By His Vow: Chapter 65

“I’ll go,” I say when the buzzer rings through the apartment.

The place looks almost unrecognizable. It’s as if a tornado has blown through it. There is wrapping paper, boxes, cards, and the random assortment of gifts we’ve received littering every single surface.

It’s only been like this a few hours and already, I swear I can see Kingston’s eye twitching in irritation.

It’s all the more reason to put off cleaning up.

It’s wrong, but I can’t help but love seeing this side of him.

The takes-no-shit businessman that everyone else sees is long gone right now. It makes me feel special that I’m getting to discover the real man inside the suit.

My stomach growls as I get closer to the door. I am more than ready to dive into the takeout I managed to convince Kingston to order.

Mr Health-Freak wasn’t really for it. But it’s Saturday night, and the past week has been hell. He deserves to kick back and relax just as much as everyone else. Hell, possibly more so. And anyway, one night of takeout isn’t going to ruin anything.

Eagerly, I pull the door open, more than ready to pull the bag of Chinese into my arms and inhale the tempting scent.

It takes a second for the image to clear enough in my head to discover that the man standing before me isn’t delivering our delicious dinner.

Instead, it’s my new brother-in-law.

“Good evening,” Kian says with a wicked grin that I’m sure gets more than a few women in trouble. “How’s the hangover?”

With a glare, I pull the door wider to invite him in.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I mutter.

“Sure you don’t,” he says happily as he marches through the entrance hall in search of his big brother. “What the fuck?” he barks the second he lays eyes on the state of the living room.

“Don’t start,” Kingston snaps.

“You finally opened them then.” Kian’s voice gets quieter as he speaks, and when I step into the room, I discover why. He’s already in the kitchen, pulling a bottle of Kingston’s scotch from the cupboard. “Drink?” he asks as if it’s his to offer out.

“Sure,” Kingston agrees before turning his eyes on me.

“Tate, do you⁠—”

“I’m good with my water,” I interrupt, making Kian smirk with accomplishment.

Yeah, okay. I’m still suffering from last night.

“So, what did you get?” he asks, walking back over with two glasses of scotch before dropping onto the opposite couch to Kingston and next to Griz.

I wince, unsure how she’s going to react to a man encroaching on her space, and when I glance at Kingston, I find him smirking, clearly having similar thoughts.

“You probably don’t want to know. Most of them are ugly enough to convince you to never get married.”

“You opened mine though, right?” Kian asks, unaware that he’s getting a full body assessment from my cat.

I swear she looks him up and down, studying every inch of him as she makes a judgment.

“If you sent the log on a stick, then yes. We opened it and have already organized a courier to send it directly back to your place.”

“Log on a stick?” he asks with a deep frown. “I sent you a coupon for a year’s supply of lube.”

“Fuck off. You didn’t, did you?” Kingston scoffs.

“Well, if you haven’t opened it yet, you wouldn’t know, would you?” As he replies, Griz gets to her feet and begins stalking closer, sniffing the air around him.

Kingston watches closely, waiting for the moment she strikes.

“Oh hey,” Kian says when her movement catches his eye. “Didn’t see you there. Aren’t you cute,” he says, thoughtlessly reaching out, ready to tickle her.

I’m still debating whether or not to warn him that my kitty isn’t a big fan of men. But just before any words tumble from my mouth, he makes contact with her ear. I wait for the strike, for the blood and the cry from Kian that will more than likely follow.

But it never comes.

Instead, Griz tilts her head to the side and begins to purr happily.

What the actual⁠—

“The fuck?” Kingston barks, echoing my thoughts.

“What?” Kian asks innocently as Griz leans closer, craving more of his attention.

The buzzer rings again before either of us gets a chance to respond.

“This had better be dinner,” I mutter, having visions of Kieran standing on the other side of the door this time instead.

“Oh sweet, you’ve already ordered.”

I narrow my eyes at Kian before spinning on my heels and marching back to the front door.

Their rumbling voices follow me, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. And everything is forgotten when I pull the door open and thankfully find what I really want.

Food.

Without looking like a homeless person who hasn’t eaten all week, I force myself to reach for the bag at a normal speed and politely thank the guy before kicking the door closed and racing toward the kitchen with my goodies.

But I come up short when I find Griz now sitting on Kian’s lap.

Little fucking traitor.

“What the fuck are you, some kind of cat whisperer?” I blurt in shock.

Griz doesn’t like men. It took months for her to come around to Cory, but even still, she point-blank refuses to go anywhere near him.

This…this is completely unheard of.

“Oh yeah, that’s my side hustle in the evenings—find out the secrets of all the pussies in the city,” Kian deadpans, making Kingston snort in amusement.

“Good god,” I mutter, taking another look at Griz in his lap before continuing to the kitchen to unload my food in peace.

“Kingston let you order Chinese,” Kian says, his voice closer now.

Glancing over my shoulder, I find him gazing down at the variety of dishes I’ve laid out on the island.

“Yep,” I say, popping the P.

“Well, I guess it’s true what they say. Men really will do anything for the best pussy.”

