“No,” I start. “It hasn’t been…” I trail off.
He’s right.
It’s been every night. We’ve been inseparable. We even do laundry at each other’s places. I have a spare set of things at his place, and he has the same here. And it hasn’t been stifling or scary or too much. It’s been perfect. Which is likely why I didn’t realize we’d been doing it like that.
“If I had talked to you about it beforehand, you never would have agreed. You, my beautiful little runner, sometimes need me to do the crazy thing. To force you into a midnight kiss. To show up at your door to check on you. To move myself in because sometimes, you’re just too stubborn to get out of your own way.”
My forehead meets his chest. Behind me, the guys continue to move Brecken’s stuff in, tracking snow through my foyer and house.
“If you’re going to kick him out, I’m not moving another box in,” Luca states.
“Look at her. She’s not kicking him out,” Landon barks. “Get over it and pay up, asshole.”
“If he hurts you, I’ll kill him,” Kaplan calls out. “I already told him that.”
“And I informed him that not even his dentist would be able to identify the body,” Carter adds.
“What do you say, Angel?” Brecken murmurs, kissing the underside of my jaw. “Can I move in with you? Can we start this life together?”
“Are you going to do the same thing one day when you’re ready to get married?”
“Whatever it takes to keep you mine forever, I’ll do. But in the end, you’re always going to say yes to me. Do you know why?”
I shake my head, but I’m smiling. This man.
“Because you love me just as much as I love you. And you want all of this with me, just as much as I do with you.”
“Is that what you think?”
He chuckles. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
I pull back and look up into his oh-so-blue eyes. “You’re not wrong.”
“Tell me you love me.”
“I love you.”
“Can I stay?” he asks, his eyes dancing back and forth between mine, nervous for the first time since walking in here today with this insane scheme.
My arms snake around his neck. “You can stay. You can stay forever.”
A breathtaking smile lights up his entire face. “Good. Because we leave for Vegas in an hour.” He winks at me and I hit his chest, shoving him back. He laughs, pulling me back into him and kissing me with so much passion and love I can’t determine where he ends and I begin.
“Fantastic,” Oliver says. “Now you can both help us move your stuff.” Oliver grabs me by the shoulder, prying me away from Brecken. He tosses his arm over my shoulder. “Thank god, this will never be me.”
Brecken laughs. “Bullshit. A hundred says you’re next.”
“You’re on.”
The End
Thank you SO very much for taking the time to read The Edge of Chaos. I sincerely hope you enjoyed Brecken and Rina’s story.
As you probably could figure out by those last few lines, Oliver as well as all of the Fritz brothers will be getting their own HEAs in a spin-off series set to release starting in October. I hope you’ll stick with me for that and as a special exclusive gift, if you keep reading, you can read chapter one of Doctor Scandalous before anyone else!
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Doctor Scandalous
Not edited and subject to change.
Oliver
I’m walking toward the gates of hell. And they charge for admission.
Christa Foreman greets me with a slow once over, her pastel-pink lips curling up into an impish grin. “Oh, Oliver…” She’s aptly named, because our senior class president was no joke when it came to strong-arming and manipulating her fellow classmates into getting what she wanted. “It’s so good to see you. Wow. I mean I see your pictures in magazines and on social media every now and then because I follow you, but you’re way better looking in person than I remember from high school.”
“Um. Thank you?” It comes out as a question, my head tilting in her direction.
“Sure. No problem.” She licks her lips, her long, fake eyelashes batting faster than a butterfly’s wings at me. “Are you here alone tonight?” She giggles as a flush creeps up her cheeks. She’s married. Can we just say that? “I’m only asking because I need to know how much to charge you. I got stuck collecting money until the event coordinator can get her shit together.” She huffs out a flustered breath, rolling her eyes derisively. “Anyway, it’s a hundred per person. Should I put you down for one or two?”
And this is where I hesitate. Not over the money. The money is not an issue.
“Just give me a second.”
Christa stares longingly at me, licking her lips. “Sure. I’ll give you all night.”
“Right.” Because I have no idea what else to say to that. I don’t remember Christa being so overtly interested in me when we were in high school. Then again that was ten years ago, and I was most definitely taken. Which is both the main reason I don’t want to be here and the main reason I came. But now I’m starting to reconsider everything.
I have nothing to prove by being here.
Not to her, her douchebag husband—my former friend—or anyone else.
I should just go. Maybe meet up with Carter, who I already know is going to our favorite bar and get lost in a night of fun. Nothing about this hellhole will be fun. And in truth, I could really use a drink. A quiet one. It’s been a shitful week. Too many patients. Not enough time. Oh, and finding out that your mom’s cancer is back is always a winner.
I slip my phone from my pocket and shoot off a text to my best friend, Grace.
Me: Sorry, babe. Not gonna be able to make it.
The message bubble instantly dances along my screen. Grace: It’s not a choice, honey pie. Everyone is already asking when you’re going to get here. Everyone.
And instantly I’m tempted to ask if she’s asking. In fact, my thumbs who seem to have a mind of their own start to type that very question, until I tamp them down and rein them under control. Of course, she’s asking. That’s what she does. She continues to hunt me down with terrorist-level determination, even all these years later.
She’s likely giddy at the prospect of rubbing her picture-perfect life in my face without even caring that she’s the last person on the planet I want to see tonight or any other night. Hence why now is the perfect time to leave.
Me: Don’t care.
Grace: Yes, you do. Come on. I know you’re already dressed for tonight. Carter sent me a text.
Carter. My traitorous brother.
Grace: Just come inside the hotel. Come up to the reunion. Have a drink with me. See the people you haven’t seen since high school who will fall at your feet the way they did back in the day. Oh wait, they still do.
Me: You’re doing a shitty job of selling it there, sweetums.
Grace: Everyone will think you’re a pussy if you don’t come.
Me: Nice gauntlet drop.