Page 54 of Exile and Embrace

Sweat beads on the back of my neck as I try to figure out where he is going with the question.

I look around the house, trying to see it through his eyes. It seems like a cute little home that a couple would start off on.

But there are no pictures.

Ava’s gaze cuts toward me quickly before she looks away. “Yeah. Moving has been a hell of a time. There’s still some pictures packed away in a box. I don’t have the time to hang them and neither does Finn.”

“We’ll be getting new ones anyway.” I loop my arm around her waist and pull her to me. “Engagement photos should be here soon, and I’m sure that Ava is going to insist on updating every other picture at the same time too.”

Ava blushes and rolls her eyes, giving me a playful swat on the shoulder. “He says that, but he’s the one who insisted on the engagement photos. I thought the money would be better spent going on a vacation, but he was sure that we should take pictures to commemorate the moment instead.”

“And I was right.” I kiss her temple before heading into the kitchen to grab a couple of beers. “I was thinking of ordering in some pizza for dinner.”

Dawson follows me into the kitchen and takes one of the beers. “Pizza is good with me if it’s good with the women.”

Ava nods before kneeling back down beside the table with Brooklyn. Their heads bend together over the journals, and Brooklyn takes more notes on a sheet of paper beside her.

I take a swig of the beer before pulling out my phone and placing the order for pizza.

Dawson leans on the counter beside me, his back to the living room.

He hums to himself for a moment, his gaze darting around the room. “You’ve got a nice place here. I know that Cillian said things were hard for you, but you seemed to clean up when it came to the housing market.”

“Got pretty lucky. I didn’t think that we were going to get anything in a good neighborhood.” I take another sip of the beer, trying to keep my tone even and natural. “It was a house in foreclosure. We paid off the debts and the interest. Ended up being a lot cheaper than market value. And we were able to close on it soon after our offer was accepted. We’ve already done a ton to the place. It needed a lot of work, but with a great deal, it was impossible to say no.”

He nods and sips his own beer. “My girlfriend and I are looking to move soon. She wants to get out of the city, but with my job, I don’t know if I can. She’s knows some of what’s going on, but she doesn't understand fully. She doesn’t like that I have to leave in the middle of the night sometimes. She hates when I have to take trips or go on a run.”

“And yet, you want to move in with her soon?” I tip the neck of my bottle toward Ava. “I wouldn’t be in this life if I didn’t know that she could handle it.”

“Nora can handle it, most of the time. She wants the house and the kids, though. I want that too, but I don’t know how to make it work when she can’t fully accept that part of my life. Hell, most of it I can’t even tell her for now.”

“It’s going to be a lot of uphill battles. And you’re going to have to figure out which hill you’re willing to die on. It’s a careful balance to maintain.”

Ava throws her head back and laughs, pointing to something on one of the papers.

I smile. “And it’s going to sound stupid when I say it, but it’s worth it. All the little fights we have about what I’m doing and where I’m going are worth it in the end because I get to come back home to her.” My chest tightens.

Ava turns her attention to me, winking before turning to say something to Brooklyn. The two of them laugh and shake their heads, reaching for the glasses of wine in front of them.

Dawson nods. “I know it is. We have our problems, but Nora’s the only woman I want to go through life with.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to make everything else work.”

“How much did you pay for a ring?”

The words open a pit in the bottom of my stomach.

I never bought her a ring. We’re supposed to be engaged, and I never even thought about what would happen when people asked to see her ring.

And how much does a ring even cost?

Another swig of beer is enough to put off answering for a couple seconds.

“A couple thousand or so since we’re sinking so much money into the house. Aves doesn’t care about fancy either, so I picked the ring I knew would make her the happiest within the budget I had.”

Dawson finishes off his beer. “Good to know. Nora is the fancy kind. I didn’t want to get into the five-figure territory on a ring, but I’m sure that she’s going to expect it.”

I raise my bottle in his direction. “At least we’re paid well for the work we do.”

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