Page 35 of Drunk Girl

“Of course,” he says, placing a quick kiss on my forehead as he runs his hands through my hair. I love it when he does that; it’s so soothing and relaxing. Lying with him on the couch like this has quickly become one of my favorite ways for us to relax together. It’s intimate, and we take the time to talk about anything and everything, from our days, to future plans, as well as things from our past.

“How are the new hires coming along?” I ask, changing the subject.

“They did well last night. I think another week or so and they’ll be good to go. Obviously, they’ll never be working by themselves, but knowing they could hold things down if that happened is important.”

“Are you ready to present Kaiden with all the numbers for starting the brewing center?”

“I think so. I put some final touches on the proposal this morning and am ready to go over everything with him tomorrow. I really think that we can make it work. It might mean we have to make some sacrifices for a little while, but I think that it will quickly start turning a profit once we get the first batch done.”

“Are you going to talk to him about switching your focus to just the brewing side of things, now that you’ve added more staff?”

“I plan to bring it up as something we’ll need to work towards. I know I’ll need to stay behind the bar for a while, but I think if the brewery side of things takes off like I think it will, I’ll need to focus on that as a full-time job. That will be nice for us, as it will bring our schedules more inline. Or at least take out so many late nights for me.”

“It would be nice to have you home more on the weekends.”

“The late-night weekends have been such a big part of my life for so long now, I don’t know what I would do with a Friday night off.” He laughs.

“Think of all the things we could do if you were off on a weekend.”

“Sorry to break it to you, babe, but those thoughts will have to wait for a little while longer. Kaiden will want to comb through everything I present to him, crunch numbers himself, and make an educated decision. I can’t fault him for how serious he takes decisions like this, as it’s important. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for him being as dedicated to the business and numbers side of things as he is. I sometimes like to joke that he’s anal about money, but if he wasn’t, then we’d probably be underwater or not even open anymore. Because of his dedication and expertise, we’ve built ourselves quite the business that we can both be proud of.”

“I know, and I’m proud of both of you. He relies on you to keep the front of the house running smoothly like you depend on him to keep the back of the house running. You guys make a good team.”

“That we do,” he agrees. “So, about that conversation with your mom…” He stalls, kissing the top of my head that’s resting on his chest. “Are you ready to give in and admit that you live here?”

I can hear the humor in his voice in the question. He’s asked me this multiple times the past couple of weeks, and I’ve always told him no. But something in my mind has changed tonight and I can’t quite put my finger on it, so what the hell.

“Yes,” I say into his chest, a smile filling my face.

“Fuck yes.” He throws a fist in the air, which has me falling into a fit of laughter. “I thought it was going to take me a few more weeks, maybe months, to get you to admit that,” he says, pulling me up so he can kiss me on the lips.

“Just don’t hurt me, please. Don’t make me regret this,” I tell him, the vulnerability coming out, not only in my words, but my voice.

“Ash.” He cups my chin, so I’ll look up at him. “Listen closely,” he says, dropping a chaste kiss to my lips. “I will never, and I meannever, purposelydo anything to hurt you. I know our relationship has moved pretty fast and we’ve just clicked. I know we’ve still got a ton of shit to learn about each other, but there is no one else in this world that I’d rather have beside me in life. There’s no one else in my life that I want to celebrate milestones with or have at my side when things aren’t going the way I’d planned.

“Before I met you, I wasn’t interested in long-term. I wasn’t interested in relationships. I was focused one thousand percent on the bar. Now, the bar hours piss me off because they keep me from you so much of the time. I know that I won’t be working the hellish hours forever, and because of that, I can deal with it for now. I knowwecan deal with it for now.”

He pulls me closer, holding me tight as he continues, “I know the men in your life haven’t left you with a good impression on what a real man is like, but I’m here to show you. I’m here to show you that you deserve to be treated like the strong, intelligent, beautiful woman you are. I’m here to show you that you’re just as important in this life as I am, and if I’m honest, more important than I am. I’m here to show you that a real man will hold up the woman he loves, not beat her down with his words or fists or actions. I’m here to walk beside you because, Ash, you’ve changed me. You’ve cast your spell and made me fall in love with you.”

His lips crash against mine and I can feel tears streaming down my cheeks at his words. I don’t know what I did to deserve this man, but I’m so thankful our paths crossed when they did. I’m almost thankful for that day I lost my job and found Chris cheating on me. If it weren’t for those two events, I wouldn’t have been crying in the booth in Nick’s bar that first night he helped me. I probably would have gone back a few nights later for Tiffany’s birthday, but that connection wouldn’t have already been there. That pull we each feel toward each other. It’s like we’re two puzzle pieces that have finally found their place together.

I pull back from the kiss and look into Nick’s eyes. The love I see pooling in his dark blue eyes is everything. I know down to my soul I can trust this man with everything that I am. That he will be my future, my forever.

“I love you,” I whisper into the small space between us, looking him straight in the eye. I’ve never told a man those three little words, but they just felt so right.

“I love you so fucking much,” he replies, and the huge smile covering his face is contagious. His thumbs swipe across my cheeks as they brush away the tears that still are flowing freely.

13

Nick

“Morning,”Kaiden greets me as I walk into the office and take a seat across from him.

“Morning. How are things around here?” I ask, our exchange pretty typical each morning.

“Good, last night was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday night.”

“That’s good. Are you ready to go over these numbers on the brewing?” I ask, holding up the binder I’ve put together over the past month or so.

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