He hugs me, kissing my hair. “I always knew you did.”
18
Ten months later…
Brendan
My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. Literally. I’m so damn proud of my woman. I leap from my seat and clap as Chloe walks across the stage to accept her diploma. She graduated summa cum laude—which only the top five percent of students achieve—with a double major in biology and chemistry. After she shakes the line of deans’ hands, she smiles and waves at us in the audience.
Sara’s filming it with her phone like a proud mom. She practically raised Chloe, and I love her for that. My cousin Adrian’s holding little Henry and whistling for Chloe, two fingers in his mouth. He’s got to hold Henry now that he’s twenty months old; otherwise, that kid is on the move. Chloe’s roommate for the last three years, Lindsey, is sitting with us too. She’s been a good friend to Chloe. They’re pretty close, considering how much time Chloe spends studying. Lindsey says it’s going to be tough for her to go back to school in the fall without her roomie. She doesn’t graduate until next May.
I watch as Chloe takes her seat again in the mass of light blue caps and gowns. A huge smile spreads across my face, my eyes stinging. I swear she’s a genius, though she insists she’s just a hard worker. How many people could do what she did? Graduate with highest honors in a double major in only three years from a top-notch university. It’s remarkable, she’s remarkable. I hope our kids take after her. That’s a while away, though. She’s got time. She’s twenty-one now with a new challenge ahead of her—Harvard Medical School. That’s right. She got in. I nearly cried with her when she got the news. All right, I did. A little. Emotions are so contagious.
I exchange a watery smile with Sara. “Our girl’s a freaking genius,” I whisper to her.
Sara beams. “I know! I’m so proud of her.”
The rest of the ceremony drags on. I’m anxious to get to Chloe to congratulate her. This school year hasn’t been too bad as far as seeing each other. We worked it out where I pick her up on Saturday night after she’s finished studying and take her back to my place to spend the night. We spend all day Sunday together. That’s her day off. A few times she studied a bit when she needed to, but I understood. I don’t mind as long as we’re together. Beast was nice enough to clear out to give us alone time on the weekends. He usually stays with Sean and Josie, who have a guest room.
I’m moving up to Massachusetts with her. It’s a sweet deal since we can stay in affordable med school student housing. We’ll have an apartment not far from campus. As for my job, well, it was tough to break the news to my brothers that I’d be leaving. I’m the only one who’s ever fully stepped away. Dylan left the door open for me to come back if Chloe and I end up settling in New York. For the near future, I’m starting my own contracting business flipping houses. I’m psyched because I’ve always wanted to be my own boss and it’s a job I can literally do anywhere. There’s always some run-down house in need of renovation. And I know how to spot a good investment thanks to the time I’ve spent scouting out properties for Rourke Management.
And guess who’s taking over scouting properties for me at my old job? It’s two people, actually, my dad and my sister-in-law Ariana. It’s a great fit for them since my dad has his real estate license and Ariana used to work for a real estate development company. She works from home, so she can have a flexible schedule with the baby. So I feel good about that too. My work continues to be in the family’s hands.
Finally, Chloe rejoins us. She beams. “I did it!”
Sara gets to her first, hugging her and crying. “You did! My brainiac sister. I’m so proud of you!” Chloe hugs her back, smiling at me over her sister’s shoulder.
The moment Sara lets her go, I pull Chloe into my arms. “Congratulations, graduate. I’m so proud of you too.” I frame her face with my hands and kiss her. “I’m in awe.”
She cups my jaw, stroking my beard. “Thank you, Bren. And thank you for being so patient with me this year.”
“Worth it.”
Adrian and Lindsey congratulate her next, and Chloe kisses Henry’s chubby cheek, exclaiming over how big he’s gotten.
We join the crowd filing out. Adrian arranged for a limo to take us to a fancy Italian restaurant for a celebratory lunch. The place was my choice because they have great tortellini and I want to remind Chloe of our first “date,” making tortellini together while trying to resist each other. I always knew that was a losing battle. Ha. So worth the month of torture just to get to know her better. She got into my heart. I have something special planned for Chloe at the restaurant too.
