22

Milo

We're standing at the back of one very crowded bookstore. It seems as if half of Comfort Bay has come out to Beth's sister's book signing today.

I haven't seen her yet, but I'm nervous. Not because she's a hugely popular and bestselling author—although that would be intimidating enough on its own—but also because she's the first person from Beth's family that I'm meeting.

It's a big step.

But I'm ready, and more importantly, so is Beth. She's never introduced a boyfriend to her family before, and I'm honored to be the first.

Just like I'm honored to have been her first in another special, intimate way.

I honestly wasn't expecting to end our anniversary afternoon making love to Beth in her house last month, but I sure as heck ain't complaining.

It wasn't just a physical thing, our souls truly connected, and ever since, my feelings for her have only intensified.

I always thought that when you fell in love with someone, that was it. Your feelings were capped. But I'm learning that love is a bottomless cup, you can just keep filling it up and it never overflows. Just when I think I can't love her anymore, I do.

I have to keep reminding myself that our relationship is still so new. We may have known each other for over a year, but technically, we've only been together a short while.

But it doesn't feel new to me.

I was smitten with her the first night we met.

She intrigued me and frustrated me and lived rent-free in my head ever since.

We've survived a blizzard and an earthquake together.

I've opened up to her in ways I haven't to anyone else.

She's come into my home and into my kids' lives. They adore her.

And I love her. With everything I have in me, I love her.

And the only thing preventing me from telling her that is not wanting to scare her off or come across too strong.

I promised her that she was in charge, that we'd always do things on her timeframe.

This is one of those things. It has to be.

I continually tell myself this relationship isn't going anywhere, so there's no need to rush into anything. We have all the time in the world, and when the time is right, she'll say it. Just like Josie waited to tell me she loved me, and when she finally did, I knew she meant it.

Beth is worth the wait.

I smile when I see her making her way through the throng of people to us, but if I'd like to kiss my girlfriend, I need to form an orderly queue.

She crouches down and gives Josie a hug and manages to not get bulldozed by Jonah, who is on a banana oat cookie sugar high. She gets to her feet and says hi to Boden.

"Finally," I say with a wide grin on my face as she turns to me. "My turn."

"The best things in life are worth waiting for."

I slide my hands around her waist and lower my head until my lips are hovering just over hers. "They sure are," I murmur before kissing her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Courtland says, coming over. The guy looks frazzled, like he hasn't slept for days. Beth warned me that may actually be true. Apparently, he's been counting down until today for a long time. "I hate to break this up, but Beth, your sister asked for you, and she's on in five, so…"

"Yeah. That's fine. I'm coming." She pauses. "Why don't you join me?" she suggests. "Meet her now, and then you won't be so nervous."

"I'm not nervous."

Beth arches an eyebrow.

"Fine. So I'm a little nervous."

I scoop up the kids, and we walk over to a cordoned off section of the store. Schapelle looks nothing like Beth. She's tall with long brown hair and blue eyes.

"So you're the guy who managed to snag my anti-love bookworm sis?" she says, greeting me with a warm hug.

"I guess I am."

"You're tall," says a small voice.

Schapelle glances down at Jonah and smiles. "And you must be Jonah."

"I am," he says with a clap.

"And you're Josie."

Josie nods then tucks herself behind my leg.

"It's great to finally meet you," Schapelle says, looking straight at me. "I've heard a lot about you."

My eyebrows shoot up. "People often say, Don't believe everything you hear, but in this case…definitely don't believe everything you hear."

She laughs, but something catches in her throat. She covers her mouth to cough.

"It's a packed house out there," I say.

All of a sudden, color drains from her face. "That's great. I…Oh, no…" She lurches forward.

I manage to step in front of Josie and scoop Jonah in my arms, stopping them from seeing Schapelle hurl all over the floor.

"Oh my gosh, Schapelle. Are you okay?" Beth jumps into protective sister mode, as Courtland and I back out of the space, giving them some privacy.

Boden walks up to me. "What's the matter?"

Courtland races over, frantically muttering something about getting Schapelle water. "Uh, nothing," I say to Boden, handing him Jonah. "Would you mind taking the kids for a bit?"

