Page 161 of Succumbed

“Can every Saturday morning be like this?” she muses, eyes falling closed.

I glance at Dec, then Shane. We have a quick silent conversation, then nod.

“Must suck to rattle around in this giant place every weekend,” I mutter.

Lex pops one eye open, arching a brow as she peers at me. “I mean, I’m hardly here.”

“Expensive place to have if you never use it,” Shane drawls.

“Questionable financial choice,” Declan adds.

Lex sits up, swiveling on her stool to look up at Shane, then me. “Okay, what’s going on here?”

“Do you really want every Saturday to be like this?” Dec asks, still facing the griddle.

“Yes?” She looks at his back sideways, then to me and Shane.

“This neighborhood…all this space. That important to you?” Shane questions, walking over to pull plates down from the cabinet.

“I mean, the neighborhood’s nice enough. The house is definitely too big–Linc’s right about that. Having Jax here helps.”

Dec nods absently, pulling his phone out of his gray sweatpants. Lex produced three pairs that morning with a slight flush, mentioning she’d had her personal shopper pick up a few things for us on their last trip. What she meant, apparently, was we now had a fully stocked closet in her bedroom. Billionaires are something else.

“Three weeks from today should work,” Dec announces.

“I’ll make sure Miles blocks Friday night through Sunday,” Shane murmurs, reaching for his phone.

“What the fuck is going on?” Lex demands.

I lean over and kiss her temple. “Move in day.”

“Excuse me?”

“You. With us.”

She gapes. “You want me to move in with you?”

I pick her hand up off the island. “I planted a rose bush out front for you. It might take it a while to bloom, but it’s an old French varietal with these dark petals with a light edge. Reminded me of Paris.”

“What Linc’s trying to say,” Shane interjects with a smirk as Lex stares, her eyes wide and swimmy, “is we’d love for you to move in with us, and we’ve already started getting things ready for you.”

She squeezes my hand. “Thank you for the roses. I can’t wait to see them. You’re very sweet, Linc.”

“You’re welcome!” I grin.

“To be clear, gentlemen, this is my decision.” She arches a brow. Cute.

“Of course it is.” Dec flips another round of pancakes before passing a steaming plate to Lex.

“I’d like to point out that none of you have actually asked the question.”

“Hey, baby?” Shane calls from the fridge, where he’s pulling out the milk. “Want to move in with us in three weeks?”

She stares in his direction, dazed, then scoffs. “Fuck it. Yes.”

I straighten, turning to her with a grin. “Wait, really?”

Dec is no longer paying attention to the pancakes, his arms crossed as he watches her with dark, hungry eyes.

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