Chloe
We’re at a round table for six in a classy Italian restaurant for my graduation-day lunch. It’s me, Brendan, Sara, Adrian, Lindsey, and Henry in a high chair. I’m between Brendan and Henry. I have to soak in my nephew while I can. I love the little guy.
“I’m so glad to be out of my cap and gown,” I say. “It was getting hot under there.”
“You looked amazing,” Sara says. “Like a scholar.”
I smile. It’s a pretty great feeling to graduate after three years of hard work. I know I have four years of med school ahead of me, which isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a break between now and then. Move-in day for med school is August second. This summer I’m devoting to enjoying myself with my best friend and lover, the phenomenal Brendan Rourke. Brendan and I sort of learned together how to navigate our relationship. We’re each other’s first love, which I think is pretty special.
He lifts my chin. “You’re gazing at me worshipfully again. Keep it up.” He kisses me and grins.
I’m so crazy about him and let him know so often he’s gotten a big head about it. “Always the modest one.”
“Someone has to be, Ms. Summa Cum Laude. I swear I’m calling Mensa to have you tested.”
I shake my head, smiling. “Stop. You know I work my ass off. It’s dedication to your chosen interest that makes the results look easy. If I really was a genius, I wouldn’t have sweated my way through finals.” I actually do sweat. My brain is working so hard I sweat through exams like a workout.
The waiter appears to read us the specials. And one of them is freshly made tortellini!
I turn to Brendan. “Tortellini! I’m definitely getting that. Remember when we made it? It was so hard, but fun too.”
He grins and takes in the table. “Chloe and I were pseudo-friends for a month last summer and made tortellini together.”
Everyone smiles at us.
I cock my head. “Wait, pseudo-friends? No, we were actual friends.”
He gives me a deadpan look. “Do not pretend you weren’t fighting major chemistry the whole time.”
“Busted!” Lindsey crows. Her hair is short and back to its natural brown. I kinda miss the purple she had before. “I heard all about the hot neighbor living next door that she had to keep in the friend zone.”
“Lindsey!” I exclaim. “Those desperate texts were private.”
We laugh.
A short while later, I’m enjoying tortellini. So is Brendan. “What do you think?” I ask him. “Better than ours?” I’m teasing. This is way better.
“Considering it was our first time cooking a real dinner, I’d say…” He laughs. “Theirs is way better. I think we cooked ours too long, it was kinda chewy. And some of them hardly had any meat filling. But I did love it because we made it together.”
My heart squeezes. I want to kiss him, but I don’t want to get all mushy in front of my sister’s family and Lindsey. Instead I just smile and turn to Henry, offering him one of my tortellini. He has a tiny bowl of mac ’n cheese that he’s mostly been ignoring. He chews the tortellini eagerly and grunts, leaning forward and doing the sign for more. Sara taught him baby signs since he’s a late talker. All he says is mama, dada, and no.
After we finish eating and the dishes are cleared, Brendan says to me, “I got you a cake.”
“You did?” I rub my full stomach. “You should’ve told me so I’d save room.”
“There’s always room for cake.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I might just have a bite of yours.”
Sara catches me up on the latest with the casino she runs with Adrian, which is always a fascinating update. They do a lot of cool stuff as far as events and new games to attract repeat customers.
Brendan whispers in my ear, “Look.”
I turn just as a waiter sets down a round chocolate cake with a giant sparkler on top of it. Gold sparks fizzle out of the skinny stick. I’ve never seen a celebration cake like that before. Usually it’s just boring candles.
“How cool!” I turn to Henry, whose eyes are wide as saucers, his mouth hanging open. He thinks it’s cool too. I take in the rest of the table for their reaction. They’re all smiling at me. I smile back. Lindsey lifts her brows, pointing over to Brendan.
