41. Chapter Forty-one

I'd never doubted Miles loved me.

But I became certain he was my person for life when he didn't hesitate to sit down with my family to find a solution for how we could do what was best for Reed.

It had taken planning. A lot of heavy discussions with the people in our lives. More planning and phone calls and spreadsheets and contracts. Miles had been in his element, no doubt, and watching him put every ounce of his knowledge and attention into our project had made me fall even more hopefully in love with him.

I should never have questioned whether he'd do absolutely anything for someone he loved. After all, he had a sexy scar on his ass that proved he'd take a bullet for his friends.

Two weeks had passed since that dreaded day on the bridge, and we'd finally gotten all our ducks in a row. In another week, we'd start our new adventure.

Today, we were informing the last of the important people in our lives about our next moves.

When we arrived at the restaurant, Weston, Elise, Elliot, Kit, Saoirse, and Luca were already waiting for us to join them for brunch. By necessity, Saoirse knew what was up, but we hadn't had a chance to tell anyone else. And maybe it was easier to get it all out of the way in one fell swoop.

"What a surprise, you're late," Elliot deadpanned before rising to kiss my cheek and pat Miles' shoulder.

"How would we make an entrance if we were on time?" Not one to settle for a friendly pat, Miles went around kissing the tops of everyone's head. "Where's my baby Josephine?"

Kit picked up her iced coffee. "Baby Josephine is actually a toddler who doesn't like to sit still for long periods of time. Her mother wanted to have a relaxing meal, so she's with one of her favorite uncles."

We exchanged a glance, and I squeezed Miles' hand. We'd have to make time to go love on Joey in the next week.

Miles sighed. "Fine. That's fair, I guess."

Miles pulled out my chair for me, and I took my seat next to Saoirse while he sat on my other side, next to Weston. He was nervous, and so was I. Mostly for him. He really wanted to be supported and for everyone to understand our decision.

Conversation picked up normally after that. Kit and Elliot told us about her pregnancy—they were having a boy—and the mischief Joey had been up to lately. We weren't quite ready to start our revelation. We'd already decided to wait until after we'd ordered.

Our server was particularly efficient today. Drinks were served, orders were taken before we wanted them to be, and it was now or never.

Miles took my hand in his and rested them on the table. "We have some things we would like to share with everyone."

All eyes were on us.

I imagined they were guessing we were about to announce we were moving in together or getting engaged. Even pregnancy.

"I'm all ears," Luca said.

Saoirse gave us a nod of encouragement, and Weston watched his brother intensely.

Miles took a breath. "Daisy, her brother Reed, and I are moving to Sacramento next week."

"What?" Elise gasped. "Next week?"

"What about Peak?" Luca swiveled to Saoirse. "What about Peak?" he repeated.

She patted his arm. "It's okay, love. Just listen."

Miles was most worried how Weston would react. Despite everything, he still looked up to his big brother and didn't want to disappoint him.

"I'm not leaving Peak," Miles explained. "Saoirse and I have always talked about expanding to work with businesses in other states, and this is part of that. I'll be able to take meetings online and commute when I need to. The timing works well, since we've promoted Rebecca to junior strategist. She can pick up the day-to-day slack while I'm in California."

"You knew about this?" Elise asked Saoirse.

"I did. I'm pretty heartbroken Miles won't be in the office with me every day, but as far as the business goes, I think we have a solid plan on how it will work."

Miles winked at her. "It's kind of our job."

She laughed. "That it is."

Weston cleared his throat. "And Grazing by Daisy? How about that?"

I let Miles take this one.

"Mom decided to take it upon herself to sabotage Daisy's business. She's gotten all her friends to spread the word not to use Grazing for events. All the contacts we made, the work we did schmoozing with people I wouldn't be caught dead with otherwise, was wasted."

Weston tensed, gripping the edge of the table. "What was her goal in doing this?"

"I can only assume she did it to get me to call her," Miles explained.

Weston leaned forward, intent on his brother. "What did she have to say for herself?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Didn't call her. My girl pointed out I'd be playing right into her hands if I did, so we just let it go."

"You let it go?" Weston repeated, perplexed.

I squeezed Miles' hand. "Bea and I don't need those jobs. They would have been nice, but we're going to be fine without them. And once I remove the Dunham name from the Denver side of Grazing, she's not going to have any trouble filling up those empty spots."

Weston blinked. "I'm—you're letting our mother get away with this?"

Miles stared down his nose at his brother. "We're changing course so I don't have to get wrapped up in that never-ending toxic cycle." He lifted our joined hands and kissed my knuckles. "Again, I got that from Daisy-daze."

"That must've been hard," Elise said. "To stand by and not do anything."

"It was hard to see my girl hurt by my own mother. But I stood by in awe as she dusted herself off and moved on, never once blaming me," Miles replied.

"You're not responsible for your mother," I reminded him. "Neither of you are."

"Hmm." Weston's hum came from deep within his chest. "I don't know about that."

