Page 79 of Chasing You

The morning after the hospital proposal, Adele kept waiting on edge for Kash to say he’d changed his mind about it all, but that didn’t happen. Kash threw himself into making sure that Gage was okay and then threw himself into finding a suitable rental for them to live in because this was going to take months, and Adele was not interested in having roommates.

He loved his friends, but he wanted to be able to enjoy this new thing with Kash without an audience. Adele was pretty sure Kash felt the same way.

He didn’t think Renato and Frey minded either. He knew they were happy to have them, considering the circumstances, but he also knew they were a disruption to their home, and Adele was tired of feeling like an inconvenience to everyone—even if he knew that was only in his head.

“Hey.”

Adele blinked and looked over at his brother. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just go, okay? Anything Lane and I find is going into the garage, and you can sort through it all when you’re ready.”

Adele swallowed heavily and nodded. “Thank you.”

Bowen laughed softly and pulled him into a hug. “Go kiss your fiancé, take him to lunch, do schmoopyshit to make yourself feel better. You’re getting married soon, and the guys are going to want to celebrate. Get your quiet in while you can.”

Adele rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. His initial plan to have it be only Bowen and Gage at the ceremony had been quickly dashed when he realized the guys would never let him get away with that. And better yet, he didn’t want them to. There was not a chance in hell he was excluding them from his day.

He squeezed his brother once more, then hurried to his car for the long drive out to Renato’s. He wasn’t really in the mood to be alone, but with what he had coming up, he was grateful for the momentary silence before chaos hit the fan.

By the time Adele pulled into the driveway, he had a text from Kash letting him know he was running an errand with Renato and would be back well before they needed to leave. That gave Adele time to shower the smell of burnt house and mold off him, which was the first thing he did.

He took his time with a fluffy sponge and some woodsy-scented soap and scrubbed his skin until it felt raw. He was struggling to feel clean even after all the bubbles rinsed away, but he knew it was mostly in his head.

His fingers were wrinkly though, and he didn’t want to stick Renato with a massive water bill, so he stepped out and shrugged into the long robe Frey had given him to use. Adele paused by the sink and stared at himself. He looked tired, but he also hadn’t been sleeping well. He was waking up with nightmares of fire and death nightly, and most of the time, he couldn’t get back to sleep until he peered into Gage’s room to make sure he was still breathing.

But he knew Kash didn’t care what he looked like. Things between them were finally settled. They felt real and safe, and it was the only thing keeping Adele from falling apart.

He scrubbed his hands down his face with a heavy groan and then turned and walked into his bedroom, coming to a skidding halt when he saw a tiny figure rifling through the closet.

Adele opened his mouth to address Rex, then remembered and instead stomped his foot on the floor.

Rex spun around and broke into a smile. ‘…clothes!’

Adele couldn’t always keep up with Rex’s signing, but he was pretty sure the word he’d missed waswedding. He laughed and sat down on the bed. ‘It’s not a big wedding,’ he signed.

Rex pouted. ‘Why?’

Adele didn’t have the will or the lexicon to explain it all to him. ‘Because we’re getting married soon. Two days,’ he clarified.

Rex frowned, then jumped up. ‘I can help.’

‘Yes,’ Adele said, catching his arm before he could dart away. ‘You can stand with me?’

‘Hold the rings?’

Adele’s heart crashed into his stomach. Rings. Rings? He had no rings. Christ. ‘I need to find some when I go shopping.’

Rex’s eyes got watery. ‘Fire hurt the old ones?’ Then he flung himself at Adele and held him tight.

Oh. This sweet child. Adele kissed the top of his head and then eased him back. ‘It’s okay. We’ll find something. I want you there, okay? You and everyone. Family.’

Rex brightened at that and nodded. ‘Food after. Big wedding dinner?’

Adele laughed. ‘Yeah. Big wedding dinner.’

Rex jumped up and then ran out of the room, his little feet pounding on the hardwood floor. When he heard the boy’s bedroom door slam shut, Adele fell back on the bed with a heavy groan and lay there until he heard footsteps shuffling into his room.

“Tell me he’s not giving you a hard time about not having a big wedding,” Frey said.

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