I turn, but he’s not there. And then I realize his chair has been pushed out of the way because he’s down on one knee, holding up a diamond ring to me.
My hand flies to my mouth, my eyes watering. He said he wanted me to graduate before we were engaged. I just didn’t know he meant the same day.
“Chloe, you are my world, my heart, my forever love. My first, my last. Will you be my wife?”
I nod, unable to speak over the lump in my throat. He slides the ring on my finger and stands, pulling me into his arms. I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him tight, my tears soaking his nice shirt.
He strokes my hair. “I love you.”
I lift my head. “I love you too!”
“Yay!” Sara exclaims. “Congratulations! I was prepared and got a bunch of pictures of the proposal. C’mere, let me see this rock.”
I laugh and walk over to her, showing off a simple round solitaire on a gold band. It’s perfect. “So you all knew he was going to propose?”
She smiles and nods. Adrian and Lindsey smile too.
“I was so excited,” Lindsey says. “It was so hard to keep it a secret.”
I turn to look at Brendan, who’s seated now while the waiter returns to slice the cake. Brendan smiles at me tenderly, his eyes soft. “I wanted your family to be here for it.” He turns to Lindsey. “You’re an honorary sister, so you’re in.”
Lindsey beams at me. I give her a watery smile, suddenly realizing just how lucky I was to have such a wonderful roommate these last three years. She always made time to have fun with me, even though she had a group of other friends she went out with too. I go over and hug her. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” she cries, throwing her arms around me. “School won’t be the same without my roomie.”
I sniffle and wipe more tears. “I’ll stay in touch. I’m sure you’ll have a great senior year.” We talk for a few more minutes and then I take my seat.
Brendan feeds me a bite of his cake.
“Mmm, it’s so good! I just wish I had room for it.”
“I’ll get a slice to go for you,” he says. “Got you covered.”
I smile at him with all the love in my heart and then take in my family, my heart full to bursting. “This is the happiest day of my life,” I manage over the lump in my throat.
Sara raises her glass to me. “To many more!”
For the first time I look to the future not just as a long haul of work, but as a bright shiny adventure full of great times to come. It’s love that’s opened my heart to more possibilities. It’s Brendan, the love of my life.
“Hear, hear,” Adrian says, lifting his glass and clinking it to Sara’s. Then we all clink glasses around the table.
I let out a happy sigh. Graduating after all my hard work and getting engaged to the love of my life—best day ever.
Brendan
I back Chloe up against the wall the moment I get her alone at my place. It’s the middle of the week, so Beast is at work. “Finally, I get you all to myself.” I kiss her and then boost her up so she can wrap her legs around me. She clings to my shoulders as I deepen the kiss.
She breaks the kiss, looking way too serious. “As much as I love getting naked with you, I have a question.”
I still, suddenly wary. “What?”
“I’m happy to be your wife whenever, but would you mind if we wait on kids until I finish my residency?”
I’m so relieved it’s nothing bad, a surge of energy goes through me. It’s pure happiness. “Absolutely.” I walk toward my bedroom with her plastered against my front. “We’ll enjoy each other in the meantime.”
“I don’t want a big wedding. In fact, we should save our money. Med school is expensive.”
I set her down next to the bed and pull her pale green dress up and over her head. “That’s better.” I go for the back hook of her bra. “How’s this? We marry in a small civil ceremony before med school starts, so we can afford a honeymoon. Say, two weeks in Hawaii. Jack raved about it.”
She gasps. “Did you already plan this too?”
I can’t help my smile. “Yup. I didn’t want you distracted by all this stuff when you had finals.”
“Bren! How did you know I’d love all of that?”
I get her bra off, toss it, and yank her panties down. Then I tackle her to the bed. She squeaks and then laughs.
I kiss her. “Because I know you.”
She shakes her head, looking dazed. My awesomeness has that effect on her. “Did you already book the honeymoon?”