"I do," Elise said softly. "I'm relieved you've finally cut ties, Miles."

He nodded. "It's been interesting to get used to. I didn't know how heavy the weight of keeping her happy was until it was gone—mostly gone," he corrected. "I know she won't stop if I'm accessible to her."

Weston's brow pinched. "You felt moving was your only option?"

Miles looked at me, and I nodded before taking over.

"One of the first things Miles told me was he didn't want to live in Denver forever, and I've always known I didn't want to die in the same place I grew up."

Weston shifted. "I remember you saying that on our hike."

"Yeah." I gave him a crooked smile, pleased he'd paid such close attention. "We took a trip to Sacramento and loved it. Our names didn't carry the burden they do here. My brother made friends with some kids he's still talking to in a chat group. It was nice to just…feel new. So, when we decided we needed to leave Denver, it was obvious to all of us Sacramento was where we'd start fresh."

Miles kissed my knuckles again. "Daisy's too modest to mention she's already landed a lucrative contract with the state senate building manager. And Lily has been spreading the word about her services."

"I think my mother loves Daisy more than me," Saoirse confirmed with a grin.

Luca tossed his hands out. "Even Lily knew about this? Next, you'll tell me Clementine knows."

"Of course she does, my love." Saoirse leaned into her husband. "Clem knows all."

"Josephine's going to miss you," Elliot said flatly, like he was pissed on his daughter's behalf. "I think you're making the right decision. I would do the same in your position."

Miles stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "Thank you, Elliot. That means a lot coming from you." He said this with all the sincerity in the world.

Elliot dropped his chin. "As long as you intend on Facetiming and visiting my daughter frequently."

That made him cackle. "Yep. I'm going to be coming back here at least once a month, and Joey is welcome to call me any time she demands it."

There were a few nods of approval around the table. I hoped it was obvious we'd put a lot of thought into our plans.

"How old is your brother?" Kit asked me.

"Reed is fourteen. He'll be fifteen at the end of August, right before he starts tenth grade. He's the reason our move is happening so quickly. I want to keep his privacy, but I can tell you two weeks ago, he was in crisis, and my family came to realize how bad his situation had become. We've decided, as a family, he'll have a better shot at happiness living with Miles and me in Sacramento the next three years."

"He can stay with us after he graduates too," Miles added.

"Of course." I smiled at him, a surge of love hitting me in the face. "He'll probably be sick of us by then."

"I can't imagine he'd be sick of me," he teased.

"Shut up, Spreadsheet," I murmured.

With a low sob, Elise got up from her seat, circled behind Weston, and threw her arms around Miles then me. Her breaths were shuddery as she gave us a watery smile.

"My brother dropped everything for me when I needed him when I was in high school," she whispered. "Sorry, I just—I love that you're doing this for him. He'll never forget the way you're going to the mat for him."

Miles stood and pulled her into his arms, giving her an all-encompassing hug. My eyes fell on Weston, who was watching his brother and wife with an expression I couldn't decipher.

Then his gaze flicked to mine. "Thank you," he murmured. "For standing with him."

"He's taking on me and my teenage brother," I replied. "I'm sort of madly in love with the guy."

That got a smile from Weston and an "aww" from Saoirse and Kit.

And just like that, the hard part was out of the way. We were peppered with questions for the rest of brunch, but the tone had switched from challenging to genuine curiosity. They seemed to understand we weren't moving on a whim. We were going to save my brother's life and carve out a new one for ourselves.

In the end, we hugged and kissed everyone, promising to stop by Elliot and Kit's to squeeze baby Joey before we left. Weston and Elise lingered until it was the four of us outside the restaurant.

"I never pictured you leaving," Weston said.

Miles slipped his arm around my waist. "I never had the right reason to."

"I think you're making the right decision," he added.

Miles nodded. "I know we are, but it's really fucking great to have your support."

Elise looked up at her husband then back at us. "I hope you know you can always come back."

"We know." I bumped my head against Miles' arm. "Luckily for us, the flight isn't very long."

Weston's eyes narrowed on Miles. "You better not be planning on flying private on your monthly trips back. Do you have any idea the CO2 emissions—"

Miles' cackle cut off Weston's rant. "There's my brother. I'm gonna miss you and Lisie something fierce."

Weston frowned. "That's not an answer."

Miles laughed harder. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

After a few more hugs, we walked away, melting into each other from laughter.

"His face," Miles chuckled. "I bet he waited as long as he could to bring up CO2 emissions."

"He loves you. They all do."

"I know," he said with an assuredness I hadn't heard from him regarding the affections of his friends. "And I love you, Daisy-daze. I'm so fucking excited for what comes next."

Packing. Cleaning. Driving for two days. Repeating the process in reverse. I honestly couldn't wait either. With Miles and Reed, we were bound to make it fun.

"Me too, Miles. Me too."

We wove our hands together and walked toward our next adventure.

Hopefully in love.