"No problem."

I watch as he leads them over to the children's section.

Beth's mentioned setting him up with Amiel, which I think is a great idea. I can see those two hitting it off. Not that this is the right time to bring that up, and not that I'm about to become like everyone else in Comfort Bay and start meddling in other people's lives.

This isn't meddling, it's helping, and I'm sure there's a world of difference between the two.

Boden doesn't talk a lot about himself, but I've managed to ascertain that he's single.

And that he has his eye on a certain local girl.

He wouldn't elaborate on who that local girl is, only that she works on Main Street, which isn't really helpful since the street is packed with stores and restaurants and clinics.

But Amiel works at the bakery on Main Street, so if the stars align…You know what, I think I might hand this one over to Beth and her girlfriends and leave it in their capable hands.

I'm about to go and check in on Beth and her sister when a firm hand lands on my shoulder, and I spin around. "Oh, hey, you guys."

"Milo. Is that you?" Fraser asks with a chuckle, standing next to a very different-looking Culver. "I almost didn't recognize you with that thing on your face."

"You mean his smile?" Culver supplies, completing their one-two joke comedy routine.

"How long did you guys have to work on that one?" I ask rhetorically as we exchange hugs.

It's been months since I've been with my old teammates, and seeing them now makes me happy. And smiley, apparently.

"Speaking of things on our faces." I look over at Culver and tap my cheeks.

"You like?" he asks, running his fingers through his thick, dark beard.

"I do. But aren't you worried about depriving the world of your world-famous dimples?" I ask, grinning.

"As long as I'm not depriving my girl, I couldn't care less about the rest of the world."

At the exact same moment, he and Fraser tilt their heads to where Hannah and Evie are standing with Summer and Amiel.

It's nice seeing them both in love…and it's nice being in the club along with them.

"Your hair looks good, man," Fraser says.

"Thanks."

"Where's Beth?" Culver asks, looking around.

"With her sister."

"Uh-huh."

"Uh-huh."

"Uh-huh, what?" I try to glare at their goofy, smiling faces, but I know I'm in for a ribbing, and honestly, I'm kinda looking forward to it.

It's about damn time.

"What's the deal with you guys?" Fraser asks. "I see she hasn't killed you yet."

I chuckle. "No. She hasn't."

"Does that mean things are serious?" Culver chips in.

I run a hand through my newly-cropped hair, still not used to the feel of it. "Yeah. They are. I'm…" I can't tell these guys I'm in love with her before saying the words to Beth, so I go with, "I'm a goner."

"Awww. That's so sweet," Fraser says, and while there's a hint of teasing in his delivery, there's also genuine sincerity there as well.

"It's good to see you happy," Culver supplies. "You deserve it…Daddy."

There's a long beat of silence at how wrong that sounded coming out of this mouth.

And then…

The three of us burst out laughing.

"Don't ever call me that again."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That came out even worse than I thought it would."

"So, what's been happening with you guys? How's the house hunting going, Culver?"

He and Hannah are back from six months in Italy and looking for their forever place.

"Yeah. Fine." Fraser and I exchange a look. "Okay. Not fine. Horribly."

He goes on to tell us how much of a nightmare Willow Wilkins has been to deal with, and I can totally relate.

"She's pretty intense," I say after Culver finishes filling us in.

"Can you find another agent?" Fraser suggests.

"Already on it. We're meeting with him tomorrow."

"And what about you, Fraser. Any wedding update?"

He shakes his head, his jaw tightening. "Staying engaged is the new getting married." Culver and I look at him with blank faces, so he explains, "Evie stuck that quote on the refrigerator in an attempt to convince herself that it's okay if we have the world's longest engagement, and before you ask, yes, I've told her repeatedly that plenty of people have had way longer engagements than us, but she's not buying it."

"You'll figure it out, man," Culver says, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Who's that woman?" I ask, discreetly tipping my head to an attractive woman who's walked up to Evie and her friends.

"That's Evie's sister, Harper," Fraser says.

"Hmm. She doesn't work on Main Street by any chance, does she?"