I narrow my eyes at him, refusing to acknowledge that he’s got my cat in his arms. In his fucking arms…

I’m way too hungry for this bullshit.

“Kingston doesn’t let me do anything. If I want Chinese, I will order Chinese. I’m not some little lady who is going to be controlled by a man, no matter how powerful that man deems himself to be.”

Kian stares at me as if I’ve just sprouted an extra head.

Kingston walks in, giving Griz a wide berth, before stepping up behind me.

“Did you hear that?” he says with what I can only say is pride.

“Uh…” Kian starts.

“My wife thinks I’m powerful.”

I don’t need to look back to know that he’s smirking as he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.

“That was not what she said,” Kian argues.

“It’s how I heard it.”

“Whatever. Grab me a plate, Bro. This looks amazing.”

“Excuse me?” I hiss, folding my arms over my chest. “I didn’t order for three.”

“No,” Kian muses, looking at the obscene amount of food before us. “It looks more like you ordered for ten. I think we’ll be fine.”

He pulls a stool out before lowering himself into it and then Griz to the kitchen counter.

Kingston tenses behind me.

“What are you doing?” he barks.

“Uh…eating.”

“The fucking cat, K. Get it off the kitchen counter.”

“Christ, it’s no wonder she hates you, man,” he says before turning to Griz. “You’re okay up there watching, aren’t you, my little buddy.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Kingston mutters. “Am I even hearing this right now?”

I chuckle as I twist out of his arms and grab the plate Kian wants.

The second I pass it over, he begins loading it up before offering Griz a prawn cracker, which she eagerly takes out of his hand.

“Unbelievable,” Kingston hisses before joining us.

We eat in silence for a few minutes. Kian and I are much more enthusiastic than Kingston, who pokes everything with his fork suspiciously.

“Do you even know how clean the kitchen is of the place we ordered this from?” he asks.

“Dude, will you stop being such a fucking pussy and just eat? Tatum isn’t going to poison us all.”

He spears a piece of pork and begrudgingly pushes it past his lips. His eyes widen slightly as the sweetness of the sauce, is quickly followed by the heat of the chili exploding on his tongue. He refuses to comment on how good it is, though.

Rolling my eyes, I look at Kian, who’s watching his brother with the same amusement on his face.

“Why are you even here?” Kingston asks after swallowing.

“I came to extend an invitation to dinner with our mother tomorrow,” Kian explains.

Nothing but silence follows.

Their mom wasn’t at the wedding last weekend, although we have opened both a card and a gift from her and her husband.

I only have very fuzzy memories of Elizabeth from when I was a kid. She and Michael had a very ugly divorce while Kieran was still a baby, and despite the years that have passed, they still refuse to be in the same room as each other.

Kingston said he wasn’t bothered about her not being there. He also claims not to be bothered about his mother’s lack of presence in his life, but I’m not sure either is entirely true.

Kian and Kieran still have a relationship with her. But Kingston was that much older when their marriage fell apart, and he remembers it and the pain that came with it all too well.

“Was she incapable of calling me and asking herself?” he spits, his mood changing in a heartbeat at the mention of her.

“KC,” Kian warns. “She just wants to spend some time with you and Tate. Congratulate you properly.”

“It’s not necessary. If she wanted to celebrate, she could have attended last weekend with everyone else.”

An awkwardness falls over us, threatening to ruin my appetite.

“We should go,” I say, reaching over to rest my hand on Kingston’s thigh.

“Why should we make the effort when she can’t?” The words are so full of bitterness, it makes my heart hurt for what he’s been through, for how much pain she’s caused him over the years.

“Because you’re a bigger person than she is,” I explain, trying to get him on board.

“I thought you thought that I was a shitty person,” he argues.

“Sometimes. Is Kieran going?” I ask, in the hope that I can sweeten the deal.

“He’s been invited, but trying to get plans out of him is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.”

“Isn’t everything challenging enough right now?” Kingston asks.

“Look,” Kian reasons, “if you really don’t want to, I’ll tell her no. I won’t even lie and say that you’re busy. But she’s our mom.”

Kingston looks at me, searching my eyes for the answer.

I shrug, obviously unqualified to hand out any real advice in the parental department.

My mom is more than likely spending her Saturday night with multiple bottles of wine.

“It’s your decision. I’ll stand by you whatever you decide,” I say honestly. I might be aware of their fucked-up family dynamic, but I refuse to sway his opinion on it.

If he wants to go, I’ll smile at his mom and say all the right things. If he doesn’t, then I’ll respect that.

“I’ll think about it,” he mutters before pushing a forkful of rice into his mouth as a distraction. “This is really good,” he confesses after a few seconds.

Kian smirks. “Marriage looks good on you, man,” he says proudly. “It’s doing what I’ve failed to do all these years.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Kingston asks, intrigued.

“Making you fucking normal.”

“Asshole,” Kingston mutters before throwing a spring roll at Kian. It bounces off his cheek before landing right next to Griz, who happily steals it.

“See,” Kian says, tickling her ear again. “He’s not always so bad. Enjoy, buddy.”