“Sure did.” I nuzzle into her neck and take her earlobe between my teeth. “Courthouse ceremony in early July followed by Hawaii. We’ll be back in plenty of time for the beginning of the semester.”
She smacks my shoulder. “Get out! It’s perfect!”
I laugh. “I know!”
I get off her just long enough to strip and grab a condom, and rejoin her, lacing our fingers together and pinning her hands to the mattress. Her lips part, her eyes shining with happiness. All because of me.
“You sure were confident,” she says.
“I know my woman.”
“You do. I’ll have to plan something cool for you too.”
“You, Chloe, you’re the only thing I need.”
She frees her hands from mine, grabs my ass, and tugs me closer. I take the hint, sliding deep inside her. Our gazes lock and it hits me this is the first time we’re making love as an engaged couple.
“You’re looking at me all mushy,” she accuses. “Stop it, or you’ll make me cry.”
“Can’t help it.” I lean down and nip the side of her neck. “I love you so damn much.”
It’s different this time, less urgent, but oh-so-satisfying. Our breaths mingle, and we connect on some deep level that’s beyond words, beyond our bodies. It’s the absolute bliss of true love.
It finally happened for me. She was so worth the wait.
Epilogue
Chloe
It’s Labor Day weekend, early September, and I’ve got a few days off med school for the first time in a month. It’s a relief to get away. Not that I don’t love it, but it’s a lot of hard work. I’ve learned to appreciate my downtime. Brendan and I drove down to New York to meet up with his family at a lake house they rented.
“Text Jack that we’re close,” Brendan says as he turns onto Lakeshore Drive.
I send a quick text (all of my new Rourke family is in my phone now) before peering out the window, taking in the cute cottages and larger houses up on the hill overlooking a pretty lake with a few people in rowboats and canoes.
“It’s so beautiful,” I say. “Have you been here before?”
“Yeah. Jack and Riley were engaged here at a lakeside cottage, and they rent one every Labor Day for a family party to commemorate the event. Now that our family’s gotten larger, they rented a bigger house.” He points ahead. “It’s that two-story white house up there.”
“Ooh, look at the deck overlooking the lake. That’s so nice. I w
onder why no one’s sitting out there.”
“Probably gathered around the food inside. Jack’s friend owns a restaurant in Brooklyn and caters for them every year.”
“So fancy.”
He laughs and gives my hand a squeeze. “Yeah.”
“Have you ever gone fishing?”
“Nope.”
“Me either. Maybe we could try it while we’re here.”
He pulls into the driveway and turns off the car. “Whatever you want. Jack says there’s bass and trout mostly.”
“No idea what they look like, but I guess I’ll find out.” I get out and meet him at the trunk of the car, where we packed an overnight bag and a six-pack of beer. I take the beer.
Brendan hauls out the large wheeled suitcase, shuts the trunk, and takes the six-pack from me. He jerks his chin for me to go ahead of him.
“Bren, now I’m empty-handed.”
“Bring your biggest smile. Chop-chop. Jack says he left the patio door open on the deck and to come up that way.”
I climb the steps of the deck and wait for Brendan by the large wall of glass, peering inside. “It’s all decorated with heart balloons, flowers, and white streamers.”
“Huh. Sounds like they’re celebrating something.”
I glance over my shoulder at him suspiciously. He sounds a little too nonchalant.
He grins, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. “Open the door for me, please. My hands are full.”
“Is this an ambush?”
He lifts his brows. “As in, the entire family attacks? Sounds about right.”
I laugh. I’m being silly. I open the glass patio door and hold it for Brendan. Everyone stops talking to stare at us.
“They’re here,” someone whispers loudly.
“I thought he was texting Jack when he was five minutes away,” someone else whispers.
“Shoot. My phone’s charging.”
I turn to Brendan, who looks amused and then lifts his brows and nods to his family in a gesture of let’s go.
Rogue Devil Page 17