"No." Fraser eyes me suspiciously. "And why are you asking?"

I tell them about Boden, and that I'm sleuthing for clues without sleuthing for clues.

Culver laughs. "Looks like the Comfort Bay busybody gene has claimed another victim."

"I'm not sticking my nose into other people's business," I protest, even though I totally am.

Fraser smiles. "Your nanny wouldn't have much luck with Harper, anyway. I hear she has her heart set on someone else. Not that I'm gossiping or anything."

"Like who?" I ask. "Not that I'm gossiping or anything."

"My brother," he replies.

"Does it have anything to do with contract negotiations for the new reality TV show Harper is producing and trying to get your brother to join?" Culver asks. "Not that I'm gossiping or anything."

"Could've fooled me."

A deep voice from behind has all three of us turning around.

Fraser's eyes light up. "Clayton, what are you doing here?" He doesn't give the guy a chance to respond, giving him a massive hug before introducing his brother to Culver and me.

I've never watched a single episode of any of the countless reality TV shows Clayton Rademacher has appeared in, but his mug has been on enough magazine covers for me to recognize him. He looks a lot like Fraser, slightly shorter with a thicker build, but their facial features are similar.

"Are you a fan of Lori Connors?" I ask, wondering why he's popped up unexpectedly.

"No."

"So why are you here?" Fraser asks. "Not that it's not great to see you, I just had no idea you were in town."

Clayton doesn't respond as he scans the room, a look of intense focus on his face. I follow his gaze. His eyes have landed on Harper.

She's engrossed in a conversation, but the second her eyes land on Clayton, she mouths an expletive I can read from all the way over here and goes white as a sheet.

"Clayton? What's going on?"

Clayton ignores Fraser and mutters something that sounds an awful lot like, "I'm here to see my new wife," before stomping over to Harper.

"Did he just say…" Culver trails off as I say, "New wife?"

"That makes no sense." Fraser shakes his head in disbelief. "I mean, how? When? Why?"

I stand next to him. "Good thing we're not the gossiping kind, right?"

We don't get the chance to speculate on Clayton's bombshell because Courtland steps up to the stand and introduces Schapelle, I mean, Lori Connors.

Thankfully, she looks a lot better than the last time I saw her, and it's a good thing, too, because she has a lot of books to sign.

I spot Beth in the corner of the room and leave a shell-shocked Fraser and Culver to make my way to her.

"I take it Schapelle's feeling better?"

"She is. Let's go out the back," Beth says quietly. "I've got something to tell you."

"You're not secretly married to one of the Rademachers, are you?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

I follow her back to a tiny storage space that, by the looks of it, doubles as a staff lounge and admin office, too.

"Is something wrong? Is it to do with your sister?"

"Schapelle is fine. Well, pregnant, but fine."

"Pregnant?"

"Yeah. It's a long story. I'll explain later. That's not why I brought you back here, though."

I smirk. "Was it to make out with me?"

She swats me across the chest. "Stop it. No. It was to tell you this." She tips her head up until her eyes find mine. "I love you, Milo."

I blink rapidly.

Is my mind playing tricks on me, or did she really just say that?

Guess there's only one way to find out.

"Finally," I say, keeping my voice as steady as I can.

Her eyes narrow. "What do you mean, finally?"

I caress the side of her face with my fingers. "Finally you've caught up with me."

"Wait. Are you saying what I think you're saying in the most annoying way you could possibly say it?"

My deep booming laugh bounces off the walls around us. "If what you think I'm saying is that I'm in love with you, too, and have been for a loooong time, then yes, yes it is." I tug her in closer to me, our bodies connecting. "I love you, too, Beth."

We kiss, and when she makes her signature whimpering sounds I love so much, my heart nearly leaps out of my chest.

This feels so good, so right.

It may have taken us a while to get here, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it. Okay, maybe I could have done without the earthquake, but apart from that, every single step to get to where Beth and I are today has been worth it.

They say it's about the journey, not the destination. That may well be true. But with a woman like Beth, I have a feeling it's going to be both.

And I cannot wait to see what our future has in store.