Fated Grounds sign, Carter bought me. “Wait, is this the name of your cafe? I thought you hadn’t picked one yet.”
I look at Carter and smile. “We picked Fated Grounds together. It’s really sentimental for us…and honestly, it’s a pretty catchy name.”
One of Carter’s brothers chimes in. “I’d definitely come here,” and the other says. “I love coffee.” “BYOB? Hell yeah,” the other adds. “Cheap booze? I’m in.” Everyone laughs.
For the next few hours, we all sit around the available tables, eating, drinking, and talking. We discuss our lives, all ask each other questions, and introduce ourselves properly. Our families really start getting to know each other, with this quiet, shared understanding that Carter and I aren’t just dating. We’re something more, something real. And that means these people will be in each other’s lives for a long time. I can’t help but look around at everyone, with so much love, I feel like I could burst.
Around 7 p.m., I look around the cafe and see everyone looking stuffed, slouched in their chairs, sipping water, and rubbing their stomachs. I stand up and clear my throat.
“I have a surprise for everyone,” I announce. That gets their attention. Heads turn with curious eyes.
“I know you’re all staying in hotels tonight, which means you can all Uber back.” Now they’re all looking at me with intrigue.
I walk toward the office area and return with a large cardboard box in my hands. I place it gently on the counter and pull out seven bottles of wine. Both red and white.
Eyes widen. Jaws drop. “I think seven bottles will be enough for ten of us,” I say, grinning.
Evan raises his glass and says, “I could probably handle two by myself.”
I laugh. “I don’t doubt you.”
I start passing bottles around, and we all pour ourselves a glass. The mood lifts instantly, and chatter picks up again, as laughter grows louder. Then Carter disappears for a moment and returns, wheeling out a karaoke machine from the back.
That’s when the place really lights up. Everyone cheers, except Scott, who clearly looks like he’d rather do literally anything else than sing in public.
Carter pulls the microphone off the machine, turns it on, and walks it over to me with a smirk. “Here you go, babe. All yours.”
The group starts clapping, cheering me on. I walk toward the tiny stage, the one we had built just last week, and take a deep breath.
I raise the mic. “I can’t help but look around right now and feel…so full. Not just from the food.” Everyone looks at me smiling. “I’m so hopeful for this cafe. I’m so hopeful for this family. And I’m so hopeful for this relationship.”
I meet Carter’s eyes, and he gives me the softest look, the kind that hits me square in the chest.
Then someone yells, “Now sing something already!” and everyone laughs again, glasses raised, the night just getting started.
Carter
